Oscar Haas, the Battleship Texas and the “Spirit of the Spanish-American War”
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — How great is this photo of New Braunfels boys! The image was copied for Oscar Haas by Mr. Seidel in 1960, but it dates way back to March 17, 1900. The young men, dressed up for the Kindermaskenzug (Children’s Masquerade Parade), are standing in front of the New Braunfels Academy. […]
Movie memories
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — We go see the latest movie and think nothing about it. It is an easy and common thing to do. I don’t even remember the first film I saw, though I’m fairly certain it was a Disney movie. Not so in the early 1900s. I recently found several articles in […]
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, taking a room at the […]
Getting “pop” in New Braunfels
Keva Hoffmann Boardman – Soda pop? Soft drink? Soda water? My family just says “soda.” Whatever you call it, the soft drink industry is huge. When did New Braunfelsers first get a taste for the sugary yet satisfying beverage? As early as 1872, Otto and Theo. Simon were bottling ice cold soda at their home. […]
Potholes, paving and praise the Lord!
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Driving down Magazine Street the other day, I may have muttered some choice words when I bounced into a pothole that, I promise, a whole pig could have fit into. By the time I got to the Sophienburg, I was thinking hard about the streets in NB. Were they ever […]
World War I Centennial and Weihnachtsmarkt
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — At 11:00am on November 11, 1918, the fighting ended. Bells tolled around the world to mark the end of the Great War. Over 4.7 million Americans stepped up to serve in uniform between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918. Two million of them were deployed overseas and 116,516 of […]
Tenacity leads to progress
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Recently in the “Smithsonian” magazine, consumer sensor expert, Kevin Ashton, talked about successful innovator skills. His observation was that they possessed tenacity. “The difference between successful innovators and everyone else is that innovators keep failing until they don’t.” He also said “For most of history, creation was seen as a […]
Background of Bracken Bowling
By Myra Lee Adams Goff “Rip Van Winkle” is a short story written by Washington Irving. Rip lives in a village by the Catskill Mountains. He is an easygoing, henpecked husband. One day he wanders into the mountains to go hunting and he meets and drinks with Henry Hudson’s legendary sailing crew. They are bowling […]
