RANGELEY — The Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust of Rangeley recently received a $28,450 grant from the Efroymson Family Fund of Indianapolis, said Mary Boyd Higgins, executive director.

The funds will be used to replace the sills in one of its historic buildings, formerly the living quarters for Wilhelm Reich and his family.

The sills in this cottage have been  rotting and weakening the structural integrity of the building, making it more vulnerable to cold and expensive to heat. Water pipes and drains freeze every winter, creating expensive plumbing bills.

Built in sections in the 1940s, the sections could separate and become beyond repair altogether, even though so much has been done to improve the building, including the addition of a metal roof, storm windows and insulation.

The Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust relies heavily on the rental income from this cottage, called Tamarack. It is also used six weeks of the year for a summer home for children, as directed in Wilhelm Reich’s last will and testament. The Trust carries out that wish by making the cabin available, free of charge, to adoptive and foster children and their families, who could not otherwise afford a summer vacation.

Every year, Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine selects six families; each family spends a week at Tamarack, which offers a quiet setting, seclusion, access to the shores of Dodge Pond, and the opportunity to be together in the Rangeley Lakes Region.

FMI: www.wilhelmreichtrust.org/.

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