By Tara V. Kohlenberg —
Have you ever experienced a Christmas where you thought you would get nothing from Santa?
I am sure that there are several good children that have worried about getting gifts due to their parents’ circumstances. During the Great Depression, it was the generosity of angels that helped out needy children in New Braunfels.
The U.S involvement in World War I lasted from 1917-1919. During that time, everything went to the war effort to support our soldiers, causing restrictions (read shortages) of meat, wheat, sugar, eggs and more. Once the war was over, with a short readjustment, the economy rebounded with gusto. Oil was flowing, business was booming, new construction was up and all was well again for nearly a decade. Texans were looking to the future, that is, until the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929.
Texans were not initially affected by the downturn. In fact, they were optimistic that it was a little recession, a short-lived blip on the radar. The cotton crop was already harvested and sold at very good prices. The population had grown by 25 percent. New Braunfels’ new building projects were still being built in 1931. Then reality hit. The battered economy caught up to New Braunfels.
Many people did not have money to spend. Business suffered. The one-year-old Montgomery Ward store closed along with others. Men were out of jobs. Some lost their farms. Some lost their homes. Women went to work doing what they could. Many people were hard pressed to survive. Some went to the poor house with their family. Others reached out to charities for help with food and clothing. In 1931, Christmas joy was a faraway memory for many.
To lessen the heartache of a Christmas without presents for the children, the Lions Club joined with New Braunfels firemen to collect toys. The Lions Club of New Braunfels (chartered April 1925) was founded on the basic tenets of loyalty and service to community, state and nation. The Lions jumped right in to make Christmas better for the children of the less fortunate with a city toy drive.
Unlike the toy drives of today, (think KENS-5 Bill’s Elves or Marines’ Toys for Tots), they were not asking for new toys or monetary donations. They wanted old, used, castaway toys. The idea was for the Lions to do the collecting and the firemen to repair and refurbish the toys.
The wheels may be turning in your head thinking, “my child would flip out if they got a broken toy.” Perhaps, but toys were made differently in the ‘20s and ‘30s and were not generally considered disposable. They were made to last. We are talking metal scooters, tricycles, pedal cars, velocipedes, kiddie-cars, doll buggies, mechanical toys and wagons (these are all of those wonderful things that catch your eye in the big antique stores). Replacing a wheel or putting on a new coat of paint made it all new again.
Calls went out for old toys beginning in November. The toys were collected by Lions Club members and dropped off at Central Fire Station (now the New Braunfels Fire Department Museum on Hill Avenue). Why partner with the fire department? At that time the New Braunfels Fire Department was made up of approximately seven to eight paid men located in three stations with 60 on-call volunteers. The paid men were basically confined to the fire station premises during their shift when not on a call. After daily chores were completed, they had some down time to work on repairing and painting the toys. Paint was furnished by Louis Henne Company and Jacob Schmidt & Son provided cloth for new doll dresses, which were made by Mrs. Walter Staats, wife of the fire chief. The campaign was deemed a success as there was an incredible number of toys turned over to Associated Charities for delivery to identified needy families.
As the Depression dragged on, the Lions and Fire Department continued their Christmas Toy Drive. In 1932, the Lions and Fire Department were already organized and ready for the toy campaign. They enlisted cloth donations from Eiband and Fischer and paint donations from Cameron Lumber Company.
By 1933, the firemen were not only repairing toys, they were also in on the delivery of the toys with Santa (the best part). That year, Santa named Chief Staats and his firemen as Special Agents to Santa Claus, meaning that the toys, along with apples and oranges provided by the American Legion Auxiliary, were loaded up on a big red firetruck for special delivery to each and every recipient.
In 1934, the firemen rode the big hook-and-ladder truck to make deliveries themselves to those children identified by the Comal County Relief Board. By 1935, the recipients were identified from relief rolls along with input from the elementary school principals. Each year, the Lions Club provided new toys to help meet the demand of needy children.
The toy drive continued through 1936. In 1937, the fireman’s and Lions Christmas toy program was postponed when an investigation determined that there was no longer a need. However, in late December of 1937, an urgent plea went out to the public from the Junior Chamber of Commerce for old toys.
So, here we are. It is December. The economy is rocky. Inflation is high. Food prices are high, and people are struggling. I hope that you will follow the lead of the Lions Club and New Braunfels Fire Department to do something good for your fellow man and for the community. If you have a little extra in your pocket, be an angel, pay it forward to a non-profit organization or something that warms your heart … and theirs.
I love that New Braunfels is a generous community. The number of people that volunteer their time, talents and money to non-profit organizations in New Braunfels proves it. We take care of each other. I wish you joy this Christmas season!
Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Handbook of Texas History Online.
“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
