Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Mount Auburn as a Muse | Page 11

Joseph Story:
“My Friends,—
The occasion which brings us together, has much in it calculated
to awaken our sensibilities, and cast a solemnity over our
thoughts. We are met to consecrate these grounds exclusively
to the service and repose of the dead. The duty is not new;
for it has been performed for countless millions. The scenery is
not new; for the hill and the valley, the still, silent dell, and
the deep forest, have often been devoted to the same pious
purpose. But we address feelings intelligible to all nations,
and common to all hearts.
...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. Thus, these
repositories of the dead caution us, by their very silence, of
our own frail and transitory being. They instruct us in the
true value of life, and in its noble purposes, its duties, and its
destination. They spread around us, in the reminiscences of
the past, sources of pleasing, though melancholy reflection.
We dwell with pious fondness on the characters and virtues
of the departed; and, as time interposes its growing distances
between us and them, we gather up, with more solicitude, the
broken fragments of memory, and weave into our very hearts,
the threads of their history. As we sit down by their graves,
we seem to hear the tones of their affection, whispering in our
ears. We listen to the voice of their wisdom, speaking in the
depths of our souls. We shed our tears; but they are no longer
the burning tears of agony. They relieve our drooping spirits.
We return to the world, and we feel ourselves purer, and
better, and wiser, from this communion with the dead.”
David Barnett:
I first came to Mount Auburn in 1993 as Director of Horticulture, having
come from a career in arboretum and public garden management. At first I
only noticed the spectacular collection of trees and the natural landscape,
and I didn’t really focus on all the monuments and the “cemetery” aspects
of Mount Auburn. About two years after I came here, one day I was giving a
tour of Mount Auburn to my major professor from graduate school, who had
authored a textbook on Arboriculture. We happened to be right here in the
Dell looking at this spectacular Japanese Stewartia tree planted in 1939. I
was explaining to Dr. Harris that we had initiated a project to restore this
area back to the woodland habitat it would have been in 1831 by removing
exotic plants and replacing them with native New England species. I noted
that we would not remove this beautiful tree just
because it wasn’t native. When it eventually dies,
we will replace it with a native species. I also noted
that the Stewartia had a memorial plaque on it with
the name and birth and death dates of a woman who
had recently passed away. As I was explaining this
to Dr. Harris, a woman who had been walking nearby
came up to introduce herself to me as the daughter
of the woman memorialized on the tree plaque. She
enthusiastically told me that Consecration Dell was
one of her mother’s favorite spots, and thus she and
her siblings had chosen to purchase this tree plaque to remember her in
this location. The woman said she came here frequently to think about her
mother and it was always an uplifting experience. She thanked me for mak-
ing it such a beautiful and inspirational place to visit. I have never forgotten
that moment, and from that day forward I have understood the importance
of the “cemetery services” that we provide to families as much as I have
realized the significance of our horticulture and preservation activities. One
thing is certain – the vision of our founders that Mount Auburn would be a
place of comfort and inspiration for families to remember their loved ones
is still very much being realized.
Fall/Winter 2011 | 9