Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn In Celebration of 175 Years | Page 21

People and Happenings
Mount Auburn Welcomes New Staff
By Dawnielle Peck, Visitor Services Specialist
Richard Dalton became Vice President of Cemetery
Services in June 2006. In this new position he leads the
Cemetery Services team in providing the wide array of
cemetery-related services that Mount Auburn offers. He
has been challenged to enhance the quality and variety of
our cemetery services and to deepen Mount Auburn’s rela-
tionships with its clients. Richard comes to Mount Auburn
with a keen interest in working with bereaved families and
individuals. His previous experience includes 15 years at
the Mind/Body Medical Institute, a non-profit organiza-
tion based in Boston dedicated to studying how the human
mind and body interact, particularly in stress-related ill-
nesses. Richard was a member of Trinity Church in Boston
for over 20 years, where he served on the Adult Education
Committee and as a pastoral counselor. He holds a B.A. in
political science from the University of Massachusetts at
Amherst. Richard and his wife Mary live in Cambridge.
Jennifer Gilbert joined us as Director of Annual Giving
in November 2006. Strengthening the professionalism of
the Development De-
partment, she oversees
the Friends of Mount
Auburn Annual Fund
and Membership pro- Richard Dalton and Jennifer Gilbert
gram. She also assists
(Photos by Jennifer Johnston)
in grants coordination.
Jennifer was the Executive Director of the New England
Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA, for two years, and previ-
ously Curator for nine years. She holds a B.A. in European
studies and French from Carnegie Mellon University in
Pittsburgh and an M.A. in art history from the Univer-
sity of Massachusetts at Amherst. Jennifer has also lectured
throughout the country about quilts and quilting, including
at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in 2005 in conjunction
with the exhibit The Quilts of Gee’s Bend. Development was
a favorite aspect of her work at the New England Quilt
Museum. Jennifer lives in Medford with her husband Paul
Egan and their five-year-old son Jack.
Peter Shaw Ashton, Honorary
Trustee, Wins Japan Prize Stained Glass Window Restoration
Completed, Unveiled, Admired, Feted
Peter Shaw Ashton—an Honorary Trustee of
Mount Auburn Cemetery and a Trustee from 1985 to
2000—was awarded the Japan Prize for his “significant
contributions toward solving the conflict between human
beings and the tropical forest ecosystem.” The annual award,
given by the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan,
was announced on January 11 and formally presented
during a ceremony in Tokyo on April 19. The Foundation
cited Peter’s work as a co-founder of the Center for Tropi-
cal Forest Science at the Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute—which now monitors “Forest Dynamic Plots” of
some 3,000,000 trees for their health and impact on global
climate—as a reason for this honor. Peter was one of three
people to receive the award, which includes 50 million yen
(approximately $450,000) for each winner. Mount Au-
burn’s Vice President of Operations & Horticulture David
Barnett called Peter’s honor “an accolade well-deserved, as
all of us who know him will testify.” Peter is a former di-
rector of the Arnold Arboretum and is the Charles Bullard
Professor of Forestry Emeritus at Harvard. On October 28, 2006, the attendees at a reception in Bigelow
Chapel were treated to a sight not seen since the daguerreotype
was cutting-edge photography and the foreign policy crisis of
the decade was an impending war with Mexico over Texas—
Bigelow Chapel’s north chancel window in all its intended glory.
This large window, measuring 9 feet wide by 21.5 feet high and
containing some 4,200 pieces of glass, was reinstalled after a six-
month restoration by the artists at Serpentino Stained & Leaded
Glass in Needham, MA. The window, with its original lead size
and pattern returned, seems to float with a natural light integral
to the form and function of its historic building. The effect is a
subtle, delicate window that brings natural light into the chapel
and unifies the architectural space with the Cemetery’s sur-
rounding landscape.
The project exemplified the essential components of a success-
ful restoration: collaboration among a team of experts; extensive
research and communication; and, most importantly, respect for
the aesthetic and structural integrity of the original 19th-century
glass window. After all these years, Ballantine & Allen’s artistry
and craftsmanship are again revealed. (See photo on page 14.)
William C. Clendaniel be-
comes Mount Auburn’s 11th
president and initiates master
planning for the Cemetery’s
future.
1988
Blanche Linden-Ward
publishes Silent City on
a Hill, a comprehensive
history of Mount Auburn.
1989
The landscaping at Willow Pond is
refurbished and a new pathway is
installed, the Cemetery’s first project
to be developed with the financial
support of foundations, corporate
sponsors and individuals.
1992
Spring 2007 | 19