By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Next week will be the annual Comal County Fair which had its first event in 1894.

When I was doing the research at the Sophienburg for the book It’s Fair Time for the Fair Association, there was one particular era in its development that intrigued me. It was the period beginning in 1923 for about 10 years. It was a period of extreme success, followed by almost complete failure and then success once again. To me, it showed the tenacity of the directors to keep this “the largest County Fair in Central Texas”.

Here’s how it happened: After some slack years, the Fair Association reorganized into a corporation in 1923, bought more land, put up more buildings, repaired the grandstand and then the unexpected happened; a fire totally destroyed the new grandstand. The choice was to rebuild or close up; they rebuilt. Then they took out rain insurance, and as luck would have it, rain came on Friday and Saturday. On Monday the insurance adjuster handed over $5,000 and with the additional gate receipts that year, the fair was in good shape financially.

The success of this fair spurred on spending for the next few years. Additional buildings were built and the land was improved. Write-ups in the New Braunfels Herald showed an overall optimistic spirit. Two gigantic pageants were held at the fairgrounds, the biggest with over 300 performers was called “The Gypsy Rover”.

The first fair queen, Alvina Vogel, was crowned in 1929 with much pomp, circumstance, and expense. The parades were getting bigger and so were the carnivals and rodeos. Slowly the Great Depression crept south but the local economy was looking good (so they thought) and the Fair Association decided to hold the 1931 fair despite economics. The depression was having a bigger effect than they realized and unfortunately, the fair went in the hole to the tune of $2,250, a big amount at that time.

Now here’s where they showed their tenacity. The FA decided to make some drastic changes in order to hold a fair in ’32. First they sent a letter to all those winners who would have received cash prizes in ‘31 stating that they were sending a certificate that could be redeemed “only after we have the money”. Secretary Edwin Staats suggested that they might want to consider just donating the unpaid certificate as many others had done. Then they cut out all activities that cost big bucks, like the queen’s contest. Elsie Meyer in ‘31 was the last fair queen until 1967. In addition, as much home talent as possible was used.

Of course, the carnival had to be engaged and a professional rodeo had to be hired. For entertainment, the arena was converted into a western ranch with ponies, steers, and broncos. Then there was a home talent rodeo in which only Comal Countians could participate.

Pageants that had become a big draw were eliminated. They called on the community to provide free entertainment, like the NB Unicorns football game and polo games. There was even a burlesque polo game on donkeys as a comedy act. On this team were Ernst Stein, Charles Scruggs, Paul Jahn, Pete Nuhn, Coach Rode, Red Babel, Barney Koepp, Dr. Rennie Wright, and Jack Eiband. There were no cash prizes for anything.

By far, the biggest innovative change was the practice of giving gate passes to exhibitors in order to attract large crowds. This practice has been carried on ever since. The strategy worked! The fair not only kept afloat, but it made a whopping profit of $150. When all was done, a Herald reporter observed,”No depression that ever existed can depress the fair spirit in Comal County”. If you would like to know more about the history of the fair, purchase their book It’s Fair Time at the fairgrounds or the Sophienburg.

1931 Comal County Fair Queen Elsie Meyer, the last queen until 1967.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Linking the past to the present, the New Braunfels Schuetzen Verein (shooting club) will hold its prize shoot on September 23rd, thefirst time in its new location off of Hwy 46 (next to Dietz’s Rifle Range).According to President Bill Wimberley, prizes are for the best at 100 yards with an old or new .22 rifle.The NB Schuetzen Verein is perhaps the oldest shooting club in the US, going back to July 4, 1846, and continuing for the next 158 years.

According the the late Harold Adams, who wrote the Verein’s history in 1948, “most of the first 30 years have been lost to the fog of unwritten antiquity”. He states that vague and “meager relics of hearsay” describe events up to about 1880.
In its organizational stage, the Verein was composed of only single men over 17years, its proceedings were secret, and its purpose was probably to be on the order of Minute Men who might be called on in an emergency. Women were admitted as associate members in 1949.

Through some historically troubled times in the country’s history, shooting activities for pleasure and pastime never ceased to function. The Civil War was a time of lowest interest because most of the men were off to war and lead and powder were scarce. Adams says that from 1862 to 1864, five members were the most “mustered out to the range “{so that their anniversary could be observed. In those years, one could spare only two or three shots and the one having the best shot was declared the Schuetzen Koenig (Shooting King).

Then again in the Spanish-American War and World War I, activities were curtailed and during World War II a rifle training school for boys and young men was organized for which ammunition was granted by the War Production Board.

The crowning of the Schuetzen Koenig holds an exalted place in the club.The honor went to a member (in good standing) who shot closest to the center of the target. According to Adams “at times some spirited discussions have developed until the best center shot was determined due to apparent tie hits”. Can you picture it?. This year’s Koenig is Thomas Becker and now a Koenigen (queen) is crowned. She is Daneshu Clarke.

Prize shoots were held in the fall and that’s what’s coming up on the 23rd. Also, rest and offhand medals were going the rounds among the members until someone had won three years in succession. I was surprised to find my grandfather’s name (Louis Adams) as the winner of one of those medals.

Turkey and geese shoots were held around Thanksgiving and in the 1880s beef and mutton shoots were held. At these shoots the butcher evidently was present on the range and winners had their choice cuts butchered and prepared according to their score. The tail-end winners would take the hindmost, even down to the hide. Prizes varied over the years and in 1876 a horse was put up for first prize. There was also trapshooting (at a clay pigeon) and glass ball (like Annie Oakley did).

The Neu Braunfelser Zeitung July 6, 1855, states that Jim Calhoun became the king and the editor said it wasn’t any wonder, since most of the competitors were “practical hunters and everyday people”.The target was the iron circle having a small hole through the center and as Calhoun’s bullet passed through this hole, it tripped the well known “Bajazzo” (clown) behind the target causing it to jump up. This caused quite a stir.

The Verein bought its first land in 1882 and moved several times. Additional locations finally led to the present one under beautiful oak trees, reminiscent of the past…

The picture was taken in 1899 at the 50th Anniversary and shows Earnst Dosch, Hermann Seele, Eduard Krieger and Wilhelm Seekatz. The Schuetzen Verein is a good example of history repeating itself.

Early Schuetzen Verein members, 1899.