Cenizo Journal Winter 2019 | Page 8

C harles Hunter C ollection, A rchives of the Big Bend, [Bryan W ildenthal Memorial Library], Sul Ross State University, A lpine, Texas Nick Mersfelder: A Love Story by Kleo Belay I t’s no wonder his parents called him Nicholas, born on December 25th, 1858 in Gimmeldingen, 8 Germany—a small village close to France known for its impressive grape vineyards. His father was a grape grow- Cenizo First Quarter 2019 er. His mother died when he was six. Nick was the youngest of four children. Five years after his wife’s death, Andres Mersfelder crossed the Atlantic with his children and found work as a horticul- turalist in Ohio.