Staff Activities
People and Happenings
Staff Changes
Staff Activities
Plants Curator Dennis Collins attended the 5th International Symposium on the Taxonomy of Cultivated Plants on October 15-19 , 2007 , in the botanic gardens on the campus of Wageningen University , about 50 miles southeast of Amsterdam . During the two decades since the first symposium , the field of taxonomy of cultivated plants has developed at an increasing pace , and its importance for society has become more and more evident . People from 13 countries and five continents attended the conference . Dennis Collins was appointed as the group ’ s Secretary , responsible for managing information and official documents in the organization .
Preservation Specialist David Gallagher attended the Association for Preservation Technology ( APT ) conference , “ Old World Technologies Adapting in the New World ,” on November 3-7 in San Juan , Puerto Rico , the site of a great many buildings with ancient stonework . He took a two-day workshop in “ Traditional Lime and Brick Dust Mortars for Restoration ” and some shorter seminars . Mount Auburn tries to use appropriate traditional materials in preservation work whenever possible and this lecture and hands-on workshop extends David ’ s knowledge of traditional lime mortars .
David Barnett ’ s two-year term as President of the American Public Gardens Association came to a successful completion at the end of the annual conference in Washington , D . C ., June 30 , 2007 .
Archivist Brian Sullivan delivered a paper , “ An Ornament to Our Brotherhood We Have Lost : Sorrow and Solace in Nineteenth-Century Harvard Student Diaries ,” at the Dublin Seminar on New England Folk Life held in Deerfield , MA , on June 15 , 2007 .
The second annual Cemeterywide volunteer appreciation event , a Volunteer Appreciation Tea , was held October 9 , 2007 , in Bigelow Chapel , attended by 30 staff members and volunteers . Bill Clendaniel spoke of how the Cemetery
Bree Harvey ( left ), Director of “ loves to have volunteers in every area ” and was “ delighted to
Education & Visitor Services , with volunteers Ann Steinberg of see so many people to thank .” Somerville and Angela Robins of
Susan Doolittle mentioned that
Tufts University some volunteers work diligently in two or three settings , and Dennis Collins spoke of the amazing diversity of their backgrounds ,“ from MIT professors to high school students and everything in between .” Bree Harvey announced that we will need docents in the new Visitors Center and that docent training sessions have begun .
People and Happenings
In October Vice President of Development Piper Morris and Director of Education & Visitor Services Bree Harvey attended the Boston premiere of Ben Affleck ’ s directorial debut , the movie Gone Baby Gone , starring Casey Affleck . The movie was partially filmed at Mount Auburn during July 2006 .
Bree Harvey in foreground ; Ben Affleck
Ben had such fond memories of Mount Auburn from growing up in Cambridge background . Photo that he wrote a scene , not in the original by Meg Winslow Dennis Lahane novel , that could be filmed at the Cemetery , where the Afflecks ’ grandmother is buried .
Staff Changes
Bree Harvey , who has been creating and leading programs since 2001 , was promoted to the new position of Director of Education & Visitor Services .
Candace Currie was promoted to the new position of Director of Planning & Cemetery Development . Candace has become an integral part of the Cemetery Services staff and is spending a good deal of time working with Bill Clendaniel , Richard Dalton and David Barnett on issues related to cemetery development . She continues to be the project manager for Birch Gardens ( see Birch Gardens article on p 10 ).
With the retirement of Claude Benoit in June 2007 , Paul Walker assumed the new position of Superintendent of Grounds , becoming responsible for the Grass / Grounds Maintenance Crew as well as the Arboriculture and Gardening Crews . Jonathan Webb was promoted to Arboriculture Supervisor , and Darryl Sullivan was hired to fill the vacant position of Gardening Supervisor . Dennis Collins , now Horticultural Curator , oversees the Greenhouse Crew in addition to his ongoing responsibilities supervising the Plant Records staff and horticulture volunteers . He has also taken over most of the critically important landscape design and lot owner relations tasks previously handled by Claude .
Alberto Parker has joined Mount Auburn as a Security Guard / Visitor Services Representative . He is a familiar face to employees and visitors , Alberto Parker , left , security having worked here as a part-time guard and new Visitor Services Representative , and Dawnielle security guard since August 2005 .
Peck , Visitor Services Specialist . In his new fulltime position he will Photo by Jennifer Johnston work closely with the Education & Visitor Services department to provide visitor services in addition to his security responsibilities and join Visitor Services Representative Dawnielle Peck on information duty at the front entrance gate , covering the later hours when the Cemetery is open until dusk . Mount Auburn is open 365 days per year , welcoming 200,000 visitors annually .
Fall 2007 | 17