Weihnachtsmarkt is coming to town

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Now everybody sing: “You better watch out, you better not pout, “You better not cry, I’m telling you why, “Weihnachtsmarkt is coming to town.” Yes, indeed, Weihnachtsmarkt begins Friday morning at New Braunfels Civic Convention Center. The local Christmas Market, patterned after those in Germany,

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Wurstfest uses lots of icons

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Icons are very important. When we think of the iconic Dirndls and Lederhosen, what do we think of here in NB? Wurstfest, of course, and that will be Nov. 4-13. Both items of clothing have been around in Europe for a long time, particularly Austria

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So, what exactly is under Canyon Lake?

By Myra Lee Goff What is under about 100 feet of water in Canyon Lake? Or better still, what would still be there if the lake had not been constructed? I started looking and found out: ranch land, farm land, trees, cemeteries, Guadalupe River and the site of two very

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Comal, Guadalupe junction important

By Myra Lee Adams Goff When I was in the ninth grade, I had a group of friends who were Mariner Girl Scouts. New Braunfels rivers were the perfect spot for this scouting program. We had a friend who lived on the Guadalupe River and had a rowboat. We would

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Drought, floods, and war affect Comal County Fair

By Myra Lee Adams Goff There were only three times in the long history of the Comal County Fair that the fair was postponed. Two times had to do with weather and one time had to do with war. The very first fair was scheduled to be held in November

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The dark history of Meriwether’s millrace

By Myra Lee Adams Goff What I knew about William Hunter Meriwether could be summed up as “That American from Virginia who had slaves dig the canal next to Landa Park Drive.” That’s changing, thanks to Joy Alexander who has been doing an extensive study of Meriwether. Alexander first became

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New Braunfels Coffee Company popular until 1950

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

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What’s the connection between von Coll and Clemens Dam?

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

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Twist of fate brings von Coll to Texas

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Last month a group from the Nassau Historical Society in Germany came to the Sophienburg. Von Hartmut Heinemann, group historian, handed me a small book in German about the life of Johann Jakob von Coll. You know him as Jean Jacques von Coll, but they

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St. Joseph chapel becomes Comal County historical site

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Out in the county on FM 482, the newly formed Schertz Historical Preservation Committee recently celebrated the St. Joseph Chapel as a historic site. The newly formed committee, led by Dean Weirtz, has become extremely active in the last year and the members, many of

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