By Myra Lee Adams Goff

There was a time when, on Saturday night, the most exciting thing one could do in NB was to drive downtown to look at the photographs in the windows of Seidel Studio. Otto and Johanna Seidel who began their photography business in 1922 were called on to take pictures of just about everyone and everything. The photos were displayed in their windows and they changed them out constantly. Who got married, who had a baby, what was going on at school, what were the various organizations doing? Get the picture? It was kind of a still-life newsreel. The Sophienburg became the lucky recipient of the Seidel collection in 1979. It is estimated to comprise 25,000 photos and negatives.

Of course, looking at the pictures in Seidel’s windows wasn’t the only thing we did. My dad drove our car to Richter’s Pharmacy where we parked it. Many people did the same thing, some parking around the Plaza. My dad would get out and visit and my mom and I would sit in the car and watch people walk by. Sound dorky? Well, maybe it was, but I developed a tremendous curiosity about people by doing that.

Pat Harmon Langston lived downtown with her aunt and widowed mother. The downtown was literally her playground while growing up in the 30’s and 40’s.Both her mother, Marguerite, and her aunt Marie were registered nurses, but decided to open a beauty salon so that more time could be spent with Pat. Their salon was always somewheredowntown and they lived downtown at various places as well.

Wandering around town alone, she had boundaries; she couldn’t go past Gerlich Auto Co. (Antique Mall), or past Mill Street, or over the bridge, and “No, you may not stop in at Doeppenschmidts to look at the bodies.” Aside from that, she could go in any business, and visit whomever she pleased.

Langston is loaded with memories, and here are a few:

Wiederman’s Plaza Fruit Stand (Comal Flower) was a favorite. The screen door slammed behind her as she went in and the smell of bananas hanging at the doorway (some for a very long time) was overwhelming. There was Mrs. Wiederman sweeping up the sawdust on the floor to keep the dust down. Langston would get candy for a penny but the candy at the A&P store (First State Bank) had five pieces of taffy for a penny.

She would go into Ma’s Café (Myron’s) where it seemed everyone would go to eat and drink morning coffee. At one time Langston’s mom’s beauty salon was right next to this café. Here she would visit with the ladies getting their hair done and occasionally it was her job to fan the electric permanent machine so that their hair wouldn’t catch on fire (The Sophienburg has one of those machines).Care to try it out?

On the way to the Brauntex Movie Theater, she would stop in to visit with the ladies at Leo Mendlovitz Dept. Store (Seguin Beauty School) and then next door she would go sit on a stool at Grosgebauer’s Chili Bowl, sometimes for a hamburger.

Back then the movies were a big thing for a young child. For 9¢ there was a double feature on Friday and Saturday, one western and the other a “B” movie (meaning no leading star). In addition there was a short subject, like a travelogue, and a serial, like “Flash Gordon”. There were four movie changes a week. Langston liked them all but she didn’t like the sing-a-long where the words flashed on the screen and you “followed the bouncing ball”.

Strict discipline was enforced by the usher who walked up and down the aisle with a flashlight, making sure kids were quiet, didn’t put their feet on the chairs, and didn’t throw popcorn,

When Langston was in high school, Peerless Pharmacy (Painted Pony) was a frequent hangout with its soda fountain. She liked the malts and chocolate sundaes, even though whipping cream and the cherry on top were eliminated during the war.

To this day Langston can tell you the names of most of the people who worked downtown in the stores. I think only people that actually lived there can do that.

Sophienburg archivist Keva Boardman tries out the permanent machine.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

The Comal County Geneology Society has researched NB records over the years, such as census, birth, marriage, death, cemetery records, ship lists, maps, and many more. If you come to the Sophienburg to do research, you have these booklets available. They are also for sale at Sophie’s Shop. Right now Connie Krause, Alton Rahe, Everett Fey and Vivian Zipp are working on new cemetery records to be made available soon.

Paging through those booklets made me wonder about some of the early well-known settlers, the kind that streets are named after. Want to know where they are buried? Rather not? Come on, it might be fun to dig up some information, maybe even dig up some dirt.

Probably the most well known person was Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. He came in 1844, only stayed 10 months, and went back to Germany to marry Princess Sophie (whom the Sophienburg is named after). He never returned to Texas and was buried in Germany in 1876.

When the first settlers were on their way to NB in January, 1845, a two year old child died at Agua Dulce and was buried there. In March of that same year, another child died and was buried on the “right bank of the Comal.” By June the Verein Cemetery (now NB Cemetery on Bus 35W) had been established.

In 1846 and ’47, immigrants that arrived at Indianola were not provided the promised transportation inland from the coast. Disease broke out and many perished there. Others decided to make the trek walking and, consequently, an unknown number died and were buried along the way. Many more died after arrival and were buried in the Verein Cemetery. Some of the graves in this cemetery have headstones and many do not. One large open expanse of land was used as a mass grave for epidemic victims.

Using many sources, my main one being Everett Fey”s “The First Founders”, I have chosen to look for the graves of the main members of the Colonial Council chosen by Prince Carl (Zink, Ervendberg, Koester, Von Coll), lest this become a “Who’s Who in What Cemetery”.

Nicholas Zink, an engineer, was employed to plot the streets and town lots in the settlement. He was charged with the responsibility of leading the first immigrants to NB. In 1850 Zink left for various towns in the Hill Country. He died in 1887 and is buried near his last home in Welfare.

Rev. Louis Cachand-Ervendberg was hired to tend to the religious needs of the immigrants (as promised by the Adelsverein). He began the German Protestant Church, and when so many immigrants died in 1846, he and his wife Louisa took in 19 orphans. They established an orphanage about 3 ½ miles from town on the Guadalupe.

Much of Ervendberg’s time was spent at this orphanage trying to make ends meet and in 1851 he asked the church council for a definite salary instead of a free-will offering. The congregation refused, and he resigned. He was unsuccessful at generating funds without his church income.

In 1955 Louisa became aware of her husband’s interest in one of the orphans, Franzeska Lange. The sad ending of this story is that Ervendberg and Lange left together for Mexico. After a few years living around Mexico City, in 1863, bandits murdered Ervendberg in his home and he is probably buried in Mexico.

Dr. Theodor Koester, doctor, pharmacist, and baker was hired as the Verein’s physician for the colonists. His home is now a historical landmark on Seguin Street. Throughout his life, much controversy surrounded his medical practice. He was buried in the Verein Cemetery in 1877.

The financial officer of the colony, Jean Jacques von Coll, helped lead the immigrants to NB, was given lot #25 ( later Plaza Hotel and NB Coffee). He and partner Adolph Nevendorf operated a lucrative saloon and store at that location and in 1852 he was elected mayor but served only two months before he was murdered.

It seems that von Coll was in his office in the back of the saloon when he heard a settler complain about the Adelsverein. Von Coll confronted the settler and challenged him to a duel. Grabbing von Coll’s gun, the settler shot him in the back. He is buried in the Verein Cemetery.

There you have it. The expression “dig up the dirt” takes on a new meaning. Two out of four murdered. A quote from Charles Dickens seems appropriate: ”It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”

“An unknown number died and were buried along the way”. Artist: Patricia S. Arnold. Artwork ©