Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Mount Auburn as a Natural Habitat

President’s Corner Sweet Auburn A publication of the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery 580 Mount Auburn Street Cambridge, MA 02138 617-547-7105 www.mountauburn.org Priscilla P. Morris, Editor Vice President of Development Contributing Editors William C. Clendaniel President and Trustee Stephen H. Anable Janet L. Heywood Vice President of Interpretive Programs Contributing Writers Dennis Collins Curator of Plant Collections Candace Currie Project Manager, Mapping and Planning Bree Detamore Harvey Director of Public Programs Jill Graboski Former Visitor Services Coordinator Meg Winslow Curator of Historical Collections Amanda Yost Director of the Annual Fund and Membership Consultant/Design Minelli, Inc., Boston Designer Elizabeth Bonadies Printer P+R Publications Cover: Photo of Consecration Dell, Winter 2005 © Richard Cheek Trustees of the Friends of Mount Auburn Ann M. Roosevelt, Chair, Cambridge, MA, Gordon Abbott, Jr., Manchester-by-the-Sea Mary Lee Aldrich, Cambridge Clemmie Cash, Wellesley William C. Clendaniel, Boston Thomas C. Cooper, Watertown Kimberly Gluck, Newton Susan Paine, Cambridge The Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery was established in 1986 to assist in the conservation of the Cemetery’s natural beauty and to promote the appreciation of its cultural, historic and natural resources. Organized in 1990 as a 501(c)3 non- proﬁ t charitable trust, the Friends seeks ﬁ nancial support from its members, other individuals, foundations, corporations and public agencies. It receives gifts for educational and interpretive programs and materials for the public, speciﬁ c cultural projects, and operating support for horticultural rejuvenation and the preservation of the historic monuments, structures, and archival artifacts and records. The Friends has over 1,200 active members. 2 | Sweet Auburn President’s Corner During the winter, Mount Auburn may appear to be in a near-dor- mant period, but, quite the contrary, in our various ofﬁ ces and workshops the staff is hard at work. While our resident animals hibernate and our human visitors are fewer in number, the staff is involved in a strategic planning process with the Trustees, busy setting goals for the coming year and preparing budgets. Repairs to monuments, vehicles, signs and interior spaces are carried out by a work force much reduced in number by the absence of our seasonal workers (who return in April). And of course our work of burying and cremating the dead continues unabated. Although the ﬁ scal year is not yet over, we are already celebrating a very successful fund raising year under the leadership of our Vice President of Development, Piper Morris. We have re- ceived a total of $440,000 in gifts and grants, 51% ahead of last year’s giving. The generos- Bill Clendaniel ity of many of you--longstanding supporters who increased your contributions this year and new friends--will allow us to proceed on many fronts to preserve and enhance the Cemetery. We have received grants from the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation for erosion control work in Conse- cration Dell; from the Walter Family Fund for the design of a protective cover for our signiﬁ cant marble monuments at risk of further environmental damage from acid snow and rain; and from the Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust and the Cabot Family Charitable Trust for Bigelow Chapel’s restoration. Signiﬁ cant support from all of our Trustees matched challenge grants for the Bigelow Chapel project from the Sunﬁ eld Foundation (NJ) and an anonymous Boston foundation. A large gift from an anonymous individual will support the scanning of several volumes of our invaluable but fading business documents from the mid to late 19th century. Probably the most signiﬁ cant project of 2006, strengthening the long-term ﬁ nancial health of the Cemetery and prolonging its life as an active cemetery, will be the design and construction of what we are tentatively calling Birch Gardens. This exciting new perimeter landscape of trees, shrubs, groundcovers and a fountain along Coolidge Avenue, with iron fencing and granite inscription panels weaving through the new garden, provides privacy and a buffer from the outside world for new cremation and casket burial sites. Designed by Halvorson Design Partnership, Inc., this project is the largest new Cemetery development of the last two decades offering shared memorials and individual private memorials. Finally, look in the mail and on our website, www.mountauburn.org, for additional information on our many 175th anniversary events planned for 2006. We hope to welcome many of you to one or more of these happenings. William C. Clendaniel, President pg. 1 pg. 5 pg. 8

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