Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn President Bill Clendaniel Retires | Page 21

People and Happenings
Lead bubbled and limestone seethed when Chief of
Conservation David Gallagher presented Preservation at
Mount Auburn, a tour and a demonstration at the Preserva-
tion Services Building workshop on January 24. David
demonstrated
the mixing of a
traditional lime
mortar (thus the
seething) and an
acrylic paraloid
B-72 mortar; the
installation of
lead wool, that
is, lead in fine,
fibered form, to
fix a joint; and the
pouring of lead
(thus the bubbling). He also performed a pieced-in granite
repair and discussed the Cemetery’s new, proactive Pres-
ervation Service Initiative. Visibly intrigued, the overflow
audience of 20 or more peppered David with questions
and comments.
The 2008 Conference Program of the Association for
Preservation of Technology International has selected
David Gallagher’s abstract, Mount Auburn Cemetery: The
Evolution of Preservation Thinking and Practice, to be presented
at the organization’s conference this year in Montreal. After
having stepped in for over a year to assist Dave Barnett in
managing all preservation and facilities activities, David is
now able to return to his first love of caring for the historic
fabric of the Cemetery’s monuments and buildings.
Acting President David Barnett and his daughter, Marie,
a senior at Oberlin College, ran the Boston Marathon in
tandem on April 21, 2008, as members of the Dan a-Farber
Marathon Challenge
(DFMC) Team. This was
David’s 14th Marathon
and his daughter’s first.
They participated in
memory of David’s
father, Phil, and brother,
Jack. During the past ten
years, David has raised
more than $130,000 for
cancer research.
Friends’ Members Survey Shows
Loyalty, Individual Interests
By Stephen R. Silver
Director of Planned Giving
Mount Auburn recently surveyed more than 1,000 Friends
of Mount Auburn to learn more about our members so
they can be better served as new programs and visitor
resources are designed and implemented. Surveys were
mailed to 1,033 members and, as of publication, 363—an
impressive 35%—had responded.
Some of the highlights from the survey’s results
follow.
• Primary reasons for joining the Friends include: having
a connection to Mount Auburn (76%), enjoyment of
horticulture (65%), and a desire to support a National
Historic landmark (53%).
• Friends have a variety of interests at Mount Auburn:
59% cited horticulture and walking, 57% history, 43%
art (monuments and sculpture), and 41% visiting the
graves of loved ones.
• Just over one-half of survey respondents have a relative
who is buried at Mount Auburn.
• Survey respondents ranged in age from 33 to 96. Two-
thirds are women. Seventy-two percent of respondents
live in the Boston area. Of the 28% who don’t live
nearby, 82% once did.
• Survey respondents are highly educated—87% have
completed college and 55% have earned an advanced
degree.
• Our magazine, Sweet Auburn, appears to be serving the
needs of Friends: 93% of respondents reported that they
read all or part of the magazine and 90% felt that it
reflects all that is happening here.
• When queried about what features an electronic visitors’
information kiosk should offer, respondents showed
a strong interest in resources that would better help
visitors enjoy and utilize the Cemetery: 60% wanted in-
formation on “what’s in bloom”; 59% wanted to be able
to look up the locations of specific graves; 54% wanted
tree and plant identification and mapping software; 52%
sought information on bird sightings; and 50% wanted
information about gardens and natural habitats.
• When asked about what items people would like to
see stocked in a Mount Auburn gift shop, respondents
expressed a strong interest in books. Forty percent
sought reprints of historic guidebooks, 39% history-
related books, 38% resources on monument symbolism,
and 37% biographies.
• Members are very loyal: 55% have been members for
five or more years and 72% have been members for
three or more years. ^
Summer 2008 | 19