Polkas and accordions
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — With the Comal County Fair over and done, we look forward to the other fall community events. Dia de los Muertos comes next and will be followed by the granddaddy of them all, Wurstfest! For me, a first founder descendant, Wurstfest is my favorite. It is much more than beer […]
Hermann Sons #21 celebrating 135 years
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — This year, the New Braunfels Hermann Sons Lodge #21 is celebrating 135 years. What sounded like a simple “Happy Birthday” article soon became a rabbit hole that I could not ignore. Hold on! First of all, who is Hermann and why do his sons have a lodge? I learned that […]
“What’s in a name?” — William Shakespeare
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — What if New Braunfels was not named New Braunfels? I had never considered this, but of course the wonderful historian Oscar Haas did and recorded his findings in his book, History of New Braunfels and Comal County 1844-1946. There are two occasions on record wherein New Braunfels nearly lost its […]
Remembering popcorn, parakeets, and Big Chief tablets
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — By the time I sat down to write this story, we were several weeks into back-to-school ad campaigns for clothing, athletic gear, and school supplies. The term “back-to-school” made me think of popcorn, parakeets and Big Chief tablets. Maybe your brain doesn’t track like this, but there is something oddly […]
Summer camps on the Comal
PHOTO CAPTION: The water wheel on an early postcard of Warnecke’s Camp. By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Growing up in New Braunfels, I was well acquainted with the name Giesecke. I knew the names of all the watering holes from early age on — Landa Park pool, Camp Ulbricht, City Park (later Cypress Bend Park), […]
Jahn and Haas: History of water conservation
PHOTO CAPTION: Photo of LCRA Comal Power Plant spray heads over the millrace channel of the Comal River. By Tara V. Kohlenberg — For as long as I can remember, water has been a topic of discussion in New Braunfels. Too much. Too little. How we find it. How we use it. Water is, after […]
Summertime in the ’60s
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I grew up in New Braunfels. It really was just like Mayberry on the Andy Griffith show. Neighbors were best friends. Kids walked to school together. Every mom was like your own mom watching and caring for the kids invading her kitchen. Dads took us on bike rides around the […]
Fourth of July reflections
PHOTO CAPTION: New Braunfels Band July 4, 1929, on Main Plaza. Front row, L to R, Anthony Morales, Lee Kohlenberg, Charley Richter, Hermann Borchers, Henry Schraub, Dr. Reynolds, Carl Druebert, conductor; Ervin Voigt, August Wittenborn, Henry Druebert, Hilmar Schwarzlose, Emil Eggeling, band manager, Ed. H. Werner, Edmund Schiefelbein, and Fritz Koepp. Back row, L to […]
The miraculous electric belt
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — It’s a crumbling brown leather belt with an insert of linked silver-plated rectangular batteries. It might not look like much, but this curious artifact, an electric belt, represents a weird and wonderful era in the history of electricity. Electrotherapy — using electricity to stimulate nerves and muscles — goes way […]
Scholl Peters house gone missing
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — I watch rooftops multiply daily as I look out from our house of more than 30 years. I will not lie. It is distressing. It truly makes me appreciate the beautiful well-built 100-plus-year-old buildings that grace our city. Being a native, I often wonder what has become of the many […]
