In the final days of her life, my maternal grandmother, Madeleine Weishoff Van de Walker, often could not recall what she had for breakfast, but she could randomly unearth in vivid detail such memories as waving goodbye to her mother and multiple siblings in Luxembourg and boarding a ship to the United States. For a moment, that minute speck of time in the vast space of her long life was as familiar to her as the cold tile floor in the rest home where she had lived out her remaining days.
With her guttural r’s and intense v’s—even after 70 years as an American citizen—she told the stories of her early years in America and her love of her adopted country to whomever would listen.
And I listened. As I look at what was one of her, and now is one of my, prized possessions hanging on my library wall, her 1936 certificate of citizenship, I realize that she ignited in me a passion for all things historical. Not only did I want to learn about her history because she was one small fiber in the weave of American history, but I desired to glean as much about this country’s past as possible. She also loved to travel and instilled in me an insatiable wanderlust. And the more history I can absorb during the journey, the better.
She was sometimes my travel companion. In fact, when I was 16, she took me on my first European tour, most especially to visit her beloved country. We traipsed through snow in Switzerland, rode a bus to Paris, and meandered over the Chemin de la Corniche promenade in Luxembourg City. I realized quickly how venerated she was by the family members she had left behind; every time we had a meal, they asked her to sit at the head of the table.
Mimi, as I called her, was more than just a grandmother to me. She was a second mother and my education benefactor, providing the funding for not just my undergraduate degree, but also to send me to Cambridge University in England for a semester.
She was my friend and a confidant. And, she was my greatest inspiration to achieve, since I admired how far she had come from her poor childhood (washing clothes in a river and sleeping several to a bed), to becoming a celebrated hairdresser with an affluent clientele in Palm Beach, Florida.
She learned cosmetology skills partly in Luxembourg City and partly in Chicago, where she immigrated originally to join the only sibling out of 12 who immigrated before her. Upon arriving in December 1929 during the Great Depression, to what she often referred to as “the greatest country ever,” she said, “The streets were lined with gold compared to where I’d come from. I’m not sure why everyone called it a ‘depression.’”
Immediately, she enrolled in a Berlitz English course, determined to become proficient in her new country’s language. She landed a job at a hair stylist shop, met my grandfather, Charles Van de Walker, and worked hard to not only send money back to her family in Luxembourg, but also to one day become an American citizen.
Even though her Palm Beach clients had last names like Kennedy, Gable (as in Clark), and O’Keefe (Georgia), she unfalteringly maintained frugality, never leaving food on her plate and reusing storage bags and containers. Plus, she was fiscally conservative and joyously generous at the same time.
She was a wonder to my four siblings and me, often bringing us European treats from her visits to Luxembourg. She never allowed her hair to gray, always insisting on a flaming, Lucille Ball-esque red tint and bright polish on her carefully manicured nails. She dressed herself not in grandmotherly polyester pants and orthopedic shoes, but in striking sweaters over tight leggings with matching tennis shoes. She was independent in her thinking and her lifestyle, and she was greatly adored for her uniqueness.
While she was still alive, I honored her by having her name etched on the Ellis Island Wall of Honor. She honored me with her example and her presence. I never take for granted that I live in “the greatest country ever,” and I attribute that to my grandmother, Madeleine Weishoff Van de Walker.
This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.
