By Myra Lee Adams Goff

The Zuehl Family Book at the Sophienburg contains a rather well-known story to local historians. It was written by Wilhelm Zuehl when he was in his 70s as he recalled coming to Texas with his family as an 18-year-old in 1846. His family was on a brig going from Galveston to Indianola.

When the brig would get stuck on a sand bar, the 60 emigrants would have to run from one side of the ship to the other until the vessel was again buoyant.

They landed at Indianola at the time when “northers” were making life miserable and cholera was rampant. Freezing rain tore apart their makeshift tent. The family was stuck on the beach, as there were no means of transportation. Wilhelm and his brother Fritz took on a temporary job aboard an English surveying vessel. Six weeks later when they returned to Indianola, their parents had left for New Braunfels, leaving instructions for the boys to make their way.

A young man named Adam Wuest was delivering mail from New Braunfels to Indianola and told the boys that they could come along with him on his return trip. Fritz left the two at Peach Creek and Wuest and Wilhelm finally arrived in New Braunfels in the middle of the night. Wuest had a small one room house without room for Wilhelm so Mrs. Wuest made him a bed of cedar logs and he slept out in the street.

This spot where the Wuest house was located on Seguin St. later became the site of the Homann Saddlery and finally the location of the subject of this article, the New Braunfels Coffee Company (across from Naegelin’s Bakery).

If Wilhelm Zuehl could have looked into the future, he would have seen what became of that property; a saddlery and eventually a two story building in which Otto Vogel operated a coffee company.

In 1921, brothers Arthur and Gilbert Zipp purchased the New Braunfels Coffee Co. from Vogel. The business moved in 1940 to the corner of 315 W. San Antonio St. next to the railroad track. The New Braunfels Coffee Company ended its business in the basement of the San Antonio St. building, finally closing forever in 1950.

Coffee beans were purchased in 100 lb. bags from Brazil, Columbia, and Mexico and roasted in a large steel tumbler. Then the beans were ground and sold in one and two pound bags. Their Model A truck delivered the coffee to local merchants and restaurants like Ma’s Café, Reimer Grocery, and Valley Fruit Stand. At its height, the company sold 60,000 pounds a month.

The Zipp brothers sold their 100 percent pure coffee under the name “Zipp’s fancy Peaberry” and “Rio”. Then in 1933 they decided to have a contest to name their new blend of coffee. One could enter the contest by filling in a blank enclosed in every package of coffee. Karl Zipp, son of Gilbert has a metal box containing the entries - 385 of them. And the winner was Mrs. Adolph Forke with “Cup-O’Joy”. She won a ten dollar gold coin. Don’t laugh; think of how much that gold coin would be worth today.

Here are some of the entries that attracted my attention, not necessarily good, but interesting:
Remember it was 1933, so some had political connotations like: “Depression”, “Roosevelt”, “New Deal”, “Daily Need”, “Roosevelt’s Prosperity” and “Liberty Bell”.

Others were “Beatsall”, “Howazat Coffee”, “Want More”, “Zipp’s Super Stimulant”, “10 Shun Please”, “Talk of the Table”, “Zipper”, “Zipperior”, and “Wake Up”.

In their heyday, the Zipps had quite an advertising campaign. In 1939, Zipp’s Cup O’ Joy was sent to Gov. W. Lee O’Daniel when the 133rd Field Artillery Band from NB went to Austin to give a concert in honor of the governor. At Gruene Hall, one can still see a sign advertising “Zipp’s Cup-O’Joy” and “Peaberry Coffee” on the left side of the dance floor. Now I think I’ll have a “Cup-O’Joy”, thank you.

New Braunfels Coffee Company - Brothers Gilbert and Arthur Zipp next to a photo of the coffee roaster and grinder. The New Braunfels Coffee Company building in 1934 at 136 S. Seguin. (National Archives, Historic American Buildings, Texas, Volume I, 1979)

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Did you know that there was a connection between Jean Jacques von Coll, the Adelsverein’s bookkeeper, and the tube chute at Clemens Dam? It’s not inner tubes. Give up?

In my last column, I wrote about why von Coll came to Texas. (See Sophienburg.com, July 12, 2011) This one’s worth reading again before you go on. Here’s the rest of von Coll’s story and how the dam fits into this picture.

Hired by the Adelsverein to be the bookkeeper of the emigration organization, von Coll was one that led the first emigrants from the coast inland.

He wasn’t just the bookkeeper but also keeper of the supplies, a very important and dangerous responsibility.

One time, he squelched an attempt to change the name of the settlement from “New Braunfels” to “Comal”.

Prince Carl had named the settlement after his home, Braunfels, in Germany. The emigrants were unhappy that the Adelsverein had not kept its promises, so they decided to change the name.

Von Coll told them that supplies would be cut off to anyone who voted for “Comal.”

They backed off. You can just imagine his situation when supplies ran out.

Soon after arriving in 1849, von Coll married Margareth Schertz in the German Protestant Church by Rev. Louis Ervendberg. They had two daughters, Kathinka and Elizabeth.

They built their home on Coll Street, which still stands (across from Carl Schurz School) and is presently owned by Hollis Woosley. The home was furnished with intricately carved wooden doors, walnut floors, and furniture made by the craftsman J.J. Jahn. (Herald Zeitung, Dec. 14, 2006).

Von Coll owned a saloon on the Main Plaza. Ferdinand Roemer observed the place in 1847 and said, “Dispensing alcoholic drinks is a very lucrative business throughout Texas, and especially among the German immigrants. The taste for whiskey, which the German peasants and artisans unfortunately bring with them, is stimulated by the warm climate.”

Then the terrible tragedy happened in this very saloon.

A disgruntled settler came in complaining loudly about how the Adelsverein was a criminal organization. Von Coll took exception, the settler attacked him with his knife and when von Coll raised his arm to defend himself, the settler grabbed his gun and killed him.

Margareth von Coll was left a widow with two small children - 3-year-old Kathinka and 1-year-old Elizabeth.

She then married Heinrich Guenther who raised her two children as his own.

Time goes on and daughter Kathinka von Coll married William Clemens Sr.

Clemens was born in Germany and came to New Braunfels with his parents.

He became a successful banker, merchant, and politician.

In 1881, four wealthy Galveston merchants joined Clemens in purchasing the Torrey Comal water, since Torrey’s dam had been destroyed by a flood. (People used to be able to buy the water). This group constructed a dam and wheel chamber and the plan was to build a textile mill.

The mill never happened and the dam sat idle, but in 1887, the City of New Braunfels entered into an agreement with the owners to install a turbine in the penstock of the dam to pump water for the city’s first municipal waterworks. By 1907, as the city grew, the city purchased water from Fritz Klingeman at the headwaters of Comal Springs, assuring the local water supply.

Clemens was a successful businessman. He was one of the first stockholders and chairman of the board of the First National Bank organized in 1890.

His political life started after the Civil War with local political positions. He entered state politics, first as a member of the House of Representatives of the Texas Legislature in 1879 and then in 1890 as a State Senator.

So there you have it: the strange connection between Jean Jacques von Coll and the tube chute at Clemens Dam.

Inset: Senator William Clemens. Larger photo: The Clemens home on San Antonio Street (where the Handy Andy grocery store now stands). From left, Kathinka von Coll Clemens, Senator William Clemens, William Clemens, Jr. Walter Clemens in back, Johann Wilhelm Clemens, father of the Senator and their servant Charlie Bradley. Photos belong to descendant Mary Adele Schneider.