Martin J. & Joyce A. Holmes

Martin and Joyce both grew up in East Aurora and purchased The Lilacs in 1982.

They took ownership of the house at probably its lowest point. While they had to confront and deal with it in a severely deteriorated condition, they were, on the other hand, able to wonder and imagine how it must have looked during its heyday. The condition was such that considerable work was needed to make it livable before they, along with their son, could move in. One of the apartments in the house was still rented.

The first steps of the restoration process started during their tenure at The Lilacs. In fact, a good part of their time living there was spent working on the house – projects such as stabilizing the porches, and trying to track down many of the original lighting fixtures which had previously been removed from the house and sold.

All in all, their time at The Lilacs was eventful. Having started the process of rehabilitation and restoration, they decided to move to Florida and passed the grand old lady on to the next owner for the next stage of the renewal process. The old house was trying to turn around, but still needed a lot more help.