President ’ s Corner
sweet auburn | 2024 volume i
President ’ s Corner
E ach day that I look around the verdant landscape of Mount Auburn Cemetery , I see the roles of an active cemetery , botanic garden , and historic landmark woven together within a singular and irreplicable green space . This special place offers inspiration to the creative , discovery to the curious , knowledge to the inquisitive , and solace to the mourning , and I could not be more grateful to be President and CEO of Mount Auburn , a place that continues to be a source of exceptional beauty for our communities .
Over the past few years , programming and access to our 175-acre urban oasis has been significantly increased thanks to the vision of our Board of Trustees and staff and the generosity of our donors . Since its founding in 1831 , Mount Auburn has continuously reimagined what a cemetery can be , and through our recent endeavors , we are dedicated to delivering greater welcome , greater service , and greater beauty to all who visit . We are delighted to usher in greater welcome with our new pedestrian entrances and the Story Chapel Columbarium Pathway ( see pg . 8 ). These improvements reinforce our mission by allowing more visitors to safely access our landscape and buildings . As Joseph Story stated in his Consecration Address at Mount Auburn on September 24 , 1831 , “ A rural Cemetery seems to combine in itself all the advantages , which can be proposed to gratify human feelings , or tranquillize human fears ; to secure the best religious influences , and to cherish all those associations which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave .”
Mount Auburn has the good fortune of being upheld by the passion and dedication of many long-term staff members , including Crematory Manager Joe Bancewicz ( see pg . 11 ), who retired this past fall after 45 years and whose shoes are being filled most adeptly by our new Crematory Manager Bethany Rhykus . Joe ’ s years of service to our families have been an inspiration , affirming Mount Auburn ’ s unique position as a space of solace amid natural beauty , as Story so eloquently expressed it at the Consecration : “ It is to the living mourner — to the parent , weeping over his dear dead child — to the husband , dwelling in his own solitary desolation — to the widow , whose heart is broken by untimely sorrow — to the friend , who misses at every turn the presence of some kindred spirit :— it is to these , that the repositories of the dead bring home thoughts full of admonition , of instruction , and , slowly but surely , of consolation also .”
Our beloved Mount Auburn continues to innovate with visually stunning gardens that meet the eye with ethereal beauty and act as refuge for the diverse wildlife that call this place their home . Take , for example , our recent improvements to Violet Path ( see pg . 12 ) on the slopes above Consecration Dell , named for the spot where Story delivered his opening address . Story rightfully waxed poetically about the landscape of Mount Auburn as he spoke before the crowd assembled in the Dell : “... the rustling pine , and the drooping willow ;— the tree , that sheds its pale leaves every autumn , a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom ; and the evergreen , with its perennial shoots , instructing us , that ‘ the wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue .’” How appropriate to connect the naturalistic landscape to the cycle of life and death for which Mount Auburn is a steward , and how honored I am to watch this place uphold and expand our tenets of welcome , service , and beauty .
I hope you find yourself walking our landscape as summer displays life in abundance , which will soon make way for golden leaves and yet another transitional beauty . I am proud of the commitments Mount Auburn has made to our communities in the almost 200 years since Story ’ s Consecration Address and , above all , I am grateful for you — the visitor who walks our landscape ; the family to which we provide end-of-life care ; the member who attends our programming ; the donor who supports our special projects ; and the community member looking for a place to simply take a moment to escape the rigors of modern life — for enabling us to maintain our past while building a vibrant future .
Matthew Stephens President & CEO
SOLSTICE returns in December 2024 ! Event dates will be announced in late summer . Join or renew your Friends of Mount Auburn membership today to secure early access to tickets during Members Week in mid-September . Public tickets will go on sale October 1 , 2024 . Visit mountauburnsolstice . org for more info .
Photo by Aram Boghosian