The Luxembourg Embassy in Washington DC recently held an elegant celebration combining spiritual traditions, familial ties and history for the Holidays Season – Christmas, Hanukkah and the upcoming New Year.

With a brief eloquent speech, H.E. Ambassador Jean-Louis Wolzfeld welcomed the guests to the historic building. The outreach effort led by Cultural Secretary Elizabeth Herndler, assisted by the very able Luxembourg Embassy staff, to the citizens and friends of Luxembourg was phenomenal. Among the guests were two former US Ambassadors - Edward Rowell and James Lowenstein - to Luxembourg, one of whom had visited Luxembourg not long ago. They mingled with fellow guests sharing their memories of the country they seem to love and remain in touch with the community.

Each guest brought with them a deep love for Luxembourg, its people, food and culture. Among the notable Luxembourg citizens were Dr. Amela Hubic, Advisor to Executive Director, International Monetary Fund, and Marie-France Mathes-Guislain, Founding Partner at Macon Private Equity, and former Senior Investment Officer, International Finance Corporation.

David Crowther, one of the newest Luxembourg citizens and who has lived in the country for four decades was also among the participants. He shared his passion for nature with fellow guests of the annual event. Trevor Eichen, proud of his Luxembourgish origin shared his story of applying for Luxembourg citizenship with the assistance of his girlfriend Sarah Sontag who helped locate the ancestral connections in Luxembourg for Trevor.

Dr. L. R. Poos, a distinguished European Studies scholar and former Dean, Catholic University of America, also participated with his wife. Joanne Ke, Senior Associate, Global Development Incubator and former World Bank economist was also in attendance.

The Holidays Season also comes at a time when the enthusiasm for American Football is at a peak. This year the connection between the United States becomes more meaningful. On 22 November 2015, the Denver Post reported “Brock Osweiler leads Broncos to win over Bears in starting debut” as the Quarterback for the Denver-based football team. One of Osweiler’s relatives, Max Kalafat – Senior Vice-President, Northeast Solite Corporation - shared the stories as well as some memorable pictures of his extended family with historic connections.

Those attending learned that the Osweiler/Frank clans had a family reunion on 12 July 2014, at the old family ranch in Eden, Montana. Joining this family get-together was Brock Osweiler, now the famous backup quarterback to Payton Manning of the Denver Broncos and who was drafted into the NFL 2 years ago.
 
For some historical notes, Victor Osweiler was born on 21 December 1885, in Beaufort, Luxembourg, and arrived at Ellis Island, NY on June 10, 1908 via the ship Vaderland out of Antwerp, Belgium. He settled in the Great Falls, MT, area and married Susan Frank (Max's grandmother) on 12 December 1912, in Great Falls. 

The gathering also learned that Nicholas Frank I came from Luxembourg to the USA in 1850-60, bringing his son Nicholas Frank II (aged 12) along with his family and they settled in Red Wing, Minnesota. Their journey out west in the 1890s was via train and covered wagon to Eden, Montana. Nicholas Frank II had twevle children. Susan Frank Osweiler was his oldest daughter.

Susan Frank Osweiler gave birth to eight children out on the Montana prairie near the sight of this July's family reunion. Susan's oldest daughter, Lucille, was Max's mother. Only two of those eight children are still alive: Jack Osweiler, aged 85, is Brock's grandfather, and Jack's brother, Richard Osweiler, age 88. Both Richard and Jack served in the U.S. military during WWII.

The family told us that Richard's twin brother, Eugene, served in the US army and died in battle, during the Korean War on 11 May 1952. Eugene served in Korea for one year and was due to come back home to the USA, but was killed the night before his unit's departure. His remains were sent back to the USA and are buried in Great Falls, MT.

From the stories narrated by Max and Trevor, one learns about the long history of familial ties and the strong bonds friendship between the United States and Luxembourg. It is fortuitous for history and tradition to meet at the Luxembourg Embassy during this Holidays Season during challenging times when we need to be increasingly vigilant in our daily lives concerning threats from different quarters.

Photos by Victoria Vieru (top, L-R): Edward Rowell and James Lowenstein, Former US Ambassadors to Luxembourg