To name a few, Margaret Fuller Ossoli, the first female foreign correspondent and an active Transcendentalist, who died at sea off Fire Island with her family MIT’s Mildred Dresslehaus, known as the “Queen of Carbon,” who promoted women in science, and whose story was once told in a General Electric ad featuring kids dressed like her (wigs and all!) and famed baseball announcer, Curt Gowdy, at whose gravesite admiring fans had left behind both a baseball and a baseball card. Helen pointed out a weir, constructed in 2016 of native stone, used to hold storm water and protect both the plants and the animal habitats.įrom there, our travels continued along winding paths, where we encountered numerous interesting burial sites and heard fascinating stories about those whose lives impacted our country’s history, literature, and science. Once all had arrived, we followed Helen to the southwest section of the Cemetery and walked around Willow Pond, developed in 1929 to accommodate those looking for only one or two plots. The following week, upon arriving early for our third and final outing, I noticed two things from the confines of my car: the weather had become iffy with drizzling rain, and it was turkey mating season! While it never rained hard enough to need an umbrella, I regretted not bringing it along to use as a shield against the amorous and aggressive turkeys strutting around the Cemetery in this, their “Season of Love!” The saucer magnolia (84+ years old) was planted following the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, which decimated many Cemetery trees. Helen treated us to views of many of her favorite trees and flowering shrubs, including bald cypress, Kentucky coffee tree, paper birch, weeping katsura and a saucer magnolia in full bloom. We also walked through some of the newer cremation gardens, one of which is in the Spruce Knoll area. Leite, and the “Sun & Moons” sculpture adjacent to the grave of acclaimed architect, Ben Thompson. She also showed us new and contemporary gravesites and markers, including the Bozkurt Family site, done in clear plastic Fleur-de-Lis surrounded by pink dianthus, a “Silver Door” sculpture to honor Manuel V. Helen again shared histories and photos of famous residents” including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and George & Josephine Ruffin. As we gazed up at him, we were not sure “who” was more excited to see “who!” Before we knew it, our 90-minute tour was over, and we “departed” until the following week.įor our second tour, we gathered once again in wonderful weather and this time took a different path to the northeastern section of the Cemetery. We were also treated to an unexpected viewing of some of the transient winged residents, including a Barred Owl, perched in a tree in the Dell area of the Cemetery. Hers is a huge, breathtaking, eight-granite colonnade memorial overlooking Halcyon Lake. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science was one. We walked the central portion of the Cemetery where we learned the histories of some famous “residents” and their burial sites. Mount Auburn designers Henry Dearborn, Jacob Bigelow, and Alexander Wadsworth drew inspiration from the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.Īt our first outdoor class, we gathered in front of the Visitor Center in fabulous weather to chat in-person and then headed off, maps in our hands and cameras over our shoulders, as Helen led us on a 90-minute tour. We learned about the development and planning of the Cemetery and its role as a model for future landscape garden cemeteries. It has over 175 acres and is classified as an arboretum and bird migration spot, as well as a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in 1831, it was the first garden cemetery in the United States. She explained that Mount Auburn was more than just a cemetery. Helen allowed all 15 of us to introduce ourselves and provided a background history of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Our class would Zoom together for two sessions and walk the Cemetery’s hills and dales the other three. This would mean that I could shut off my computer, remove myself from the couch and head off to the great outdoors, but only if I scored a spot in the class lottery! As the Gods of Luck would have it, I won a spot and enrolled in Helen Abrams’ Mount Auburn Cemetery in the Spring, a course which Helen was well-qualified to lead, since she has been a docent there for over 14 years. When I heard BOLLI was offering several outdoor classes this spring, I was ecstatic.
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