President ’ s Corner
sweet auburn | 2024 volume II
President ’ s Corner
A s the days grow shorter and colder , I find myself reflecting on what this time of year represents . Brilliant fall hues fade and blanket the ground , revealing stark , bare tree limbs . A once abundant canopy is suddenly absent . It may be easy to view this seeming emptiness as a lack of life , but , really , it is life persevering through change . In spring , blooms appear grateful for a chance to start anew .
Three years into my tenure at Mount Auburn , I continue to witness the impact our landscape has on our visitors yearround , and it reminds me , too , that humanity perseveres . From the spring-migrating birds seen through eager , uplifted binoculars and filling Mount Auburn with earlymorning birdsong , to the commemorative candlelit nights of SOLSTICE during a time of year that our friend and meteorologist Dave Epstein might argue is underappreciated ( page 8 ), your immersion in this space makes Mount Auburn a community .
I am constantly inspired by those in our community who come here and the unique lenses through which they view our landscape . As someone with a background in horticulture , I most immediately notice the plants around me and what stories they are telling in relation to the time of year . I share this lens with Horticulture Curator Dennis Collins , whose knowledge and stewardship of Mount Auburn ’ s plant collections , including our Significant Trees , is remarkably impressive and invaluable ( page 2 ).
Perhaps one of the most evocative ways visitors interpret our landscape is through art . Whether visual , musical , or performative , artists have been using their unique talents to represent Mount Auburn since its founding . Among those who have found their muse at the Cemetery are Arthur Cushman Haskell ( page 6 ), whose midcentury camera lens captured our peaceful landscape during a time of international hardship , and Fatima Seck ( page 14 ), whose upcoming children ’ s poetry book will explore the life of Mount Auburn resident Harriet Jacobs .
I am truly grateful for your personal view of and continued engagement with the one-of-a-kind landscape of Mount Auburn . Through winter ’ s darkest day and into the new year , I am looking forward to all that 2025 will bring for Mount Auburn — a place of inspiration for today , tomorrow , and forever .
Matthew Stephens President & CEO