Birds of War
Keva Hoffmann Boardman, Sophienburg Curator Whether winging their way through barrages of shells, dodging shrapnel, maneuvering through clouds of gas, or flying through torrential downpours of machine gun and anti-aircraft gun bullets, pigeons were feathered aviators that played an essential role in the Great War. Both the Greek and the Roman armies used homing pigeons […]
“Just a Grand Place to make a Living and a Grand Place to Live”
By Keva Boardman, Sophienburg Curator When the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce published a new brochure in the 1960s, they (rightfully) had a lot to boast about. New Braunfels was just beginning its change from a small town to a large town. Today, our community is changing from a large town to a city. Growth […]
Spirit of the American Doughboy
By Myra Lee Adams Goff For the past few years, artist Jane Felts Mauldin has designed and painted a poster for the Sophienburg for use in advertising. This poster is particularly designed for the Sophienburg’s November event, the German Christmas Market, Weihnachtsmarkt. Appropriately, Mauldin has depicted historical events in New Braunfels on her posters. Since […]
Keep your eye on the grand old flag
By Myra Lee Adams Goff The words “Keep your eye on the grand old flag” by George M. Cohan comes from Cohan’s song, “It’s a Grand Old Flag,” a stage musical he wrote over 100 years ago. It was 1906 to be exact. The song is second in popularity only to the National Anthem, particularly […]
Original Seekatz Opera House built for traveling shows, local entertainment
By Myra Lee Adams Goff This article originally appeared in the Herald- Zeitung on January 23, 2007. Marie Jarisch and Gaston Parsons have an obvious pride when they talk about their grandfather and the Seekatz Opera House. The current Seekatz Opera House owned by Ron Snider is on the exact site of the original building, […]
Sophienburg scholarship awarded
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Andrew White, a New Braunfels High School senior, is the recipient of the Myra Lee Adams Goff Sophienburg History Scholarship. In order to be awarded the $1,000 scholarship, high school seniors from all over Comal County are invited to write an essay about an historical person or event in Comal […]
Finally, after all these years, the book will be published
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — I was born in New Braunfels in 1932 on Camp Street in a home built by my grandfather. My parents were Marcus and Cola Moeller Adams. I am a fifth-generation New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas, and American citizen and proud of it. It is 2006 and I have just been […]
Ullrich homes on Mill Street tell the story of early home construction
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — What do three houses on Mill Street have in common? The homes located at 502, 528 and 554 West Mill Street are part of New Braunfels’ Mill Street Historic District and they are homes built on the property owned at one time by George Ullrich in the 1850s through the […]
Martin Luther important to the Protestant Reformation
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Happy Easter today while you celebrate the Resurrection and the coming of Spring. It’s a particularly exciting time for members of St. Paul Lutheran Church of New Braunfels. They have chosen to build a new church on their historic property. While traveling down San Antonio Street towards the plaza, I […]
United States enters World War I on April 6th one hundred years ago
(Published in the Herald-Zeitung on April 2, 2017) As far as Americans were concerned, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne on June 28, 1914, was of little concern. Europe, after all, was far away, and the United States had a policy of isolation. Besides, Texas had its own problems. That […]
