Every year in the small town of K?szeg in western Hungary the town celebrates St. George�s Day (April 24th) with a spring parade and the election of the local magistrate. These events are connected due to the fact that wine production is one of the main economic activities in the town and the magistrate is responsible for the town�s economic policy. Since 1740 this event has recorded the budding of the vines in the vineyards surrounding the town with artwork drawn to scale in books. This research uses these drawings to capture a �spring growth� index, which is compared (1925-2009) and validated (1883-1924) with observed temperatures. The resulting model is used to create a spring temperature index back to 1740. The results show that periods in the 18th century experienced springs as warm as those observed today, but that rapid changes in spring temperatures have occurred many times in this region.