LANAGAN, Missouri -- Rivergoers Saturday afternoon seemed to be complying with a new anti-nudity ordinance which went into effect last week.
At Steve Geeding's streamside cabin located on Indian Creek near Lanagan, hundreds of canoeists passed by between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. There were no incidents of women baring their breasts or of men and women baring other body parts on that section of the river.
"I think they got the message, I really do," said Geeding, McDonald County's prosecuting attorney who drafted the anti-nudity ordinance after numerous complaints from landowners and canoeists alike about people "flashing" others on the river. "At least I'm optimistic that they have, anyway. There will always be a few diehards."
The ordinance came about in an effort to curb the violence that seemingly went with the nudity.
One violent incident took place on July 10 as a group of women and children were relaxing on a private beach near Noel.
A group of about 20 canoeists pulled up on the shore, with several women in the party canoeing topless and several men stepping onto the bank to relieve themselves.
Landowner Diane Smith said she asked the women to please cover up, as there were children present on the beach. One of the women began to comply, but another said it wasn't against the law to be topless.
Smith said when she took out her cellular phone to alert authorities about the incident, she was attacked by a member of the canoeing party, who threw her phone in the water and punched her twice.
Pepper Evenson, the wife of McDonald County Sheriff Robert Evenson, was among the three women present, and was able to call for help despite having another member of the canoeing party jump on her back.
Robert Evenson, a deputy, and two members of the Missouri State Water Patrol responded, and a Noel man came by in a pontoon boat and offered his assistance. They found the alleged assailant, Michael McRae Royal, 26, hiding in the water between two boats, and he was arrested without incident and charged with four counts of child endangerment, a count of trespassing and a count of assault. He later posted a $50,000 bond.
Incidents such as the July 10 one are not unusual, Geeding said. He told of many fights between couples canoeing which turned violent because of the combination of alcohol, nudity and canoe paddles. He told of several instances of domestic abuse which took place among canoeists just a short distance from the cabin, and of several past violent incidents he had seen in the courts.
"The potential for violence is unbelievable," said the prosecutor. "Taking nudity off of the river takes away one potential for violence."
The ordinance defines nudity as showing wither the male or female genitalia or pubic region or the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering on any part of the nipple.
Violators can expect up to a $1,000 fine. Sheriff Evenson has said no warnings would be issued.
Summer canoeing has long been big business in McDonald County. Geeding said on any given summer Saturday, about 1,000 canoes, kayaks and rafts pass by his cabin on the river, carrying an estimated 5,000 people. While the majority of canoeists were once families, church groups, and scout troops, today's canoeists seem to be, with a handful of exceptions, young people looking to party. And at least one business, River Munchies, offers beads to those willing to bare themselves.
"It's like spring break down here, every weekend," Smith said in a recent interview. "The beads are going everywhere. ... So many of my clients tell me that they used to be able to canoe with their children canoeing a mile ahead of them and not worry. Now, they don't go to the river because of what's happening."
While Geeding said it may take a month or so for the ordinance to seek in with some rivergoers, it seemed to be making an impact so far.
"I've not had anybody trying to push, or pushing, the beads, at least from my small corner of the world here," he said. "I think it's going to work, or at least I'm optimistic it will."
