Katherine was born in Beatrice, NE the daughter of Dr George and Marguerite (McKie) Brash. She spent summers in Cambridge visiting relatives.
After graduating from Wellsley in 1923, she worked at Crowell Publishing Co in NYC as a librarian and editor.
She permanently moved to Cambridge in the 1940s, living on the west side of South Union Street.
An expert on local history, she copied old tombstone inscriptions for local history files, wrote pageants of local church history, prepared a manual of local houses and a bicycle itinerary for the Bicentennial.
Katherine, a long-time volunteer at the Cambridge Public Library, had a maple tree planted in her honor.
The photo shows where the Library Director’s desk was in 1973. You walked up the slick, slate steps, through the heavy doors, shook off the snow in the vestibule, opened the inner doors, and there sat Katherine, smiling and welcoming you into “her” library.
Katherine always reminded me of Katherine Hepburn, unabashed, carefree, wild hair. When she wasn’t driving her huge bright yellow convertible around the village, you’d find her riding her bicycle on the village streets. Several kids on the West End learned to ride a bike thanks to the patience of Katherine