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Martha Reben and her wildlife friends

This year’s Winter Carnival theme, “Adirondack Wildlife,” brings to mind the story of Martha Reben and her wildlife friends.

If there had been an Oprah’s Book Club in the 1950s, Martha Reben’s book “The Healing Woods” would have been on the list. The bestselling story of a young girl’s search for her health in the Adirondack wilderness introduced millions of Americans to the Adirondacks.

Martha Reben (born Rebentisch) grew up in New York City. As a teenager, she was stricken with tuberculosis, and in 1927, she came to Saranac Lake for the fresh-air cure. But after three operations and more than three years in bed at the Trudeau Sanatorium, she was still very sick.

Martha spotted an advertisement in the local newspaper that changed her life. It read, “Wanted: To get in touch with some invalid who is not improving, and who wants to go into the woods for the summer. — Fred Rice.” A local guide and boat builder, Mr. Rice believed that TB patients who were spending their days in the village of Saranac Lake resting on cure porches would be better served by getting out in the woods.

Fred Rice did not expect such a young and frail woman to answer his ad, but he and his wife Kate agreed that five months of steady work was worth taking. Together Martha and Fred traveled 11 miles from Lower to Middle Saranac Lake and on to Weller Pond to camp. Over the course of the next 10 years, an enduring friendship with Mr. and Mrs. Rice was forged. Fred and Martha returned to the woods during the warm season. They went back to Weller Pond, and they also camped on Hungry Bay on Middle Saranac and Pope Bay on Lower Saranac Lake.

Martha found her home with the Rice family, wintering with Fred and Kate in their small house on Algonquin Avenue. Convinced of the health benefits of the outdoor life, Martha never returned to the city. Her disease slowly improved, and she lived to age 58.

Camping at Weller Pond, Martha passed the time by writing in her journal. Often Fred was away working as a guide, and so, left alone at camp, Martha would record her observations of the natural world and the lake wildlife. Numerous raccoons, birds, and squirrels were her companions at camp. Martha was frequently spotted around town accompanied by her pet Pekin duck, Mr. Dooley. In fact, local legend Howard Riley remembers delivering Martha and Mr. Dooley to a vet appointment in his taxi.

In 1952, “The Healing Woods” was published, with Martha’s last name shortened to Reben. Martha also went on to publish “The Way of the Wilderness” in 1955, and “A Sharing of Joy” was published a few weeks before her death in 1963.

Historic Saranac Lake will host a free, informal discussion at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Saranac Laboratory Museum, 89 Church St. The public is invited to come share what they know and to find out more about Martha and her wildlife friends. Be sure to look out for a float by Historic Saranac Lake and Trudeau Institute honoring Martha Reben, Fred Rice and Mr. Dooley the duck in the Winter Carnival parade.

To find out more about Martha Reben, visit Historic Saranac Lake’s local

history website: localwiki.org/hsl/Martha_Reben. Portions of this article are reprinted the localwiki article.

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