In getting ready for the holidays I had to take a trip to the storage unit to get my packed away decorations. In the process I ran across a box of newspaper clippings. 

 

Guess what?

 

In it were many copies of The Grapevine.  I pulled up the box, got me a stool and spent the afternoon reading. I want to share with you a little history about the Grapevine.  First and foremost, the Grapevine turned 30-years-old last year. 

 

Back in 1991 I started getting serious about putting sponsorship packages together for the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival as its director. I knew I would need a newspaper source as part of the package. The Value Guide agreed to be the exclusive newspaper of the festival.  In exchange for exclusivity, they would feature a weekly column and publish a complete story prior to the festival. They would feature it in all the publications they published.  Hence the birth of The Grapevine. The first monthly columns contained stories about the upcoming festival.  When the festival was over, I wrote about Italian culture, recipes, other festivals, and anything else Italian.

 

As the years went by the column appeared in the Shinnston News and Journal, The Value Guide and Connect-Bridgeport.  In 2000, when I retired, I requested that I take the column with me, that the name remain the same and I would cover a multitude of subjects.  So, it continues, and I know my reader base continues to grow by the many comments I get.

 

Several years ago, when I was considering writing my cookbook someone suggested, I write “The Best of The Grapevine.” I gave it some thought but was told that perhaps it would not sale because it would be regional.  So, I wrote a cookbook, which sold thousands of copies.

 

After spending hours reading the newspapers, I might consider writing “The Best of The Grapevine.”  I envision a chapter on the volunteers and the leaders, the royalty, the seniors, the passing of much-loved area Italians, Italian food, local Italian restaurants, other fairs and festivals and the list goes on as to what has been written over the last 30 years.

 

Thank you for allowing me to reminisce.  We May never have another book, but I have enjoyed reading. Continue to be thankful and until next week “Now you Have Heard It Through The Grapevine.”