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My parents, Mabel and Al Lumley, began their adventure together by purchasing an 1834 Greek Revival house from the town of Prescott, now under the Quabbin Reservoir. They completed dismantling and re-erecting the house in the late 1930s. This house was their permanent residence after the war years. As more land was cleared they planted numerous flowering shrubs and trees. Beginning in the late 1940's, in partnership with Amherst College President Charles Cole, they began planting a wide selection of apple, fruit, and nut trees. I remember walking through this newly planted orchard as a young child with the poet Robert Frost. At first these young trees thrived. But in the 1950's many plantings failed to bear fruit. Today we see only those trees that were hardy enough to have survived. I continue to invite friends and the public to come to Lilacland between the middle of May and the first half of June when the lilacs are in bloom. And although I do not have quite the green thumb my parents had, the beauty of the landscape they created inspired me to become a landscape painter. Many of my paintings are scenes from the rich variety of nature offered year-round at Lilacland. Examples of this work are on display in the studio building during May and June.
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