The Dittlinger legacy

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Who would believe that a Union soldier residing in New Braunfels for a mere three months could leave a lasting mark on our city? Nicolaus Dittlinger did just that. In December of 1865, Nicolaus Dittlinger arrived in New Braunfels with his wife and youngest child,

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Yet another rip-roaring July 4th celebration

By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Historically, the first July 4th celebration in New Braunfels goes back to 1846. The emigrants had arrived only three months earlier on March 21, 1845, when Texas was still the Republic of Texas. Now, in 1846 they could celebrate the national festival commemorating the

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Tombstone mystery

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Last week Sylvia Segovia and I were walking through Hidalgo Panteon searching for the graves of several people. If you have never visited this charming little cemetery, you are in for a truly cultural treat. You will find rows and rows of concrete crosses and

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Race for pride

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Some of my favorite memories include Mayfest, a fundraising event that was put on by the New Braunfels Volunteer Fire Department beginning in early 20th century. The early versions of the day-long event included parades, picnics in Landa Park, foot races, sack races and pumper

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“Ein Prosit, ein Prosit” to music

By Myra Lee Adams Goff We are celebrating the 175th Anniversary of New Braunfels and its unique culture in which music played a large part. Music creates sounds that evoke different emotions. Sounds representing joy, sadness, patriotism, history and love and can be produced through many different instruments and particularly

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Prohibition unpopular in New Braunfels

The sharing of history comes in many formats including murals, oral storytelling, books, newspapers and sometimes social media. Recently a photo of the New Braunfels Brewing Company was posted on the “Remember in New Braunfels, TX when…” Facebook page questioning where that building was. The answer is the New Braunfels

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The Toepperweins, Texas treasures

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — One of the things I really love about New Braunfels is the way folks have of helping each other and sharing information. I was recently contacted by the New Braunfels Public Library about two children’s books which had been pulled from the library’s general collection.

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New Braunfels calling

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — The multitude of seasonal well wishes received over the past month got me to thinking. Christmas cards and actual phone calls seem to be dwindling while texts, Instagram and Facebook posts (at least at my house) are on the rise. It’s amazing to consider just how

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Dr. Otto R. Grube practiced in New Braunfels

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman, Sophienburg Curator Occasionally, I need to look through the Sophienburg’s newspaper collection. The papers, on microfilm, date from 1852 to present day; it is an amazing resource. Often, an unrelated search sends me “down a bunny trail” (of course, I follow!). As I was researching pigeons

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Keep your eye on the grand old flag

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The words “Keep your eye on the grand old flag” by George M. Cohan comes from Cohan’s song, “It’s a Grand Old Flag,” a stage musical he wrote over 100 years ago. It was 1906 to be exact. The song is second in popularity only

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