April 2005 Update
From
The Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust
& The Wilhelm Reich Museum
We thank you for your continual interest and support. For newcomers to our e-mail Update list, none of the names on this list--nor the names of any Museum visitors, conference attendees or bookstore customers--are shared with any other individuals or organizations. If at any time you wish to be removed from this list, please let us know.
All previous Updates, dating from March 2004, available online.
You can access them through the Updates option at the top of this page or via the Quick Links along the left side of the page. These Updates provide the best contemporaneous accounts of the Trust's ongoing activities over the past six years.
Summer Conference: July 18-22
Combine the Conference With Leisure Time
Festival of Music - July 16
Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust - Organizational Chart
New Book: Freud's Free Clinics by Elizabeth Danto, Ph.D.
Reich at the New School for Social Research
The Wilhelm Reich Museum Cookbook
A Reich Quote for Springtime
SUMMER CONFERENCE: JULY 18-22, 2005
WILHELM REICH & ORGONE ENERGY:
LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD
As we look ahead to the future of Reich's work in science and medicine,
this conference will bring together voices and faces of the past and
present to investigate the possibilities and challenges of the future.
Those who knew and worked with Reich will share their experiences,
and current opportunities for medical trials of orgone blankets and
accumulators in America will be explored.
We hope you will join us for what promises to be a stimulating week
of discussion and debate as we move forward into the future.
Monday, July 18th
9:00 a.m.
"The Historic Context of Reich's Laboratory Work:
From Biomedical Research of the 1930s to the Present Day"
Presenter: James E. Strick, Ph.D.
Dr. Strick is a science historian specializing in the history of ideas about
the origins of life. He is the author of Sparks of Life: Darwinism and
the Victorian Debates Over Spontaneous Generation, and co-author of
The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology.
2:00 p.m.
"Memories of Working With Reich"
"Opportunities & Obstacles for the Future of Reich's Biological Work"
Presenter: Bernard Grad, Ph.D
Dr. Grad is a biologist, a former student of Wilhelm Reich, and author of
"Wilhelm Reich's Experiment XX" and "The Effects of the Orgone
Accumulator on the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia of AKR Mice."
Tuesday, July 19th
9:00 a.m.
"Memories of Reich"
Presenter: Morton Herskowitz, D.O.
Dr. Herskowitz is a practicing orgone therapist, President of the
Institute for Orgonomic Science, and author of Emotional Armoring:
An Introduction to Psychiatric Orgone Therapy.
No events planned for the afternoon - enjoy Rangeley Lakes!
5:00 p.m.
Reception at the Orgone Energy Observatory (including a tour)
Wednesday, July 20th
9:00 a.m.
"A Proposed Clinical Study to Test the Effectiveness
of Orgone Blankets in the Treatment of Burns"
Presenters: Ron Maio, D.O. and Conny Huthsteiner, M.D.
Dr. Maio is Professor and Associate Chair of Research in the Department
of Emergency Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School,
Director of the University's Injury Research Center, and Assistant Dean
for Research Regulatory Affairs for the Medical School.
Dr. Huthsteiner is a psychiatrist and orgone therapist in private practice,
and a member of the Institute for Orgonomic Science.
2:00 p.m.
Recreation – Bald Mountain hike (weather permitting)
Those who are interested can take a guided 3-hour hike up Bald Mountain
which offers spectacular views of Mooselookmeguntic Lake where Reich
first observed atmospheric orgone energy in the summer of 1940 while
staying in a cabin on the lake. Kevin Hinchey, Associate Director
of the Wilhelm Reich Museum, will lead the hike.
Thursday, July 21st
9:00 a.m.
"Building and Selling Orgone Accumulators and Orgone Blankets"
"Practical and Research Considerations & Anecdotal Customer Data"
Presenter: Theirrie Cook
Theirrie Cook founded and is the sole proprietor of Orgonics, a business
that develops and sells orgone energy accumulators to the public.
2:00 p.m.
"Wilhelm Reich and Orgone Energy: A Survey of the FBI & FDA Files"
Presenter: Kevin Hinchey
Mr. Hinchey is Associate Director of the Wilhelm Reich Museum
7:00 p.m.
Recollections of Reich and Orgonon in the 1950s
Friday, July 22nd
9:00 a.m.
Roundtable Discussion
MEETING PLACE. The summer program will be held in the Conference Building
(formerly Reich's Student Laboratory). A continental breakfast is served
each morning at 8:30 a.m. Presentations begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. Evening
events take place at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Participants are encouraged
to explore and utilize the Wilhelm Reich Museum's 175-property
and its numerous facilities, including the Reading Room and Orgone Room.
REGISTRATION FEE is $375.00. This includes tuition, information
packet, continental breakfast, refreshments, reception and tour of the
Orgone Energy Observatory. A 25% discount is available for full-time
students who can document their status.
TAX DEDUCTION. IRS regulations permit an income tax deduction
for educational expenses undertaken to maintain or improve professional
skills.
ACCOMMODATIONS. All types of accommodations are available
in and around Rangeley, and you are encouraged to make reservations
early since this is the summer season. Contact the Rangeley Chamber
of Commerce: 1-800-685-2537 or e-mail: mtlakes@rangeley.org.
SCHOLARSHIPS. To apply for the Thomas E. Ross and
Chester M. Raphael memorial scholarships, e-mail us at
wreich@rangeley.org, or send a letter to: Wilhelm Reich Museum,
P.O. Box 687, Rangeley Maine. 04970. All applications must be
received by June 15, 2005.
FOR MORE REGISTRATION INFORMATION call us at:
(207) 864-3443, or e-mail: wreich@rangeley.org
COMBINE THE CONFERENCE WITH LEISURE TIME
When planning the summer conferences, we try to set aside sufficient
free time so that attendees can enjoy the Rangeley Lakes Region.
We also encourage those who are coming to try--if possible--
to make a short vacation out of their visit, by arriving the weekend
before the Conference or staying the weekend after it ends.
Reich fell in love with the area when he first visited in the summer
of 1940. And so will you. The Rangeley Lakes Region has so
much to offer. The lakes themselves--Rangeley, Cupsuptic,
Mooselookmeguntic, Upper Richardson, Lower Richardson,
Umbagog, Aziscoos, Kennebago. Canoeing, kayaking and boating.
Wilderness camping on the islands and shores. Flyfishing on the
lakes, ponds, and rivers. Hiking and backpacking in the mountains
(the Appalachian Trail is just a few miles south of both Rangeley
and Oquossoc). Exploring the backroads of Maine. And visiting
historic sites and museums.
If you need any assistance in planning your leisure time during
your visit, let us know what your interests are and we'll be
happy to offer you some suggestions.
FESTIVAL OF MUSIC - SATURDAY NIGHT, JULY 16
One suggestion is to arrive the weekend before the conference begins,
spend the days exploring the lakes, mountains and forests, then come
to Orgonon on Saturday evening for our annual Festival of Music.
Four separate performances featuring four different musical styles:
jazz piano, flute, bluegrass fiddle, and acoustic guitar. Seating is limited;
last year's performance sold-out, and will undoubtedly sell-out again
this year.
WILHELM REICH INFANT TRUST
ORGANIZATION CHART
We've recently posted our new Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust Organizational Chart.
It succinctly and visually illustrates the Trust's principal activities
and responsibilities. If you haven't seen it yet, please have a look.
NEW BOOK:
FREUD'S FREE CLINICS by Elizabeth Ann Danto, Ph.D.
In October 2004, a lecture and fundraiser for The Wilhelm Reich
Infant Trust Endowment Fund was held at The Williams Club in
New York City, featuring Elizabeth Ann Danto, Ph.D, Associate
Professor of Social Policy at the Hunter College School of Social Work.
Dr. Danto spoke on "Sex, Class and Social Work: Wilhelm Reich's
Free Clinics and the Activist History of Psychoanalysis." Her lecture--
which included ten letters from Freud to Reich that she discovered in the
Freud Archives--was derived largely from research for her new book:
Freud's Free Clinics - Psychoanalysis and Social Justice, 1918-1938,
which is now available from Columbia University Press.
From the Columbia University Press:
"Danto's narrative begins in the years following the end
of World War I and the fall of the Habsburg Empire.
Joining with the social democratic and artistic movements
that were sweeping across Central and Western Europe,
analysts such as Freud, Wilhelm Reich, Erik Erikson,
Karen Horney, Erich Fromm, and Helene Deutsch envisioned
a new role for psychoanalysis. These psychoanalysts saw
themselves as brokers of social change and viewed
psychoanalysis as a challenge to conventional political
and social traditions...Drawing on oral histories and new
archival material, Danto offers vivid portraits of the
movement's central figures and their beliefs. She explores
the successes, failures, and challenges faced by free institutes
such as the Berlin Poliklinik, the Vienna Ambulatorium,
and Alfred Adler's child-guidance clinics. She also describes
the efforts of Wilhelm Reich's Sex-Pol, a fusion of psychoanalysis
and left-wing politics, which provided free counseling and
sex education and aimed to end public repression of private
sexuality..."
REICH AT THE NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
Dr. Danto's lecture on behalf of The Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust
Endowment Fund attracted over a dozen "new faces" to this annual
fundraiser: college students, university faculty members, and social
workers from the New York City area. Among them was the
co-editor of a publication from New School University entitled:
The Id – Graduate Faculty Psychology Bulletin (GFPB).
The Bulletin is described as a "peer-reviewed publication created by
members of the Graduate Faculty Psychology Society as a way of
highlighting the current research, presentations, proposals, and editorials
by M.A. and Ph.D. students, postdoctoral candidates, and alumni affiliated
with the GF, the Department of Psychology, and New School University.
The Id is published semiannually and represents a wide range of subjects
in an attempt to incorporate all areas of psychology."
The co-editor was interested in publishing a piece about Reich's brief
affiliation with the New School for Social Research (the original name
for what is now New School University.) The result is in their latest
edition of The Id (GFPB: 2004 – Vol. 2, No. 2) which explains that:
"In this volume we continue the New School University
History Series. We have re-printed from the 1940-41
New School for Social Research course catalogs descriptions
of courses taught by Wilhelm Reich."
The Id includes a brief biographical profile of Reich, followed by
original course descriptions for:
- "Character Formation: Biological and Social Aspects"
- "Theoretical Seminar: Psychological Approach to Psychological Research"
- "Clinical Problems in Psycho-somatic Medicine."
The Id also notes that in 1940 and 1941, enrolling in one of Reich's
courses cost only $12.50 a semester. To read these reprinted
course descriptions, visit the website for the Graduate Faculty
Psychology Bulletin at New School University.
NEW BOOK IN THE MUSEUM BOOKSTORE
"WILHELM REICH MUSEUM COOKBOOK"
No, we're not talking about old Bukovina recipes, Austrian strudels,
or German bund cakes. This is a collection of recipes from our
friends, supporters and volunteers in the Rangeley community,
in different states and different countries. We rely on these
good people for supporting our activities throughout the year.
Their efforts and friendship are indispensable. And best of all,
they're terrific cooks.
This volume--which sells for $8.50--compiles some of their
favorite dishes, ranging from old-fashioned New England traditions
to international fare. Cookbooks have increasingly become a fun way
for many small organizations (such as museums, schools, churches
and civic groups)--to bring in additional income. Which was
certainly the principal motivation for this cookbook. More than
that, however, it is a wonderful reminder of how valuable our
friends and supporters are.
A REICH QUOTE FOR SPRINGTIME
Ask ten different people about their favorite lines or passages from
Reich's books, and you'll get at least ten different answers. His
writing is eminently quotable, containing hundreds of memorable
excerpts. Which is why we always emphasize the importance of
reading Reich's books as a way of understanding his life, his work,
and his character--rather than simply relying on second-hand
sources, opinion pieces, hearsay, and countless Internet websites.
And as springtime finally comes to Orgonon here in Rangeley, Maine,
one passage from Reich's Cosmic Superimposition immediately
comes to mind.
"Outside, you feel your blood surging, and you do not
doubt that something is moving in you, a thing you call
your emotion, with its location undoubtedly in the middle
of your body and close to your heart. Inside, you do not
live with your total organism, but only with your brain,
and not only is it forbidden to study emotions, more,
you are accused of being an adherent of phrenology
and mysticism. Outside, there is such a thing as the
movement and quivering of everything, from the
atmosphere to your nerves..."
UNTIL NEXT MONTH
Please share this Update with colleagues, friends, and family who may be interested in the life and legacy of Wilhelm Reich and the good works of The Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust and The Wilhelm Reich Museum. Thank you again for your friendship and support.
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