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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

One evening last week, as I sat on the porch with a glass of sweet tea, pondering my day and hoping for rain, I heard the low metallic groan of the windmill as the head turned around to catch the wind. I saw the shadows of the windmill blades spinning on the ground before I heard the rhythmic, musical clanging of the rods going up and down in the pipes. It made me smile, to think about the thousands of windmills I have counted on long car rides through the South Plains in Texas.

It also made me sad to realize that windmills, the iconic symbols of pioneer survival across America, are fading away. A much-loved subject of artists and photographers alike is becoming a relic of the past.

My Gran, born to ranchers in the Texas Panhandle at the turn of the century, told me more than once, “Water is life. Without windmills, there would be no water in vast parts of Texas.” Windmills have allowed people to live and raise livestock in places where surface water was limited.

The first windmills, machines powered by the force of wind in sails, were used as early as 17th Century B.C. in Mesopotamia. Windmills were engineered to mill grain and pump water away from low-lying areas in Europe (think Dutch style) and around the world.

Windmills were used in North America to bring ground water to the surface. They were instrumental in settling the Great Plains (the middle third of the US from Arctic Circle to the Rio Grande), to have enough water for themselves, their crops and their livestock.

European windmills were big, expensive and very impractical. Daniel Halladay developed a new, smaller, less expensive wooden windmill and tower in 1854. By the 1870s and 1880s, there were hundreds of companies manufacturing windmills in various designs including solid wooden blades.

The first successful all-metal windmill (water pumping windmill) was designed in 1876, but metal windmills were not popular until the 1890s. Metal windmills were engineered with curved blades, allowing them to capture more wind than flat wooden blades resulting in more water with less effort.

Early water pumping windmills had open-gear boxes that required monthly oiling of the mechanical parts (can you imagine riding outposts on a ranch in summer or dead of winter?). Self-oiling mills came out in the 1920s, making life much easier. The enclosed gearbox only required cleaning and new oil about once a year. Windmill brands at that time were sold exclusively by designated dealers. Each brand came with various size blade diameter — 6 feet, 8 feet, 10 feet, 12 feet, etc. The depth of the well or the amount of water desired dictated what size fan blade was needed. Railroad windmills with giant cisterns for steam engines spanned 24 feet in diameter.

There were a number of different windmill brands in this area, like Aermotor, Fairbury, Flint & Walling, Dempster, Challenger, Baker and Sears & Roebuck beginning in 1915. Henne Hardware was a dealer for The Aermotor Company. Their fan tail carried the Aermotor name on both sides. The word “company” was abbreviated to Co. and stylized to look like a target, making it perfect for a little target practice. The great thing about Aermotor is that the same parts fit if it is 10 years old or 100 years old.

The Faust Company was a dealer for Samson windmills and the Flint & Walling brand (Star Model 12, etc.) which had a star on the tail. If you were to drive around Gruene and out old Hunter Road today, you would see several typical 8-foot and 10-foot Aermotor and Flint & Walling windmills, most of which are not working (pumping water). There are a couple of real treasures on private land. There is a Monitor in really bad shape, but still standing, and an open gear Flint and Walling over 100 years old. Then, at Conservation Plaza, there is an IDEAL windmill.

Kutscher Drilling, over the span of 100 years, have drilled, installed and maintained most of the windmills in a seven-county area. They used to service a lot of them. They estimated only about three dozen working water pumps left in Comal County and surrounding area. Compared to the technology available today, the windmill is antiquated and expensive. Electricity and solar power are much more economical. By the 1970s, only Baker, Aermotor and Dempster were building water-pump windmills.

Today, the use of windmills for more than just yard art is dwindling due to city sprawl, subdivisions (groundwater belongs to city), and the more efficient electric and solar power pumps. There are people who still restore them, but the windmills do not spin the same or sound the same if they are not pumping water.

I love our windmill. It is an Aermotor, pulled off a sulfur well nearby when we drilled our own well. The tower is 30 feet. The cypress cistern (with concrete liner) on a shorter tower was brought from the Kypfer farm in Geronimo. The windmill and both towers are stamped with the Henne Hardware name. I love how the mockingbirds perch on the highest fan blade to serenade us the morning. I love our windmill whether it is standing in a field blanketed in bluebonnets or snow. But I really love it when the windmill silhouette stands against a brilliant sunset. They may soon be relics. Enjoy them while you can.

Sources: The Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Baker, T. Lindsay. 1984. “A Field Guide to American Windmills”. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.; Mike Blanik; Danny Kutscher; Bobby Kutscher.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

On Sunday, October 12, 1884, Texas witnessed its very first Fischerstechen right on the Comal River. Earlier in 1882, Clemens Dam had been completed and destined as a source of power for a textile mill. That same year, a benevolent society, the Knights of Honor, had been organized and one of its enterprising members, Dr. August Berger, came up with an idea to promote the mill, the association and the city of New Braunfels. The Knights of Honor would host a Fischerstechen on the Comal.

A Fischerstechen — a fishermens’ joust — was an event the Germans were familiar with since the 12th century. It was and still is in many cities in Germany and France, a festival on land and water. Parades and jousts highlight the day or weekend events. Very basically, there are boats with rowers (the horses) and combatants with padded lances (the knights) who attack each other in order to fell the opposing team’s man. Two styles exist in Europe. The first has two boats propelled by 3-10 oarsmen at high speed towards each other with the aim to go past and strike the opponent’s “knight” off the board he is balancing on. The second has smaller boats, with the “knights” standing in the front of the boat, and the 2-3 rowers manipulating for position around the opposing crew to help stabilize their man so he can knock off the other “knight.”

Obviously, balance is the key to winning. But also important is being in full Medieval regalia! The lance used is 2.8 meters long and has a padded “button” or tip. Blows can only be landed around the shoulders and chest — and yes, bruising and broken ribs are inevitable. The knight not knocked into the water wins the match. After all competition is eliminated, the winners are crowned, including a jousting king who has somehow survived each showdown without getting wet.

OK… even today this would be something to watch, but put it all the way back into 1884 on the Comal River, and you can definitely see the appeal.

The Fischerstechen in the fall of 1884 was beyond incredible. The weather had cooperated and held at a balmy 80ish degrees. First, the Comal was dammed up beneath Clemens Dam to form a large river lake that was 20 feet deep. Man-made “islands” were constructed off the riverbanks to serve as stages for singers and musicians and places for scenery changes. Dr. Berger came up with and advertised an ambitious program that included: canon fire at 2 p.m.; a parade of costumed participants through downtown; maneuvering of gondola-style boats to the river lake; dramatic living tableaus of a Venetian fisherman’s life including a wedding, baptism, dance and funeral; the Fischerstechen, fishermen jousters; children swimming; river fairies; singers and musicians. And that was just the afternoon’s events.

The evening on the banks of the river lake and its “islands” was illuminated with Bengal fire, Chinese lanterns, rockets and Roman candles. The descriptions of this fantastic spectacle filled columns of newspapers in Austin, San Antonio and New Braunfels. Of course, they are mostly in German. But what I found out in the hours of translation is that the journalists were pleased with the event and very cheeky in their assessments of the festivities.

One journalist in particular describes the day in such illustrative words that it takes three full columns in his newspaper. Julius Schuetze was the editor of the Texas Vorwartz out of Austin. He was well known by most of our early founders and good friends with most of them. His day began on a train ride from Austin to New Braunfels on which he met and chatted with Governor Ireland of Texas, who was “coming to New Braunfels on business” but ended up participating in the day. The roundtrip ticket was around $1.45 from Austin and 95 cents from San Antonio. It was advertised in the newspapers for several weeks running.

Governor Ireland was joined on the day by Seguin’s State Senator Burgess. New Braunfels had been festooned with garlands and flags. Matzdorff’s Halle (Eagle’s Hall) was a sort of meet-and-greet place for visitors and dignitaries, who after “much hand shaking” and some beer drinking, walked to the riverbank. While watching the Fischerstechen, Julius Schuetze commented that not only were the young people on the gondolas getting wet, but so were their friends and neighbors shouting from the riverbank with their own “wetness” (beer). Lone Star beer was tapped and flowing thoughout the day.

Journalist Schuetze described in vivid detail each floating tableau of the Venetian fisherman’s life. He makes a snide remark about the bishop on the wedding boat performing the wedding in Lutheran vestments. He wonders aloud how a baby could be conceived and born within thirty minutes, unless of course, it had already been conceived and born prior to the wedding (wink wink). He describes with laughter the tableau of two monks kidnapping a young maiden and then getting dunked by the ferryman and his son who save her.

The night held its own attractions. Neptune made an appearance along with Aphrodite and her nymphs as they swam in diaphanous costumes under the man-made flares and fireworks. Schuetze and Governor Ireland agreed that “the inadequate lighting made the bathing scene uninteresting.”

When the festival had run its course, New Braunfels was still in a party mood. Men and women gathered at Lentzen Hall and the Guadalupe Hotel downtown for dancing, music and glasses of beer. Company F, Woods Regiment were holding their 20-year reunion at Lentzen’s and had the governor for dinner and a speech. When the governor retired to the hotel, Capt. Bose led a brass band into the lobby to serenade him. He came out, spoke again and bought a round for all in the room. Retiring to his room once again, Governor Ireland was recalled by a group of Geronimo Farmer’s Verein members who had come to sing for him. Another speech, another glass of beer, another song — this time he went to bed and stayed there.

You would think that the day/evening had finally come to an end, but you’d be wrong. The Geronimo guys could not cross the river in the darkness to get back to Geronimo. They had to wait for the moon to rise. So, they kept singing and drinking at the hotel until a pale sliver of moon came up at about 2 a.m.

New Braunfels finally went to sleep.

Oscar Haas found this story in the Neu-Braunfels Zeitung and wrote about it in the 1960s. In 1962, there was a Comal County Championship Swim Meet at Landa Park pool to which was added “a special feature … canoe jousting contests between teams composed of Rotarians, Lions and Jaycees.” In 1967, the Alamo Canoe Club conducted canoe racing, jousting and kayak races at Landa Park lake. And in 1971, the San Antonio Canoe Club planned to hold canoe jousting on Landa Park Lake in conjunction with Wurstfest. The event was cancelled because the participants failed to show up due to some of their members being injured at the bridge in Gruene.

If you know any information about these later Fischerstechen please contact me at the Sophienburg Museum.

How many of you want to see this again!?!?

Sources: New Braunfels Herald, 1962, 1967, 1971; Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, 1884; Freie Presse, San Antonio 1882, 1884; Texas Vorwartz, Austin, 1884; Oscar Haas Collection, Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

I have written many times about the treasures of New Braunfels, the people, places and things in our history that make our community so special. Some are prominently displayed — Main Plaza, the Plaza Fountain and such. Others are hidden in plain sight. Some are so well hidden that we do not even recognize it as a treasure.

Today I will tell you about a lesser-known treasure in town, the old pioneer’s home on Coll Street. It is unremarkable in appearance and easy to miss. It sits on a large L-shaped lot that wraps around to Clemens Avenue, which is difficult to distinguish except on a map. The house is located directly across the street from Carl Schurz School and yet has remained fairly invisible to passersby. It has been hidden behind overgrown trees and underbrush until just recently.

The pioneer is Jean Jacques von Coll. You may have heard his name if you hang around in museums. So, who is von Coll and why is this guy with a French name important enough to have a street named after him in a German settlement?

Born Johann Jakob von Coll in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1814, he was a lieutenant in the service of the Duke Adolph of Nassau. At the age of 27, von Coll and a group of young officers attended a neighbor’s party while still being under the effects of their alcohol consumption the night before. An exchange of words left both the neighbor and von Coll insulted. A duel was called for, but was quickly called off as neither involved could clearly remember who threw the first insult.

Rumors flew about von Coll leaving town to escape a duel, impacting the future of his military career. The entire officers’ corps was commissioned to learn the truth. Von Coll, believing that he would be dishonorably discharged, resigned at the behest of Duke Adolph of Nassau who suggested that he serve in the military of another country. Von Coll eventually joined the French military and changed his name to Jean Jacques von Coll. Illness caused him to be discharged after six months.

He became involved with the Adelsverein (German Emigration Company), where he was assigned to help with the settlement of Germans in Texas. He led the first German immigrants from Galveston inland on December 29, 1844.

Von Coll was given town lot #25 on Main Plaza (now Schmitz Hotel and NB Coffee). He and partner Adolph Nevendorf operated a lucrative saloon and store at that location. Incidentally, the Sophienburg Museum and Archives currently has the original saloon doors on display. They also have the original matching double doors of his home on Coll Street in the collection.

Von Coll was appointed by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels as the financial officer for the Adelsverein. Not only responsible for keeping the accounts, von Coll was responsible for the new colony’s supplies (kept in the magazine on Sophienburg property) and how they were distributed to the colonists.

For this service, he received acreage adjacent to the Adelsverein Sophienburg property where he built his home. The original acreage encompassed several modern-day city blocks, from Coll Street to San Antonio Street and from Magazine Avenue to Guenther, which includes Clemens Avenue. We will connect these dots in a minute.

Von Coll is famous for stopping New Braunfels from being renamed “Comal.” In 1852, he was elected mayor but served only two months before he was murdered in his store by a discontented settler. Apparently, one of the immigrants walked into von Coll’s store arguing that the Adelsverein was not living up to the promises made in the old country. It resulted in von Coll being shot.

He left behind a wife, Margarethe Elisabeth Schertz, who had come with the Castro colonists, and two young daughters, Kathinka, age 3, and Elisabeth (Bettie), not yet one year old, to live in the home he had built on Coll Street.

The house is built, as many 1845 homes were, a basic house with multiple additions. The small center section is of fachwerk construction (exposed beam frame with straw/mud bricks and stucco exterior). The second, larger section is rectangular and built of stone. The third addition, on the opposite side of the fachwerk house, was built much later in the 19th century after von Coll’s death. The collage of building and window styles is cool to see in person.

And what of von Coll’s little family? Von Coll’s widow, Maragarethe, married Karl Heinrich Guenther. They continued to live in the home at 624 Coll Street. They went on to have seven children between them. Guenther had a brewery on the Comal River. After Guenther died, Margarethe ran the business, becoming the first women brewer.

Daughter, Kathinka, married Senator William Clemens, Jr. Their beautiful home stood on what is now the parking lot of Arlon’s Market at Clemens and San Antonio. Clemens served on the Texas Penitentiary Board and the Clemens Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is named after him. Daughter, Bettie, married Otto Simon.

This just goes to show you that just because something looks unremarkable does not mean that it does not hold a remarkable amount of history or that the history will always be there to see.

Comal County has more than 124 markers highlighting the historical significance of buildings, areas and events; however, for every marked place or building, there may be two or three times more that remain unmarked for various reasons and an unbelievable amount that have been lost. The Comal County Historical Commission works diligently to identify and mark as many historically significant places and buildings as possible before they disappear into a parking lot. If you know of something out there, let them know.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

It was a comfortable warm evening, Valentine’s Day, 1976, in fact. I was one of a group of NBHS seniors sitting on the hoods of several cars parked in front of Ortiz’s Bar across from the Brauntex. We had been told that the Freedom Train was making its way from San Antonio to Austin that night and would pass through New Braunfels, sometime around 10?

We began our vigil well enough, using up the time talking and messing around. Like I said, we were seniors and we were really excited about graduating in the U.S. Bicentennial year. The lure of the Freedom Train was that it had the Liberty Bell in one of the cars. That, and we were out with the guys.

When Saturday, February 14, became Sunday, February 15, Ortiz’s Bar was closed with the perfunctory heavy chain and padlock through the fist-size hole in the double doors. As the world around us grew ever more silent, we became ever more bored. So what do you think a bunch of guys and girls thought they could do in such a situation? You who were teenagers in the ‘70s will know. But for the rest of you reading this, we did the only sensible thing while waiting — we paired off and began “making out.”

I’ll let you guess what that entails, but it was not “hooking up.”

Eventually, the steam locomotive, with its distinctive sound and whistle, reminded us why we were by the railroad crossing on West San Antonio Street at 0-dark-thirty. Engine #610 rumbled by slowly enough for us to see into the lighted glass-sided rail car. And there it was, the Liberty Bell — and there it went. The Freedom Train continued on to Austin and beyond.

The Liberty Bell. It is one of America’s iconic emblems. We have seen it on stamps, war bond posters, bumper stickers, on souvenirs and in movies. But what do we really know about it? Here are some fun facts about our famous symbol of freedom.

1. The Liberty Bell was cast in 1751 in London and hung in the Pennsylvania State House. It cracked on the first ring. It was melted down and recast by local metalworkers, John Pass and John Stowe. Remember the clue in the movie “National Treasure”?
2. The Liberty Bell weighs 2,080 pounds and is 70% copper and 25% tin, with traces of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold and silver. It measures 12 feet around the lip, 7 feet 6 inches around the crown, and 3 feet from lip to crown.
3. The famous words on the Liberty Bell come from the Bible (Leviticus 25:10): PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF.
4. In 1835, abolitionists appropriated this message and renamed the Pennsylvania State House Bell the Liberty Bell.
5. The Liberty Bell’s famous crack is a subject of debate. Hanging in the Pennsylvania State House, the bell was often used. The Liberty Bell cracked in 1835, while being tolled in honor of Chief Justice John Marshall. In 1846, the Liberty Bell was repaired so it could be rung at George Washington’s birthday. When the bell was rung a new crack developed. It is this crack that we see today!
6. A story was written by George Lippard in 1847 which associated the Liberty Bell with the first July 4th and it become a part of the bell’s folklore. Most agree that it was not actually rung on July 4, 1776.
7. The Liberty Bell did ring to call the citizens of Philadelphia together to learn news of the Revolutionary War, and it was rung when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington and the war ended. The last time the bell was sounded was for Washington’s birthday in 1846. That was the last time people heard the bell ring freely with its clapper. Since then, “ringing” of the bell is produced by using a hammer against the exterior.

The Liberty Bell has travelled widely. It was first moved in 1777 from Philadelphia to Allentown to keep it from being melted down for cannons by the British. The bell has also made trips across the nation to spread its message of freedom: World’s Industrial and Cotton Exposition at New Orleans (1885), World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago (1893), Cotton States and Atlantic Exposition at Atlanta (1895), Interstate and West India Exposition at Charleston (1902), Bunker Hill Celebration at Boston (1903), Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis (1904), and the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco (1915). It was during its return trip from San Franciso to Philadelphia that the Liberty Bell came to New Braunfels!

On October 8, 1915, the editor of the New Braunfels Herald noted that the Liberty Bell was going to stop at San Marcos on November 17 for a one-hour stop and that “Sunny San” intended to make a big holiday of the occasion. He indignantly asked the question, “Why not at New Braunfels?”

Well, someone must have gotten in touch with someone who got in touch with someone else, because it was reported in the morning release of the November 17 Neu Braunfelser-Zeitung, that the train would come through New Braunfels at 1:50 p.m. for a five-minute stop. A five-minute stop would “afford a chance for citizens to view the precious relic.” Around 2,000 people assembled at the Missouri-Kansas-Texas depot to witness the historic event. Businesses were decorated with U.S. and Texas flags and then closed at noon to allow folks to gather at the station and along the railway tracks on both sides. A local band came to play patriotic music. The New Braunfels Academy released its students. The children then collected again into a group and with little American flags in hand, prepared to sing, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.”

But the train didn’t come….

A little before 4 p.m., the much-delayed special locomotive was seen coming down the tracks. The townsfolk and children quickly regrouped in readiness and the band began playing. The locomotive was pulling six cars. One car accommodated the bell’s travelling committee and custodians. A special all-steel Pullman flat car, with a brass railing barrier, carried the Liberty Bell which was suspended in the center on a wooden yoke so it could be clearly seen. The children began singing their practiced song accompanied by the band. Reporters shared that “the hundreds of school children, waving as many little Stars and Stripes, made a most attractive and animating impression, hardly to be forgotten during the lifetime of those who witnessed it.”

They waited to see the Liberty Bell come through town in 1915; we waited to see the Liberty Bell come through New Braunfels in 1976. What I just learned in writing this story is that we 1976ers did not see the real Liberty Bell. What we saw was a scaled down version — well, one of many scaled down versions which traversed America on the Freedom Trains. I must admit, I’m feeling a bit depressed by this revelation.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives: Haas collection; archived newspaper collections; Texas State Historical Association; Smithsonian Magazine; America’s Freedom Trains.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Today, July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. America’s 250th birthday. New Braunfels has celebrated America’s birthday for 170 years. The celebrations have changed over time but are no less important.

New Braunfels has a long and storied history of July Fourth celebrations, the first being held in July of 1846. Our earliest founders arrived in the Republic of Texas from Germanic regions of Europe in 1845 when the fledgling America was a mere 69 years old. Within one short year, Texas was admitted into the Union, making the citizens of New Braunfels new Americans.

The first Fourth of July celebration in New Braunfels began with a bang, literally. Two cannons on Sophienburg Hill fired off at sunrise to begin the day. The Adelsverein headquarters building on Sophienburg Hill displayed a large American flag of 28 stars. That flag raising was significant because just the year before, Prince Carl had hoisted a German flag above the Sophienburg while a group of settlers strung up the flag for the Republic of Texas on the Plaza. Three different flags flew over New Braunfels within one year.

The newly minted Americans were very patriotic and found it exciting to celebrate their nation in grand displays of music, parades and patriotic oratory (speeches). Nearly every organization had a band or choral group.

In 1866, the day began with cannon fire. The Declaration of Independence was read by a prominent citizen followed by a short address and most likely the Pledge of Allegiance in German. A festive procession of townspeople was led through the streets by the brass band of the 4th Regulars Union Cavalry Regiment followed by evening dances in several dance halls.

One of the most elaborate and dramatic Fourth of July celebrations ever held in early Texas was the one in New Braunfels saluting the U.S. Centennial in 1876. It was so extensive and elaborate that it received statewide publicity. The Texas Post, a San Antonio German newspaper, reported, “The Centennial of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America was celebrated with dignity befitting the jubilee, greater than in any other city of the State of Texas.”

Citizens went all out for the two-day celebration, decorating their homes and businesses with patriotic flags and wreaths of cedar and mountain laurel. For the parade, they built four triumphal arches downtown close to the plaza and hung a giant picture of George Washington in the Zeitung printing shop.

Setting the tone for the next day’s events, a cannon on Sophienburg Hill was fired 13 times in commemoration of the 13 original colonies. On the Fourth, people were awakened at dawn by the rapid firing of the cannon, followed by trumpets heralding the beginning of the festivities.

The centennial parade was a historical review of the United States of America, played out in pageantry on a grand scale under the 37-star flag. The parade began with bands on decorated wagons, Columbus, George Washington on horseback, followed by floats representing Prince Carl and the founding of New Braunfels, the Liberty Bell, Lady Liberty and a myriad of floats by local organizations and industries.

The entire procession crossed the low-water bridge into Comaltown, where on a large open green (now Eagles Hall), a dance platform had been constructed along with tables and chairs. Hermann Seele gave the opening address before dancing commenced until sunup — for both days!

In 1886, the New Braunfels Volunteer Fire Department was formed. The volunteer department was more than a fire-fighting organization. They were one of the most active civic organizations in town, collecting toys for children and fundraising for fire equipment by putting on costumed shows (they had a band!). For more than 75 years, they were in charge of the Fourth of July festivities.

By the turn of the century, Fourth of July in New Braunfels meant not only parades and speeches but concerts on the Plaza (thus the Bandstand), foot races, baseball games, dances, and fireworks! By 1920s and ‘30s, the Volunteer Fire Department made pumper races (firemen competitions) and water displays part of the fun, shooting arches of water through the air on Main Plaza. There was also miniature golf, boating on the lake and swimming in Landa’s Park.

Many still remember the ‘60s when people gathered across the Landa Park Lake to watch the fireworks. They were set off by local firefighters trained to handle fireworks. Although there were a lot of aerial displays, a number of ground-supported fireworks displays geared to the crowd seated across the lake. Everyone knew it was the end when they saw the American flag sparkling across the water.

New Braunfels grew and changed, gearing summer holidays to more tourist trade. Fireworks displays became the work of professional companies. The volunteer fire Department disbanded as the number of paid fire personnel grew and public Fourth of July events dwindled.

In 1978, Mayor Margaret Naegelin invited city councilmembers to her home for coffee before travelling to the plaza in antique cars, where they enjoyed ice cream and lemonade while the courthouse bells played. Mrs. Naegelin, who was also the president of the Sophienburg Museum and Archives, unknowingly initiated the first Sophienburg Ol’ Fashion Fourth of July Parade and Patriotic Program in Downtown New Braunfels. This year marks 48 years. It has grown into a collaboration with the City of New Braunfels and remains one of the oldest traditions celebrated by our Founding Fathers — of both America and New Braunfels.

Happy 250th birthday, America!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Oma & Opa, German Texas Pioneers by Curt E. Schmidt; Around the Sophienburg by Myra Lee Adams Goff.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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