$150.00 - Luxembourg American Heritage Information Center

In 1963, in celebration of Luxembourg's first millenium, President Kennedy extended to
H.R.H. Charlotte an invitation for a state visit to America. Chicago was to be included on
her itinerary.
On Thursday, May 2, 1963, a reception in honor of the Grand Duchess was held at the
Luxembourg Gardens. Held under the auspices of the Luxembourg-American Social Club
and L.B.A., Consul of Luxembourg, Joseph J. Witry, Sr. was Master of Ceremonies. He escorted
the Grand Duchess to the
podium and introduced the
distinguished guests to the
assembled crowd. On June
5, 1967, he passed away.
In 1947, Nick May, Sr.
(married to Helen Schaul)
transferred to Section 15
from Section 8. He was
born in Evanston in 1899.
His paternal grandparents
had emigrated from Wiltz
in the 1880's. He and his
wife had two children,
Nick, Jr. and Frank. He
worked as a welder at Bell
and Gossett before moving
to the CTA. In 1958, he
was elected President of
Section 15 and held the post
until 1961. Nick May, Sr.
died in 1971.
The affairs of the Section
in the 1940's were
not too different from the
1930's, with the sole exception
of World War II, when
many of the young members
would be called to
active duty in defense of
their country.
In 1940, Section 15
Joseph J. Witry, Sr., Consul General of Luxembourg, 1963 -1967 hosted three affairs. The
first would be their annual
dinner dance on May 11, 1940 at Deckert's Hall. The second was a "Basket Picnic" at Landl's
grove on July 28, 1940, which was chaired by Bill Biegert, Sr., and the third affair was the
first Hasenpheffer held November 23, 1940 at Hacker's Hall. In between, the Luxembourg
Youth Organization hosted its dance on April 27, 1940, Section 8 held its Kirmes Picnic and
Section 9 held its winter carnival. At the Section picnic held in July, the winning baseball
teams each received five free beers per man.
At a meeting of the Supreme Assembly of the Brotherhood, known as the Convention, it is
required that a password be used to gain admittance. An examination of the Constitution shows
that Section meetings need not begin with recitation of a password. But in 1940, Section 15
adopted "Defend America" as the password to its meetings.
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