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Many people find their lifelong homes at a Realtor鈥檚 office, but not many find a home and a vibrant social life.

That was the case for former Michigan resident Carole Eberhardt, who was exploring the Southwest with her husband, Gottfried, when they decided to make a pit stop at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 International Balloon Fiesta 26 years ago.

They got lost along the way and turned to a local real estate office for directions. They were instead roped into a series of home tours and recommended to check out the Edelweiss am Rio Grande German American Club.

鈥淲e said, 鈥榃e don鈥檛 want to waste your time because we鈥檙e only here for three days.鈥� But my husband loved it right away,鈥� Eberhardt said with a laugh.

The couple decided to make the move and have been in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 ever since. Eberhardt said their first visit to Edelweiss am Rio Grande yielded 鈥渋nstant friendships and camaraderie.鈥�

After more than 60 years, Edelweiss am Rio Grande 鈥� meaning Edelweiss on the Rio Grande in German 鈥� has shuttered its longtime clubhouse due to financial struggles. The club held one last hurrah at the property, located at 4821 Menaul NE, on April 18 鈥� commemorating its storied history with dancing, drinking and music.

The club as an entity is still intact and will seek to gather out of rented spaces 鈥� but it will 鈥渘ever be quite the same鈥� without the club鈥檚 longtime homebase, Eberhardt said.

鈥淚t is pretty sad,鈥� added Miguel Mata, who has served as president of the private club for 17 years.

The family-friendly social events had drawn Mata in, and he stayed to learn more about the culture of his great-grandfather. Mata, an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 native, comes from a family with French, German and Spanish roots.

Mata decided to close the clubhouse after about 10 years of financial hardship and declining membership. At one point, the club had as many as 2,500 members 鈥� but more recently, about 100.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been very hard for them,鈥� said Eberhardt, a current member, as well as a former president and financial head for the club.

鈥淧roperty taxes keep going up, the liquor license price goes up 鈥� all the things go up, but the membership goes down,鈥� she added. 鈥淲hen you have 1,000 members and you throw a dance, you鈥檙e guaranteed 80 or 100 people show up. When you鈥檙e down to 100 members, you鈥檙e lucky if 10 show up. Then you can鈥檛 pay the bills anymore. It just isn鈥檛 viable anymore.鈥�

Edelweiss am Rio Grande was founded in 1960, when a couple of German Americans, Charles Volz and Fritz Buschner, decided they wanted to launch an ethnic club similar to those they鈥檇 heard of in other cities.

Several Germans were living in New Mexico at the time 鈥� primarily brides of servicemen at Kirtland Air Force Base who had served in Germany or Europe, Eberhardt said.

The club idea quickly gained traction, drawing in about 39 people to the first informal gathering at sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 former Alvarado Hotel, according to the club鈥檚 website.

鈥淭he last names of the participants read like a cross-section of Americana 鈥� Beckman, Cowper, Dufray, Buers, Fugit, McHutchinson, Tafoya, Jones, Zuni, Parker 鈥� but all had some ties to Germany, either born there, or married to a German,鈥� the website says.

The club was officially chartered in 1965 and had grown to nearly 150 members by the time of its grand opening at the 4821 Menaul NE building a year later, according to archives from The sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Tribune.

Over the years, the club began welcoming both those with ties to Germany and those simply interested in learning about German culture. Occasionally, the club also drew in people who Mata said were aligned with the darker side of German history 鈥� Nazi Germany 鈥� and acted discriminatorily toward other ethnic groups.

Throughout his time as club president, Mata said he banned those individuals to keep the club what it was meant to be.

鈥淚t was just to spread friendship and show that we could all get along with each other and connect with different nationalities,鈥� Mata said.

Friendship was certainly a draw for Eberhardt, a self-described Brit originally from England. So were the events, of which there were many. With a clubhouse that can seat more than 200 people, the organization has hosted everything from Thanksgiving dinners to Irish ceili dance lessons and Vienna balls, winefests, Oktoberfest, themed dance parties and a Mardi Gras-like season of celebration called Fasching, which is German for carnival.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the kind of fun that you like to have,鈥� Eberhardt said. 鈥淚f you like to waltz and quick step and get gussied up with a lovely hairdo and the sparkling necklace. It鈥檚 a bit like 鈥楧ownton Abbey,鈥� except they throw in some line dancing and what have you. Something for everybody.鈥�

Schnitzel and other German dishes were a prominent feature of the gatherings. But events and live music weren鈥檛 the clubhouse鈥檚 only uses. Before the Writers Guild of America strike in 2023, Mata said production companies were frequently requesting to use the historic clubhouse for filming projects like 鈥淏eerfest,鈥� 鈥淏etter Call Saul鈥� and 鈥淭he Cleaning Lady.鈥�

鈥淭hat actually kept us going,鈥� Mata said.

But as membership continued to decline and the film industry slowed down, the club had to face the music, Mata said.

The club president isn鈥檛 entirely sure what led to the drop in membership. Eberhardt said it coincides with an overall decline in people speaking and learning German, as well as most of the club鈥檚 original members dying off and not as many Germans immigrating to New Mexico or the United States as a whole.

鈥淭here aren鈥檛 any people seeking out that culture anymore,鈥� Eberhardt added.

As of mid-April, the Edelweiss am Rio Grande property officially sold to a new owner, Mata said. He declined to disclose the identity of the new owner. But he said they plan to turn the property鈥檚 ballroom into a mixed-martial-arts studio, the liquor bar into a coffee bar that will also serve healthy drinks, and additional backroom spaces into a yoga studio.

Edelweiss am Rio Grande, the club entity, will aim to continue hosting occasional events 鈥� but only for as long as the money lasts.

鈥淚 have no idea what the future will hold for us,鈥� Mata said. 鈥淚 wish that more people knew about it.鈥�

Eberhardt said she is looking forward to participating in the club鈥檚 future shindigs for as long as she can 鈥� adding she partly credits those events with her and her husband鈥檚 good health 鈥� but said the loss of the clubhouse is a sad moment for her and the group.

鈥淚t was really a mainstay for a lot of people, but not enough,鈥� Eberhardt said. 鈥淎ll good things come to an end, and the German club is one of them.鈥�

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.