German communities affected in wars
By Myra Lee Adams Goff When my parents went to school in NB, they were taught all subjects in German, including the German script. It had been that way for three generations. Suddenly, as a result of possible war with Germany in 1916, it was against Texas law to teach children
Hermann Seele came to Texas in 1843
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Several months ago, sitting at the back of the Archives, I saw what appeared to be a wolf and a child at the front door. The sun was behind them so I got up to investigate. In the front foyer were two almost life-size plaster
Hats were a must in town
By Myra Lee Adams Goff An interesting change took place recently in one of the Sophienburg Museum’s displays. Switching from one end to the other, the shoe display was changed to hats and all details of millinery. The hats on display belonged to NB women, made of straw, horsehair, and
Patriotic celebration part of NB lore
By Myra Lee Adams Goff “Stars and Stripes Forever”. Thirty seven stars, that is, for in 1876 when the United States commemorated the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, NB celebrated a glorious old-fashioned 4th of July. There is an article in the Sophienburg archives translated from
Oral family history is hard to maintain
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Doroteo Rodriguez and son Dagoberto have been doing research on their family that goes back to Mexico, where records are hard to find. To this point most of their history has been passed on byword of mouth, but as family members moved away from NB.it became
Landa has been longtime destination
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Imagine that it’s the 1920s and you have reservations at Camp Placid at Landa Park in New Braunfels, Texas. Camp Placid was a two storied summer resort on the banks of the spring-fed Pool at Landa’s Park. It was called Landa’s Park because it belonged to
Landa Park is site of many historical events in New Braunfels history
By Myra Lee Adams Goff “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy” (Hamlet), meaning that the obvious is not the only thing there, and that’s true in Landa Park as well. I went to the park looking for historically unobvious, little known
Adventurous Boy Scouts used drainage tunnels to stay out of trouble
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Proclaiming themselves the Huck Finns of New Braunfels, Carroll Hoffmann and Doyle Krueger recently talked about their exploratory activities under the city streets. Mark Twain, author of “Huckleberry Finn” described Huck in this way: “There were things which he stretched, but mostly he told the
At one time, it was a big deal for women to frequent saloons
By Myra Lee Adams Goff There was a time when women and alligators and catfish and perhaps a man or two sat side by side in the Phoenix Saloon and Beer Garden. Why is this such a big deal, you ask. It’s because it just wasn’t socially acceptable for women to frequent saloons and alligators
First settlers crossed the Guadalupe River on Good Friday
By Myra Lee Adams Goff One of my favorite historical places to go is the middle of the Faust Street Bridge and look upstream to where the first settlers crossed the Guadalupe on their way into NB. I have walked Nacogdoches St. on the east side of Seguin Ave. towards