Connected to Her Community
Plans for the new Greenhouses and Horticulture Center Progress
Connected to Her Community
Profile of a Trustee: Clemmie L. Cash
Clemmie L. Cash exudes a sincere passion and enthusiasm for the Cemetery. Her thoughtful words about volunteerism prove her to be as giving as she is upbeat. Clemmie serves as Secretary of the Mount Auburn Board of Trustees, which she first joined in 1996. She has also chaired the Friends of Mount Auburn Trustees since 2007. She attributes her continued support of Mount Auburn to its cultural relevance in the community and the fact that it is a“ horticultural, beautiful, and enriched space.” Regarding the Cemetery’ s future plans for expansion, Mount Auburn Trustee including the construction of Clemmie L. Cash much-needed new greenhouses, she states,“ We want to do everything we can as a Board to make sure this resource can survive for a century or more. I like that we are not just accepting things as they currently are, but that we’ re looking towards the future.”
A native Texan, Clemmie is married to James I. Cash, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School. Though
Plans for the new Greenhouses and Horticulture Center Progress
Mount Auburn Cemetery’ s initiative to construct new Greenhouses and to plan for future expansion is progressing. Design documents are completed and construction documents are in development for the Greenhouse and Horticulture Center to be put out for bid in fall of 2010. A decision to go forward with the Greenhouses in January 2011 is contingent upon concentrated fundraising results. With our project architect, William Rawn Associates of Boston, one of the nation’ s premier architectural firms, we have created a design and a vision for one of the last undeveloped areas in the Cemetery in the northwest section off Grove Street.
This project entails the construction of new Greenhouses, which will replace the outdated structure that was erected in 1971, and a Horticulture Center that will include new work
10 | Sweet Auburn they grew up in the same town, they first met at a college party thanks to a mutual friend. Currently, Jim serves on several boards, conducts meetings for business executives, and teaches a leadership development course for managers. Jim and Clemmie’ s daughter, Tari, earned an M. B. A. from Harvard and is the Regional Sales Manager of the Washington, D. C., territory for Tesla Motors( Electric Car). Their son, 1st Lieutenant Derek Cash, served with the Marines in Iraq for seven months, and now lives in Manhattan and is applying to law school.
Clemmie has served on the boards of Noble & Greenough School and Wellesley’ s A Better Chance Program, where she first volunteered when she moved to Wellesley in 1976. Today, she devotes her time to the Home for Little Wanderers in addition to Mount Auburn. Clemmie feels honored to be on the Mount Auburn Board and is inspired by the dedication of her fellow Trustees. For her, giving of her time is not merely fulfilling a charitable duty – it’ s personal. She says,“ I think that philanthropy connects us to our community. It is a focused and concrete way to be a part of something larger than I am.”
areas, retail floral space, a public classroom, and meeting rooms. The Greenhouses of this LEED certified facility will have a new irrigation system, including a misting system for newly propagated woody plant seedlings, and will use water captured from the building roofs and
Clemmie Cash( center) chats with fellow Trustee Kimberly D. Gluck and former Mount Auburn Cemetery President Bill Clendaniel at the Visitors Center Preview Party in 2008.
Above: The design for the new Greenhouses and Horticulture Center. Above, left: The model which shows the plan for the ultimate total expansion( including a proposed Family Center). Model courtesy of William Rawn Associates.
stored in a 30,000 gallon cistern below the ground. Shade cloths that serve as insulated blankets will keep the greenhouses warmer in the winter thereby reducing fuel costs, and venting roofs can be easily operated to cool off the houses on sunny days, when cooling is necessary. Our composting operations, already state-of-the-art, will now allow us to mix compost with interment fill to create potting soil for the greenhouses and top soil for the grounds.
Illustration courtesy Reed | Hilderbrand Associates