American
Women's Club of Luxembourg
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FAWCO and the AWCL - A Brief History
In the 1950s Luxembourg was in industrial resurgence. Big American firms such as Goodyear, Commercial Hydraulics and Dupont de Nemours
came to the Grand Duchy, followed by forces personnel and other professionals.
One day Mary introduced herself to a woman she heard speaking English in a store. The lady, married to an American serviceman, had been in Luxembourg for 6 weeks, and Mary had been the first person to speak to her since her arrival. Mary realized that there were lonely American women living in this country. Something must be done to welcome and help newcomers to Luxembourg ... but what ... and how ?
Mary and Kappy joined forces with Marie Taylor, a
woman of great drive, whose husband was First Secretary of the American
Embassy. Marie goaded them into
action. She contacted various club
leaders in Europe and was offered enthusiastic advice and offers of help,
especially from FAWCO.
The adventure began
... she and Mary took a train to
meet the Paris club and find out how to go about setting up a constitution. They then started discussing the matter with
other Americans. Some wanted an informal group, whilst others visualised a
real American Women Club patterned along the lines of existing clubs. What clinched the decision was a visit by
former President of FAWCO, Mrs J. P. Ganseman.
She kindled the fires the ladies had built, and a formal vote was won to
form the American Women's Club of Luxembourg.
On March 4, 1959 the first meeting was held. Sixteen women were present, and Mary's husband commented "Don't tell me that there are 16 of you here now, I thought it was enough with one!" At this meeting they voted their constitution and bye-laws, and put into words their mission statement: " The object of the group shall be to foster and encourage social, educational, cultural and philanthropic activities among American women in Luxembourg and to assist in furthering American Luxembourg relations".
The club originally provided for Associate Members who
were citizens of English-speaking countries.
However, realising this imposed limitations and excluded Luxembourgers, amendments were made to include "any
English-speaking woman" up to 25% of the American membership.
Member and Luxembourger, Renee Prussen, was a young
girl during the Nazi occupation. Her
countrymen, she said, had a reason to resist and defend their country, and the
Americans, a desire to liberate humanity.
The Luxembourg motto is
"Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sin "
(we want
to stay what we are), and the Luxembourgers were grateful to the Americans for
helping uphold this.
With the war behind them, the newly-founded club
members enjoyed the stylish time they lived in. Hats, gloves and pearls were all the rage and ALWAYS worn to
meetings. The ladies organised fashion
shows where they modelled clothes they had sewn themselves. Their 'meetings' took the form of teas, or
long lunches. The ladies tried many
different restaurants, and developed a good knowledge of where, and where not,
to eat. They would often invite a guest
speaker to give them insight into current affairs. Cocktail parties and formal receptions were frequent. However amidst the "high society" that the
ladies enjoyed there was an underlying, important philanthropic element to
their activities.
In 1961 the club organised a "Blossom Time Ball", the proceeds of which (26,000 francs) went towards setting up the first ever special clinic for children in Luxembourg. This donation of funds began a long and respected tradition of charitable giving. Mary Elvinger explained perfectly: "You first arrive in a new and foreign country, you look around for a friendly face and a helping hand …. When you are feeling more at home, your question is "Can I help someone", and from there it is a short trip to the query “What can we do in our community and in the International community?"
In November 1961 a motion to join FAWCO was
unanimously passed. In April 1962, Mrs Elizabeth Tine, the President of FAWCO
addressed the club, and in March 1963 Mrs Fred Hahn became the first Luxembourg
representtive. However, in 1969 a vote was taken to leave
FAWCO, and it wasn't until 1984 when newly-elected president Joy Staudt
interested and motivated the club into setting the ball rolling once more. Joy organised for the president of FAWCO to
come from Dublin and address them. A
motion was passed 100% by the Board and overwhelmingly by the members and in
1985 the club re-joined. It was,
recalls Joy, a very exciting time - to again have contact with other clubs
worldwide, to attend conferences and to once again be involved in the
philanthropic work of FAWCO. A lot of
windows were re-opened.
At this time there was still no club house, one person
had a home computer, and most of the paperwork was done on typewriters. 1992 saw an office established and, by 2002,
the purchase of a clubhouse.
In 1959 51 copies of an edition called "Hints for
Living in Luxembourg" was mimeographed.
2005 will see the publication of the 15th edition of "Living in
Luxembourg", which continues today to be viewed as an outstanding publication.
Mary Elvinger resides in Luxembourg and remains a
member and great supporter of the club.
She maintains that "founding a club is never the work of one or
even two persons. An idea germs and
finds welcome soil in other minds and becomes a reality."
The American Women's Club of Luxembourg has carried on
in such a progressive way the activities first started by the founding
members. The club, like all great
organisations, is constantly evolving to meet the needs of our members, and we
thank those visionary ladies of 1959 who laid our strong foundations.
This piece would not have been possible without the
input of the following women: Mary
Elvinger, Renée Prussen, Stefania Sakiotis and Joy Staudt