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Karl Ruehle started SVG in 1954. Through a great deal of energy and vision, he quickly built up the club’smembership. He was also known for his promotional ability. His yearly open house generated a great deal of press coverage. Unfortunately, he lacked the customer service skills to keep members. According to the book Au Naturel: The History of Nudism in Canada, Ruehle was regarded as “autocratic and tight-fisted. Many saw him as a ‘boot stomping Prussian.’”

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Excerpt on Sun Valley Gardens from:
Au Naturel
The History of Nudism in Canada
James Woycke, Ph.D.
ISBN 0-9682332-3-6
Pages 117 - 120


Sun Valley Gardens (SVG) started the 1954 season with 25 acres of wooded farmland and eighteen adult members. Another seventy people joined as work progressed. “Everywhere you see the product of industry and of imagination.” In 1956 the 80-foot kidney-shaped swimming pool was completed, and would long remain the centerpiece of the club. Then another 14 acres was Ontario Outdoors ~ 117 acquired, and Ruehle promoted Sun Valley Heights—a nudist subdivision where people could “live a most natural life all year ‘round.” Another project, the Sun Valley Health and Recreation Club, would contribute to the club’s later split with the CSA.


By this time Sun Valley had more than 300 members, and was “undoubtedly Canada’s largest and finest club.” The phenomenal growth stemmed from Ruehle’s active, indeed aggressive publicity campaign. He distributed press releases, bought paid advertising, and appeared on talk shows and TV programs such as the “Claim to Fame” show on CHCH Hamilton where he won a wristwatch because no guessed that there was a nudist camp proprietor in darkest Ontario.


Ruehle’s most successful publicity stunts were the open house days that he started in 1956. In early May he invited the press out to discuss his plans for the event, and Toronto Telegram reporters Ron Collister and Ian Paterson duly wrote about “a warm naked welcome,” although the lone reporter for the tabloid Hush explained that the Telegram sent two men so that one could keep an eye on the other, and cautioned Ron Collister against greeting nude young ladies with an overly enthusiastic “Wowie!”


Sixty local officials received invitations to visit camp on 24 June 1956. Although only one lonely deputy reeve showed up, he was accompanied by an army of thirty reporters and photographers who provided “longer and more detailed stories than we have ever had in the West.” The day before the nude open house the general public was invited to visit the club while members were dressed “in order not to offend anyone not accustomed to our way of living.” Five hundred people toured the camp, and more than 100 inquired about membership and a return visit under normal conditions.


In 1959, Ruehle opened Sun Valley Gardens to the general public on Saturday, May 30, while members were nude. Over 1,000 visitors signed affidavits that “at no time and in no way will we object to—or feel offended by—the nudity and activities of the people whom we see or meet.” Many were not only not offended, but joined in nude activities, and nearly 100 joined the club. There was full media coverage from Toronto and Buffalo newspapers and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The event confirmed Sun Valley as “the largest and certainly the most progressive club in all of Canada.” It also split the club apart.


By 1959 Sun Valley Gardens was “not well known for the democratic spirit of its leaders.” Members and visitors alike regarded Ruehle as autocratic and tight-fisted. He objected when people moved camp furniture, even if only to place a chair or picnic table in the shade. He interrupted games and competitions if they lasted longer than his schedule allowed. He closely monitored new couples in their tents. Many saw him as a “boot stomping Prussian.”


For years members had been leaving Sun Valley to form new clubs. London Sun Club, Sunshine Ranch, Sunny Glades, Sunny Acres, Ponderosa, and Lilly Valley all had their origin in SVG alumni. In most cases Karl wished them well, and stayed in touch. Only one effort did he thwart, an attempt by a former member to set up a rival camp virtually across the street. But the farmer whose land was up for lease, and who knew Karl well, reneged on the deal after Ruehle spoke with him.

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