New Braunfels has seen several daring jailbreaks
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I recently found a note in Oscar Haas’s archive collection, “Zeitung, Thursday, July 6, 1899. Use story some time concerning a jailbreak.” He never published the story. I felt like he was “speaking from the grave” and I should look into it. The first purpose-built
Weather reports from New Braunfels
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is pull up the weather app on my phone. I want to know temperature and precipitation possibilities in order to get dressed appropriately. Humans have always watched the weather. Where to settle, when
Rancho Comal at Spring Branch
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — A Princely Estate — We learn that Maj Leland of New York, has settled among us, having purchased the Comal Ranch of Col. Sparks, fronting the Guadalupe River 9 miles, and laying 22 miles west of New Braunfels … all one body of some ten
Chute! Remember where Clemens Dam and Stinky Falls were located?
By Myra Lee Adams Goff (Reprise August 9, 2006) — One hundred and one years ago H.D. Gode bought the first automobile here in New Braunfels. Most citizens believed this contraption would never replace the horse and buggy. Well, at least we don’t have horse and buggy traffic jams on
Waggoners important to early New Braunfels transportation
(Encore presentation — Originally appeared February 8, 2011) By Myra Lee Adams Goff Waggoners or Teamsters were important to early New Braunfels. They not only led the wagon trains of the early German settlers but they hauled freight to and from the frontier, especially the Gulf coast. G. Fred Oheim,
‘Bout birthin’ babies
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman – Tokology. When you read that word, what do you think of? When I came across an old book in the Sophienburg’s collections with this title I was intrigued. If you are like me, you may have thought this book was about “the study of toking”
Serdinko’s story
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Request from Fargo, North Dakota: Do you know anything about a New Braunfels photographer named J. Serdinko? “Uhhh…yeah,” I thought to myself, “but not enough to answer this request!” The Sophienburg photograph collections contain several hundred thousand images; about 300 of those are impressed with
The Friedrich brothers (Part 1)
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I should have known that receiving a scanned copy of a pencil sketch of “The Meusebach-Comanche Treaty” would send me down yet another historical “bunny trail.” The sketch was signed in block letters — “FRIEDRICH 1847” — and depicts hundreds of Commanche, horses, Meusebach, U.S. Indian
Early jails in New Braunfels
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — According to stories of the Old West, suspected criminals were shot or hung. No jail was necessary. Then as people became more civilized, there arose a doubt as to whether the person accused was actually guilty. Could we possibly say that “those were the