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News & Events, December 2011 Dear Friend,
The Friends of Mount Auburn is pleased to present the December 2011 edition of our electronic newsletter. We invite you to join our email list to receive this mailing each month. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, add [email protected] to your address book today.
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Hemlock tree near Orion Path and Curfew Path at Mount Auburn Cemetery
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Forests in Transition - a lecture Wednesday, December 14, 6 PM In the past century a number of the dominant trees in our northeastern forests - including American chestnut, American elm, and American beech - have suffered severe decline due to exotic pests and pathogens. Eastern hemlock, another dominant species is now threatened.
Join nature photographer and ecologist Brooks Mathewson for this lecture in Story Chapel to learn about the ecology of the hemlock-dominated forest, the wildlife associated with it, and the threatened future of our local Eastern hemlock stands. Fee: $10 members; $15 non-members.
For a preview of some of Brooks Mathewson's work please visit his website Avian Art Images.
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Northern Cardinals near the bird feeder at Auburn Lake, Mount Auburn Cemetery
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Wildlife at Mount Auburn Cemetery
"By mid December the solstical quiet - and perhaps a blanket of snow - has settled over Mount Auburn and the feeder area is busy..."
Christopher Leahy and Clare Walker Leslie (makes a wonderful gift for the holiday season).
A great way to see winter birds - chickadees, cardinals, jays, juncos, sparrows and crows - at Mount Auburn Cemetery is to visit the bird feeder at the southern end of Auburn Lake! It is not unusual to see "double-digit" Cardinals in the winter months especially near the feeder. Thanks to volunteers George McLean, Christine McKay and Pam Perry for helping to keep the feeder stocked.
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Mount Auburn Book Club
Thursday, December 8, 10AM
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Mount Auburn Candle Lighting Service
Tuesday, December 20, 4 PMWe cordially invite you to join us for our annual Candle Lighting Service. We hold this service each year to bring light into the darkness as we remember loved ones who are no longer with us. During the service, participants are invited to light candles in honor of those they wish to remember.
Candles will be available at cost before the service.
The program is free and will be held in Story Chapel. Following the service in Story Chapel, guests can place their candles in Asa Gray Garden and walk or catch a ride up to Bigelow Chapel for conversation and refreshments provided by Jules Catering and Vicki Lee's. View photos from previous Candle Lighting events at the Cemetery.
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| American holly, Ilex opaca |
Horticultural Highlight: American holly
Love is like the wild rose-briar, Friendship like the holly-tree- The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms But which will bloom most constantly? The wild-rose briar is sweet in spring, Its summer blossoms scent the air; Yet wait till winter comes again And who will call the wild-briar fair? Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now And deck thee with holly's sheen, That when December blights thy brow He still may leave thy garland green. -Emily Bronte
Many holiday season decorations, especially wreaths, include the leaves and fruit of Ilex opaca, American holly. Ilex opaca, native to the eastern United States, may reach 40 to 50 feet tall in its southern range, but in Massachusetts it is more often a smaller tree, 20 to 30 feet tall, with stiff evergreen leaves. The leaves, 1 � to 3 �-inches long, have several sharp spine-like points along the margin. The leaves remain on branches for two to three years before being replaced by newer leaves. The name opaca means opaque or shaded, and refers to the duller sheen of the leaves and fruit compared to the English holly, Ilex aquifolium.
Mount Auburn's visionary founder, Jacob Bigelow (1787-1879), in his classic 1814 book, Florula Bostoniensis, provided this description of Ilex opaca: " This tree is more interesting, from being one of the few evergreen trees, which we possess, that are not of the coniferous tribe. Its leaves are tough, smooth, and shining, furnished at the edge with short, rigid, acute spines. The flowers are numerous, small, of a greenish white, growing in bunches around the branches. Berries red, falling very late. - Quincy, Cohasset." Bigelow reminds us that not all evergreens are conifers (and we add, not all conifers are evergreen).
The genus Ilex includes over 400 species worldwide, with some authorities believing the number is twice that high. Most are evergreen, but 30 species are deciduous. These occur in temperate, subtropical, and tropical climatic zones as trees, shrubs, or vines, all members of the family AQUIFOLIACEAE. Nearly all members of this family are dioecious plants, meaning that male and female flowers occur on different plants. The small, whitish flowers of female trees of American holly, if successfully pollinated by bees, wasps, ants, or other insects, produce fruits that are red, roundish, and 1/3 inch across. They ripen in October and persist on the trees well into the winter. The fruits are initially hard, but soften after being frozen, and then provide important winter food for mockingbirds, cardinals, mourning doves, robins, turkeys, and other birds. The dense, spiny, evergreen leaves also provide year-round protection for many species of birds.
Fred C. Galle in his 1997 book, Hollies: The Genus Ilex, recounts Native American uses: "Native Americans of Pennsylvania regarded the holly as their 'Red Badge of Courage' and the token of success in battle....The preserved berries were used as decorative buttons on vests, sleeves, trousers, and in their hair....The spines of the leaves symbolized the fierceness of the warriors...the toughness of the wood indicated they would never submit to their enemies."
Galle also recounts early colonial symbolism: "Among the old Pennsylvania Dutch, the holly berry represented the blood of Christ issuing from His wounds, and the white flowers of the holly tree were symbolic of the purity in which He was conceived." Many other authors have described the use ofAmerican holly within colonial gardens, starting in the early 1700's. George Washington (1732-1799) and Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), each made several mentions of planting these trees at their respective properties. American holly was among the many North American arboreal treasures shared with European gardeners; it was being cultivated in England as early as 1744.
We have about four dozen Ilex opaca growing at Mount Auburn. On your next visit look for some of our female plants with colorful fruit on Chapel Avenue, Cypress Avenue, Central Avenue, Locust Avenue, Beech Avenue, Halcyon Avenue, Lime Avenue, Garden Avenue, Swan Avenue, Birch Avenue, Western Avenue, Spellman Road, Field Road, and Meadow Road.
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Lunch-Time Talk Lecture Series
Thursday, December 15, Noon
Join Meg L. Winslow, Mount Auburn's Curator of Historical Collections, for this special presentation in Story Chapel about the Cemetery's archival collections of horticultural records including planting plans, historic photographs, and other records that document the Cemetery's changing landscape and horticultural diversity. Free.
Future lunch-time talks will be held on January 19, February 23 & March 22.
All talks are an hour long and will take place in Story Chapel. Remember to bring your lunch!
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Rest House (1921 - 1982)
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November History Highlight: The Rest House (1921 - 1982)
In 1920 it was deemed necessary to build a rest house in the southern end of the Cemetery as a "Place where those visiting the cemetery can get rest and shelter and find suitable toilet facilities" (Annual Report, 1920). This small Tudor Revival structure designed by Ralph Huntington Doane, was located just inside what was then the south entrance; it served the many visitors who were coming to visit graves or attend burials in that area of Mount Auburn. In 1982 it was removed to make room for the new Willow Court Crypts. _______________________________________________________________
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"In Memory of Eleanor H. Porter, who by her writings brought sunshine into the lives of millions" - inscription in bronze on 22-foot-tall pink marble monument.
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Person of the Month: Novelist Eleanor Hodgman Porter (12/19/1868 - 5/21/1920)
Over the course of her career, Eleanor Hodgman Porter wrote 16 novels, several appearing on the bestseller lists. She originally planned on a career in music - giving private voice lessons, studying at the New England Conservatory of Music, and singing in choirs and concerts around the city - but in her early thirties, she gave up music to focus on a career in writing. Her first novel, Cross Currents, published in 1907, did fairly well. Her second, Miss Billy, released in 1911, attracted an even larger readership. Yet her most popular work was undoubtedly her third novel, published in 1913. Pollyanna is about a young girl with an extremely optimistic attitude in the face of life's challenges. Climbing to eighth place on the bestseller list that year, Pollyanna jumped to second place in 1914. The sequel Pollyanna Grows Up, shot to fourth place on the bestseller list in 1915. It was translated into eight languages, several film and television adaptations and a play in 1916, and, the name "Pollyanna" was given to several commercial products, including a game. By 1917, Porter's publishers had trademarked the words "Pollyanna" and "Glad." After her death, the same character continued in children's books by Harriet L. Smith and Elizabeth Borton, adding to the "Pollyanna" readership. Although her novels may initially be seen as sentimental works of fiction, Porter's work did contain subtle social commentary. Cross Currents dealt with child labor, Pollyanna with insincere and over-planned women's charity associations, Pollyanna Grows Up with slumlords, and Mary Marie (1920) with divorce. Eleanor Hodgman Porter is buried in Lot 6809 on Cuphea Path next to her husband John Lyman Porter, near Halcyon Lake at Mount Auburn Cemetery. _____________________________________________________________ |
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Support the Friends of Mount Auburn with a gift of membership
Still searching for the perfect holiday gift for someone on your list? Membership in the Friends of Mount Auburn is a perfect gift idea for any lovers of history, horticulture, or nature on your list. Visit our website to purchase a gift membership or to browse the publications currently offered for sale through the Friends of Mount Auburn. We are happy to send gifts directly to the recipient complete with a personalized note. Just leave a message in the notes field during checkout and we will handle the rest! _______________________________________________________________
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Beyond Our Gates: Events of Interest to the Community
The Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History in Weston, Mass. will be exhibiting Stamps of the Holiday Season throughout the month of December. Join the staff at the Spellman Museum on Saturday, December 3, from noon to 4PM for their Annual Holiday Family Day with games, puzzles, and an opportunity to make your very own holiday stamps!
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Think green. Do not print this email and you will help to conserve valuable
resources. Thank you!
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Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery
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