GRAPE WITH LEAF BORDER – PART II

The Last Grape Harvest of my Childhood
Transylvania, 1946

Our Family’s Grape Harvest in Transylvania in 1946

When I introduced my GRAPE with Leaf Border needlepoint design earlier this month, I mentioned its special connection to my childhood in Transylvania, where my grandfather was a vintner.

What I didn’t realize then was how much more there was to that story.

The Man We Called Opa

Recently, my older brother sent me two accounts he had written about our grandfather, Johann Fronius, and the annual grape harvest celebrations. Reading them, I began to appreciate the importance of my grandfather’s work. I had known him simply as my beloved Opa, who took us for a walk to the nearby vineyard every day after his afternoon nap. I had not understood the extent of what he had accomplished.

When phylloxera devastated Europe’s vineyards, Opa established nurseries producing grapevines grafted onto resistant American rootstock. He supplied growers whose vineyards had been destroyed, often extending credit until their new vines were productive and they could repay him. It was an extraordinary combination of agricultural knowledge, business courage, and faith in other people. His enterprise prospered, but he also helped restore the livelihoods of fellow growers.

Our Last Grape Harvest

For us four children, the grape harvest was one of the happiest occasions of the year. We were excused from school and spent our days outdoors, surrounded by cousins, school friends, and all the excitement of turning grapes into wine. We even had special aprons to wear when helping to pick the grapes.

Mama with Table Grape

An open fire added to the festivities, while delicious food was prepared: pork chops, potatoes baked in the embers, and sweet corn grown from seeds brought back from America by a visitor. And, of course, white and red grapes for the table.

We could not then have imagined that the harvest of 1946 would be our last. In early October 1947, before the next harvest began, we left Transylvania for Austria, leaving behind our grandparents and the familiar world of our childhood.

Looking back, I now realize that what we inherited from Opa was not his vineyards or his possessions, but his determination to begin again when everything seemed lost. We four children carried that inheritance with us, first to Austria in 1947 and then to America in 1957, where we began another new life.

When I designed GRAPE with Leaf Border for The Cross-Point™ Collection, I was creating a decorative needlepoint pattern. Today, looking at the design, I see something more: a connection to my childhood, my family, and a grandfather whose legacy has stayed with us across generations.

To add a touch of grace to your autumn table, I offer GRAPE with Leaf Border as a table runner. The design is also available as a pillow, in seven color combinations. Either version can be framed for wall decoration.

Grape table runner in red and green

Both are stitched in our distinctive Cross-Point™ technique, using French tapestry wool on natural jute, with detailed instructions included in each kit. See Grape with Leaf Border, our October Design of the Month, with its available sizes, colors, and Special Pricing here