By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

The Guadalupe River is always there. It is life-sustaining water. It rages. It slows to a trickle. It calls us to fish, to play, or to watch sunlight dance off its surface as it rolls on toward the coast. The river beckons us to gather at its edge to make extraordinary memories while enjoying the ordinary.

River Road follows alongside the Guadalupe River for approximately 10 miles from just outside New Braunfels up to Sattler. Just getting to places on the Guadalupe River by way of River Road is half the fun. Sometimes driving River Road IS the fun.

The River Road area has a long history, much of which took place before humans inhabited it. This region once was covered by a vast sea, depositing layers of silt for millions of years. Then, sometime 5 to 66 million years ago, the earth’s layers shifted up, down and sideways, creating what we know here in Central Texas as the Balcones Escarpment.

If you look at a map, the escarpment is that funny ridge of hills in the middle of Texas dividing the Hill Country from flat Blackland Prairie. It curves up from Del Rio to San Antonio and north of Waco. You might also recognize that curve being the same as the cold front and storm warning lines on the local weather channels. Ever wonder why bad weather seems to hang over I-35? Perhaps, because I-35 is built on the Blackland Prairie along the Balcones Escarpment? But, I digress. All that was to point out that Comal County sits on the edge of the Balcones Escarpment. The Guadalupe River cuts crossways through the escarpment to create postcard-perfect scenery of steep bluffs and towering cypress trees lining its banks.

Seeking larger tracts of land outside of New Braunfels, some immigrants moved out to the Hill Country. In the 1870s, Wilhelm Bretzke began acquiring land in the area between what is now FM 306 and the Guadalupe River. The Bretzke Ranch reached more than 1,700 acres. As more immigrants came, they pushed further out along the river, establishing the communities of Wallhalla and Sattler. Getting there could be difficult since early roads consisted of mostly cattle trails and rough wagon roads.

In 1901, Comal County Commissioners established a real road. Guadalupe River Drive (now River Road), was one of the earliest roads built in Comal County. The “public road, third class, twenty-two feet wide with gates” was basically a rock trail cut from the hillside used by farmers and ranchers traveling (think horse and buggy) to New Braunfels. It stretched nearly 10 miles from New Braunfels up the river toward Sattler.

A 1905 account of a social event at Wallhalla described the “romantic and beautiful bluffs and water scenery” as 75 people traveled River Road to their destination. It also emphasized caution on the “dangerous canyon” road in the dark after experiencing a broken hack wheel and broken buggy shaft along the way. That is a seriously rough road.

The road may have been established by the county, but there was no budget for maintenance. By 1918, landowners and townspeople were asked for contributions to repair River Road, to which many graciously contributed. In the ‘20s, as the automobile increased in popularity, property owners and civic groups petitioned the county to upgrade the road from third-class to second-class road.

Road building and improvements were helped along by the Federal Aid Road Act in 1921 and state gasoline tax in 1923. Even then, occasional high water still required “mountain people” to ride a horse the back way to town, as their vehicles could not make it over the flooded crossings. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the 30s funded 49 men to rebuild River Road. Through the program, Comal County’s portion was $12,242.46 and the federal portion was $15, 363.

The 1950s saw an increase in outdoor recreation. River Road was built out and paved all the way to Sattler. People would drive River Road on a bright, sunny day and picnic in the areas along the rivers. The Wilhelm Bretzke property included a lot of river frontage between first and second crossings, and the Bretzke family made use of it. They opened the river front property to campers and named it KL Picnic & Campgrounds. Surely, they had no idea what they had done for the camping business on River Road at the time.

Comal County Commissioners let a contract to build new bridges in 1964 to replace the low-water crossings, which flooded easily. Later in 1965, as the work progressed, there was huge uproar about the destruction of trees. A line of 40 mature cypress trees adjoining the K&L Ranch property, many of which were over 3 feet in diameter, were bulldozed to raise the roadbed up by 8 feet and prevent flooding. The pleas of the local residents and civic organizations to save the majestic trees were denied. An additional 30 cypress trees were cut to widen the channel at third crossing.

Picnic and camping grounds popped up everywhere along the river in the ‘60s and ‘70s, mostly due to the completion of Canyon Dam. Travel along River Road became treacherous. Cars could park on both sides of the narrow rural road, making it tough for two cars to pass each other while watching out for happy drunks and people standing in the roadway. As of July 1976, parking on River Road was no longer allowed.

The Guadalupe River is still there and so is River Road. The Bretzke family is still there and so is KL. I am a native of New Braunfels with many decades under my belt. I know the Bretzke family and I have been to KL Picnic & Campgrounds multiple times. Until recently, I did not know why Bretzke Ranch included “KL” in their business names. So, here it goes.

Back in the 1870s, Wilhelm Bretzke leased out acreage to one Mr. Louis Klappenbach to graze cattle. Mr. Klappenbach eventually sold all of his cattle to Wilhelm, as well as his cattle brand, KL. The Bretzke Ranch became known as KL Ranch because of the brand.

Wilhelm Bretzke’s son, Robert, had a son, R. Lee Bretzke, who began KL Picnic and Campgrounds. He passed the business to his sons, Mike and Dave Bretzke, who then changed the name to KL Ranch Camp. Today, the KL name is carried on by the next generation, operating as KL Ranch Camp — On the River, run by Tara Bretzke Hildebrand (Jason), and KL Ranch Camp — Cliffside, run by Bobby Bretzke (Jennifer).

Just like the river, River Road has changed over time. It is still a great scenic drive, especially in a convertible on a bright spring afternoon when the water is calm and the Texas and American flags ripple against a canopy of green. Have a great summer.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Handbook of Texas Online; Julie Bretzke.

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

The post River Road reverie appeared first on Sophies Shop.

Another downtown building, the Phoenix Saloon owners Ross and Debbie Fortune, are applying for a Texas Historical Marker. The Phoenix Saloon history really does live up to the story of the Phoenix, a legendary bird that builds its own funeral pyre, throws itself into the fire, lays an egg in the ashes and hatches a new Phoenix bird. This legend has been used often as a metaphor for rebirth or resurrection. The metaphor fits the local Phoenix Saloon.

The property at the corner of east Castell and west San Antonio Sts., according to the late Roberta Mueller, was owned by Valentine Sippel, her great grandfather. Valentine married Anna Ossman and they had three children: Kaytrina, who was crippled, Henry, who was killed in the Civil War, and finally son John, who lived to be 50 years old by his own choice, when he committed suicide.

John Sippel married into the successful Gruene family by marrying Johanna Gruene. After six children, the marriage ended in a bitter divorce, according to family members. Sippel had built the Phoenix Saloon in 1871 and moved into the second floor. Christian Hohmann and Henry Meier operated a bar and billiard room on the first floor of the two-story building. H.R. Schumacker operated a brewery in the basement from 1872 to 1875, selling a keg of beer for $2.25 and a glass for 5 cents, the going rate at the time.

About 40 different persons are associated with the proprietorship, bartending of the saloon, and sometimes restaurant, too many names to put in this column. The building was also called by several names until 1895 when it was finally called the Phoenix Saloon and Restaurant.

Trouble

An unfortunate incident occurred in 1885 when proprietor Walter Krause fought with a customer named James Alexander. Testimonies of two men in the saloon that day (Harry Mergele and Emil Schertz), stated that Alexander asked Krause how much he owed and Krause told him a quarter. Alexander said that he would pay him after pay day. Krause took exception to this and called him ugly names. Alexander left the building to go to Naegelin’s Bakery (apparently he worked there) and returned with one dollar, put it on the bar and retaliated with more ugly names. Krause jumped him from behind the bar and they exchanged blows. Alexander then left the bar as Krause was bleeding near the eye. Twelve days later Krause died as a result of the wounds.

Beer garden and chili

One of the attractions of the Phoenix was its beer garden facing San Antonio St. Women were welcome out there, but not inside. Women never went inside a saloon. The beer garden was between the saloon and the old Comal County Courthouse facing San Antonio St. The garden was also accessible from Castell St. at the back of the building next to the Ludwig Hotel which was located in what is now the parking lot of Chase Bank. Sippel had built a small pool with a fountain in the garden containing gold fish, a large catfish, and even a baby alligator. It was a popular gathering place downtown. Bells hanging from the trees summoned waiters from inside.

Another big attraction was William Gebhardt’s cafe at the back of the saloon. Gebhardt developed a sort of stew using ground up ancho peppers that he called Tampico Dust. This extremely popular concoction caused Gebhardt in 1892 to move to San Antonio where his brother-in-law, Albert Kronkosky, Sr. helped him organize the Gebhardt Chili Powder Co. Gebhardt’s wife was Rosa Kronkosky, sister of Albert. Incidentally Albert Kronkosky, Jr. was a very successful businessman who eventually owned the San Antonio Drug Co. as well as being a major stockholder in Merck & Co. Thus the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation was founded.

Prohibition

In 1895 a fire caused damage to the saloon as well as Fritz Maier’s “German Advocate” newspaper on the second floor, but the Phoenix rose again. After the reopening of the saloon there were many proprietors and “when everything was going right, up popped the devil – PROHIBITION”. The advent of prohibition dealt a blow to the saloon world. In NB as early as 1887 the second floor of the Phoenix had become the headquarters of the Anti-Prohibition movement for Comal County. Prohibition was a national issue so each state was to vote either for or against. New Braunfels held rallies around the Plaza and when the vote came up, Comal County voted 100% against prohibition. ”Gambrinus”, the legendary inventor of beer, had many followers in Comal County. At that time there were four breweries in New Braunfels: Rennert Brewery, Dampmann Brewery, Guenther Brewery and New Braunfels Brewing Co. This last one managed to stay open by producing a “near beer” called Busto.

During WWI, prohibition had linked itself with patriotism. First saloons were closed to soldiers and then in a burst of wartime feeling in 1918 the state of Texas voted in favor of prohibition. Rumors of an illicit brewery have circulated in NB but there is no proof. In the basement of the Phoenix there is a hole in the wall that some have speculated was an underground tunnel, but it turns out that it was probably a storage place for coal for the heating system.

Prohibition went into effect January of 1920, but the Phoenix Saloon closed down from 1918 to 1922. Then came two financial blows to the country, especially the government – the Great Depression and the fall of the stock market. One solution to these problems for the government was to repeal Prohibition so that taxes could be collected from the sale of liquor. Prohibition was repealed by 1933.

Building expansion

In 1922 the building was bought by Albert Ludwig, who expanded the building and added a third floor for the Masonic Lodge #1109. Jacob Schmidt bought the building in 1927 and operated a clothing store for 60 years. Several other businesses followed from 1996.

The latest rise of the Phoenix occurred when the Fortunes bought the property and brought it back to its original purpose, a saloon that has music and even serves chili. The Phoenix has risen again and remains a historic site!

The post Phoenix Saloon applies for historical designation appeared first on Sophies Shop.

The City of New Braunfels Parks and Recreation Dept. is living up to the city’s mission statement of adding value to the community by planning for the future and encouraging community involvement. Two public parks are in the planning stage, Fischer Park and Mission Hill Park.

If all goes well, an opening date of 2014 is anticipated for the 62 acre Fischer Park located at County Lind Road and McQueeney Rd. Mission Hill will be somewhat after this date.

Wade Tomlinson, Park Development Manager, in speaking of Fischer Park, said the historic character of the park was important and that the aim was for anyone who visited the park to be able to perceive that the property had been a working farm. The Fischer family brand will be used on park signage to help represent this. Two ponds already on the property will become potential fishing and boating ponds, one with a pier. New buildings will have a ranch-look to them.

A large event center designed in the central Texas ranch style, painted in earth tones, could be rented out for up to 300 people. It would have outdoor seating as well and could be used for weddings, family reunions and other gatherings.

Another potential building would be used for classrooms and offer nature courses. A ranch-like playground would contain a nature trail and splash pads. Austin parks have splash pads and children love them. This park will be free to the public but buildings will be available for a fee.

The 62 acres was at one time the homestead of Dewey and Milda Fischer. Their son, Maurice Fischer, and his brother and three sisters sold 55 acres to the City of NB and donated three acres to the NB Parks Foundation.

Back to the beginning of the Fischer family in Texas: Willie Fischer began his ranching business in Kendalia in the Twin Sisters area when he bought a large tract of land around the year 1900. Willie was the son of German immigrants Fritz and Caroline Klinger Fischer from Burgdorf, Hanover, Germany. Willie married his wife Meta Knibbe and in 1898, Meta died as a result of giving birth to their only child, Ottilie. The baby was raised by her grandparents, Charles and Pauline Knibbe of Spring Branch. Ottilie would marry Alfred Jonas and produce twin girls, Audrey (Dean) and Jacquelyn (Mayer).

Willie continued ranching in the Twin Sisters area. Then in 1904 he married again to Martha Bartels, the daughter of Henry and Marie Startz Bartels. They had three children, Linda, Nola, and Dewey.

Dewey Henry Fischer was born in 1911. At a dance at Smithsons Valley, he met his future wife Milda Sahm. Milda was born in the settlement of Comal in 1918 to Edwin and Hilda Sahm. Dewey and Milda were married in a formal wedding ceremony at First Protestant Church in New Braunfels in 1935 by Rev. Gottlob Mornhinweg. (Five generations of the Fischer family were married in this church.) Dewey and Milda lived at the family ranch house in Kendalia .

Willie Fischer in 1944 bought land in New Braunfels between Hwy. 725 and the Old McQueeney Road. Dewey bought land on the other side of his dad’s property in early 1946 and shortly thereafter he and Milda moved their family to this property. Their oldest child, Maurice, was getting ready to start to school and they wanted him and their future children to attend school in New Braunfels. Children Dean, Beverly, Faye Lynn, and Debra were born in New Braunfels. This is the property where the park is located.

Dewey Fischer was a successful farmer and businessman on the Kendalia ranch and later in New Braunfels. As a young man, he purchased a bulldozer, built a trailer, and then added a scraper, a grader, and two caterpillar crawler tractors. With this he began the Dewey Fischer Construction Company. He was active in soil conservation work and dug the pond that is on the park property.

He died suddenly in 1967. His wife Milda continued living in the NB property and several years later she married Helmuth Schlameus.

Over the years various family members lived in the farmhouse and Christmas 2006 was the last time that the family celebrated together in the old house. There are, however, 29 direct descendants of Dewey Fischer living within two miles of New Braunfels.

The Fischer family can be proud of the community use made of their land and the homestead will live on through the park.

The post Fischer Park will have historic background appeared first on Sophies Shop.

By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

When I was 6 years old, I remember proudly being able to finally count to 100 without messing up. I counted 100 pennies. I counted 100 M&M’s (though I rarely made it through that without eating some). Those were tangible. It is still very hard for me to wrap my head around counting 100 of anything intangible … like 100 years. What was it even like 100 years ago in 1926?

Well, World War I ended in 1918. The U.S. economy was humming along, and automobiles became common place. Queen Elizabeth II was born, and the magician Houdini died. The famed U.S. Route 66 was established, connecting Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. Closer to home, the towering Comal Power Plant (LCRA, now The Landmark Apartments) was built, and, believe it or not, the Women’s Civic Improvement Club funded the installation of a women’s restroom under the bandstand on Main Plaza.

As New Braunfels grew, the number of churches grew to serve the needs of people moving into the community. In August of 1925, an announcement appeared in the New Braunfels Herald touting Rev. H. Schliesser, a field missionary of the Lutheran Texas Synod, was in New Braunfels to organize a Lutheran congregation. The first services, conducted in German, were upstairs at Mergele Hall.

The Mergeles of Harry Mergele’s Hall are founding families from France. They were merchants. Their home is the little green building that sits behind the store at 166 Comal Avenue (now the chiropractor office). Mergele Hall may not ring a bell with you because the building has had so many other occupants. The two-story building, now the home of Water 2 Wine at 185 S. Seguin, has housed many entities over the years, including a place for the militia to drill, a dance studio, piano studio, and an assembly hall, part of Denson-Dedeke Gifts (downstairs) in the ‘80s and the original retail space for Celebrations Bridal (upstairs). St. Paul Lutheran was one of many churches that got their start upstairs at Mergele Hall.

The new Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul Congregation was established and officially recognized March 21, 1926. The church continued to grow under the guidance of the Rev. H Schliesser. The services were conducted in German in the morning and English in the afternoon with Sunday School in between.

By October 1926, the Lutheran Mission Board of the Iowa Synod voted to contribute to the St. Paul congregation, helping them purchase a house and lot on San Antonio Street for a parsonage, along with two adjacent lots to build a church on Santa Clara. They operated out of those few buildings for a while as they continued to grow their services.

Within a year, they added a St Paul Lutheran Ladies Aid and St. Paul Luther League (for teens), and the St. Paul Lutheran Brotherhood. 1928 saw more opportunities to participate in worship with the creation of the sanctuary and junior choirs. Then, the Great Depression hit.

In 1939, Rev. H.A. Heineke formed a building committee to begin planning a new church building. The church, designed by noted architect, Jeremiah Schmidt, and built by C. R. Roessler, was built of native fieldstone with beautiful dark wood interior beams/trim and stained-glass windows. The $6,000 ($110,000 today) note covered the building and furniture. The church, now known as the Chapel, was dedicated on April 14, 1940. The Chapel is one of the only Jeremiah Schmidt buildings in New Braunfels without a Texas State Historical marker.

St. Paul’s congregation continued to grow, much like churches across the U.S. in the 1960s. This growth prompted the congregation to expand their footprint. In 1962, a new, larger sanctuary was built. The new church building wrapped around the original Jeremiah Schmidt chapel, with its modern design incorporating similar stone, wood beams and colorful stained-glass windows.

With New Braunfels being 180 years old, you might wonder why it took 80 years for a Lutheran church congregation to be established. Well, there is a whole backstory to that. The Lutheran denominations began in Europe and arrived in Texas with German, Swedish, Czech immigrants. In 1850, Pastor Kleiss of Baden, Germany, arrived in Texas to check out the possibilities for new Lutheran congregations. He established himself in the Hortontown and Neighborsville communities across the river from New Braunfels.

In 1851, the German-speaking congregation erected St. Martin Church, the oldest Lutheran church in Texas. A school building was built in 1870 (still standing across from New Braunfels Conservation Society gate). The congregation grew until the turn of the century. St. Martin’s was part of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas. It became difficult to supply churches with German-speaking pastors who were of Evangelical or Reformed faith. When services were discontinued, the congregants attended nearby German-speaking churches, First Protestant Church in New Braunfels or Friedens Church in Geronimo.

St. Martin’s Church was taken over and restored by the St. Paul Lutheran Congregation in 1963. St. Martin’s Church was moved to its present place in the Hortontown Cemetery when Loop 337 was built and is marked by a Texas Historical Marker. St. Paul Lutheran Church still holds special services in St. Martins.

One hundred years ago, St. Paul Lutheran began a journey in Christ and extended itself to not only take care of future congregants, but to honor the history of Lutheranism in Texas. Here’s to counting 100 more years!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives

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

The post One hundred years and counting for St. Paul Lutheran appeared first on Sophies Shop.

By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

A drive through downtown New Braunfels is somewhat like a visual history of architecture course comparing different architectural styles from 1845 to mid-20th century. It may just look like a bunch of old buildings sitting side by side to some, but they tell the cultural and socioeconomic timeline of our city.

Take the old city hall building on the corner of Seguin Avenue and Mill Street, before the Wiggins Hospitality Company began transforming the historic building into its newest eatery, the building did not seem to fit in with the more traditional Italian Renaissance-style structures of downtown. It had no distinctive curvilinear parapet, no arched windows, no fancy metal cornice. Simply put, the building was rather plain. Why is it so different?

While we do generally think of government buildings being more about function than aesthetics, the design differences of our old city hall had more to do with the era in which it was built.

The good citizens of New Braunfels had established a government consisting of two elected commissioners and a mayor to handle the city’s business. For a number of years, the city commission and the city clerk occupied space in the courthouse, a massive 3½-story Romanesque-style structure built in 1898.

By early 1929, New Braunfels had grown so much that the city required more clerical help and more space. The county closed in the west courthouse porches to office the city clerk. The need for a real free-standing city hall with adequate space for city staff and records was evident.

Grown? Yep! The decade of the 1920s saw tremendous growth in Texas and New Braunfels due to several key factors. The Second Industrial Revolution took place in the U.S. from 1890 to 1930, infused by innovations in electricity, steel, railroad expansion and oil. The Comal Power Plant was built and came online in 1926, creating new jobs. The end of World War I in 1918 saw soldiers returning armed with new skills. They flooded the urban areas seeking jobs and homes. Our proximity to San Antonio military bases helped. New Braunfels’ population increased by nearly 74 percent in 10 years! Yikes! The little town was becoming a city and had nothing more to their name than a couple of desks, chairs and some records in an office they did not own.

In May of 1929, a bond issue of $35,000 passed to construct a city hall and to acquire the necessary land. Several sites were considered: the Peter Nowotny site (Seguin and Mill); the Landa residence (now County Annex), a lot at Bridge and Seguin, the Comal Hotel (now Prince Solms Inn), Eggling Market Square (possibly Markt Platz as Eggling was previous the name of Comal Hotel), and a lot near the City Hospital (Sts. Peter and Paul Thrift area). Obviously, they chose the corner of Seguin and Mill. Good choice!

By mid-July the City Commission had not only purchased the lot, they had also chosen architect Jeremiah Schmidt. Schmidt was busy between 1929 and 1933, designing and supervising a number of buildings in New Braunfels, including the First National Bank, Comal County jail and courthouse, Seele Parish House, Fire Station No. 2 on Coll Street, and Sophienburg Museum, all in varying styles.

Schmidt’s designs for the old city hall are Classic Moderne, a sub-class of Art Deco architecture. True to the Classic Moderne distinguishing features, the original old city hall has a flat roof with a small ledge at the roof-line, horizontal lines and geometric designs, decorative stone banding, metal casement windows, and glass-block windows used as front door accents. Most importantly, it had prominent outdoor steps rising to a centered, arched entry door on three sides to give the square building a powerful presence. For those of you who have looked at that building all your lives, yes, it originally had an over-sized arched front door.

The contract was let to Sipple Construction, and they broke ground on Tuesday, October 22, 1929, with 110 days to complete work. The stock market crashed exactly one week later, Tuesday, October 29, 1929. The Great Depression took a little while to trickle down to New Braunfels, but they were told to rush the work in December.

The city hall was finished and opened on Tuesday, May 7,1930, at a cost of $30,000. The building housed the city staff of four, Chamber of Commerce and the Board of City Development offices. Summer came and their new building was so warm that the city commission paid to have electric ceiling fans and desk fans installed. The final payment on the 1930 city hall was made in September 1955.

City hall became home to other departments over time. The police department, originally based out of Central Fire Station, moved into the basement. In 1955, an exterior light was added to the basement door since they went in and out at night. The police department moved into their own little white brick building next to old Central Fire Station in 1959. (That little building was later torn down for the new Central Station). New Braunfels Independent School District moved into the city hall basement offices vacated by the police department.

At some unknown point before 1959, renovations were made to the old city hall. They replaced the front doors, bricked in the archway, and hung a metal canopy over the entrance. They installed metal awnings over the windows and, although more efficient, completely changed the clean Art Deco styling.

When the city offices moved into a new home on Castell Avenue in 1992, the Sophienburg Memorial Association purchased the 1930 city hall building to house the ever-growing archives. Following the completion of a new city library, the City of New Braunfels gifted the Dittlinger Memorial Library to the Sophienburg Memorial Association in 2001. The old city hall building was sold to fund renovations to the Dittlinger library building, creating an archives library and museum exhibit hall.

Since that time, the old city hall building at Seguin and Mill has served as office space and restaurants. I’m looking forward to the new Old City Hall Restaurant, making something old new again.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

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

The post Making the old new again appeared first on Sophies Shop.

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

What if New Braunfels was not named New Braunfels? I had never considered this, but of course the wonderful historian Oscar Haas did and recorded his findings in his book, History of New Braunfels and Comal County 1844-1946.

There are two occasions on record wherein New Braunfels nearly lost its place-name. — Oscar Haas

Many of you readers know that New Braunfels was named and founded on March 21, 1845, by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. He chose to name this town after his hometown of Braunfels on the Lahn River in Germany. The first time the name “New Braunfels” was in jeopardy was just prior to the creation of Comal County by the First Texas Legislature.

There was much talk of creating a new county with our town as the county seat. There was some dispute as to whether the county seat should be called New Braunfels or Comaltown. — Oscar Haas

The Republic of Texas began creating counties in 1836. Rusk County was the 36th and the last to be formed during the Republic. In March 1846, Comal County became the 44th county and was formed from the eighth precinct of Bexar County. Bexar County was the third county created by the Republic of Texas and it was beyond enormous. Between 1845 and 1876, the Texas Legislature formed over 120 new counties from what was originally Bexar County. Just FYI: there are 254 Texas counties.

New Braunfels kept its name. It is interesting to note that a lot of county seat cities are located near the center of the county so it is reasonably accessible to the whole county. New Braunfels sits on the southeast boundary of the county as it was, and still is, the largest city in Comal County.

The second time New Braunfels found its name in danger was in 1918. The October 31, 1918, edition of the Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung published an article first published in the October 29, 1918, edition of the Galveston News.

The war with Germany has set a movement on foot aimed at changing the name of the City of New Braunfels. It could be that the loyal descendants of the German colonists of the year 1845, who settled there … [would] under present circumstances consider it a disgrace. It may be true that Prince Solms-Braunfels was not possessed of great aptitude. It is said that he left the colony in the lurch at a critical moment and that his successor had to pay some of the Prince’s debts in Texas and that he never returned.However, New Braunfels is an established name that has grown estimable to the highest degree through the citizenship of that community among whom are many direct descendants of the colonists who landed at Galveston and via Indianola came overland to the Comal in search of freedom and opportunity. The name signifies a great deal with regards to history and cannot possibly have any bearing on the present international state of affairs.

With the place-name New Braunfels, which stems from an ancient place-name of the old country, with its street names, Texas possesses an aesthetic treasure. In New Braunfels one finds Spanish, Mexican, Indian, German, and unalloyed Texan street names, in a manner that reveals beauty and meaning. The picturesque historical names of Texas cities, which came into existence since the Republic, are Texan. Names should never be changed just because of a foreign country origin whose behavior we do not sanction.

To the above article, the editor of the Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung added:

The Galveston News has eminently reasonable views in such matters. Besides, here, no one thinks of changing the name of our city, which, moreover, is not named for a prince, but an especially pretty little city which has furnished our country with admirable citizens. Loyalty is not proven by name-changing or through vandalistic destruction of historical characteristics, but through disposition and performance, and on these standards New Braunfels can confidently be surveyed.

New Braunfels has kept her name. People get it wrong, but locals will always proudly correct them to its true pronunciation.

Just for grins, Oscar Haas listed a few of the before-mentioned multi-cultural street names in early New Braunfels:

• Hispanic — Guadalupe, Nacogdoches, San Antonio, Seguin, Veramendi
• Native American — Waco (Caddo), Comal (Nahuatl), Comanche (Ute)
• German — Baden, Basel, Becker, Castell, Clemens, Coll, Dittlinger, Eickel, Faust, Giesecke, Gruene, Guenther, Hampe, Jahn, Karbach, Klingemann, Kuehler, Lindheimer, Meusebach, Seele, Tolle, Zink
• Scottish — Ferguson, Murchison
• Irish — McGaugh, McKenna
• English — Torrey, Lincoln, Water, Mill, Bridge

What multi-cultural street names can you add to the list?

And, if you are interested in more fun, unusual and “make-you-look-clever” historical facts, Oscar Haas’s book can be purchased at Sophie’s Shop in the Sophienburg Museum for $40 plus tax.

Sources: History of New Braunfels and Comal County 1844-1946, Oscar Haas; Handbook of Texas.

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

The post “What’s in a name?” — William Shakespeare appeared first on Sophies Shop.

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

This autobiographical sketch was written prior to a Reflections: Oral History Program taping recorded on November 13, 1979. Mr. Fischer was born in December of 1896. He was the son of Fritz Fischer and Caroline nee Klinger Fischer and one of 12 children. He passed away 10 months after the recording, at the age of 83.

The following excerpt beautifully describes the joy and wonder of his younger years and his amazing life-long work ethic.

I was born on a farm Dec 9, 1896, in a small rock house at Twin Sisters, Blanco Co, Texas. In those days all small boys wore dresses and being the baby of twelve, I had lots of hand-me-downs.

After this period was over, my brother Walter bought me a four-month-old German Shepherd black dog. When this dog was 1½ years old and grown, Walter made me a gig out of two wheels, an axle seat and two broom sticks. I trained this dog, and after several months, I would get on the seat and drive him anywhere just like a horse. After about a year, I decided that I needed a two-span team and tried to teach a hound for the second member. This worked out very well until one day I was driving my two dogs in the pasture when the hound spotted a jack rabbit and took out after him. I fell off and the rig and harnesses were completely demolished. All the consolation I got out of my brother was, “I told you so!”

On account of my mother’s health, I was not baptized until I was five years old. She was not able to go, but my dad, brother Otto and sister Alwina took me. We drove to church in a big hack pulled by two mules. When we arrived at the church, my brother lifted me out of the hack and as we walked to the building he said, “Now this is your last chance to pick your name. What do you want it to be, Robert, George or Albert?” I picked Albert. Up to this time I was called “Manny”.

At the age of six I started to school. Had to walk two miles. My dog walked half the way with me and at 4:30 he would meet me at the same spot daily for the return walk.

At nine years of age, we moved to New Braunfels. At the country school everything was in German. I could not speak any English until I was eight. The first English I learned was from neighboring colored children. At the beginning of the fourth school year, we started English. Six months of English saved my standing in the New Braunfels School. I was ahead in about half of the studies, so they placed me in the fifth grade but I had to go back to the second grade for history, geography and English. In two years I caught up with the others in these subjects. The first day in the New Braunfels School, the teacher cut up a stick and an apple and explained the fractions. I was way ahead in arithmetic as I could add, divide and multiply fractions. After the adjusting years were over, I sailed away smoothly, never failed, and graduated from High School in the class of ’13 (1913) at the age of 15.

When I was 12, I went to work at a cleaning and pressing shop after school and Saturdays at a starting salary of 90 cents per week. I kept this up until I graduated, at which time I was drawing $5 per week. A little later my boss, Mr. Alex Floege, sold the cleaning shop as he had inherited an interest in a horse collar factory and he talked me into going to work for him at $10 per week. The work was hard and I got to where I could not take it. After six weeks, I went to work for the Henne Family as office boy at the lumber yard at $20 per month. After three years at this job, I was transferred to the general office at the hardware store at $40 per month working under the office manager, Curt Linnartz.

When I left for the Navy in 1918, I was drawing $85 per month which was the fourth highest salary out of their 27 employees. Some of them had been there 20 and 25 years.

During 1918, most of my friends were drafted, as they were several years older than I was and I felt lost at home. There was only one bright spot for me during this period. In those days, most of the boys had bicycles. I worked up a racket. I bought their bikes for $5 and I did not have any hard time selling them for $10. When it came time for me to go to the service, I had two bikes left. I sold one and gave the other to my nephew, Dr. Ottmar Stratemann. That was 60 years ago.

About ten years ago a dentist told me that I needed dentures. A few weeks later I visited Dr. Stratemann and told him what my dentist had told me. He is well acquainted with this dentist, but he decided that it was not necessary for me to get dentures. While we were talking, someone cancelled an appointment and upon learning this, he decided that he could x-ray my teeth during this time and see whether or not the dentist was right. He found the same thing, that is, I had only one good tooth in my mouth. I offered to pay him, but he said, “You don’t owe me anything. Don’t you remember that you gave me a bicycle when I did not have any money to buy one?” I did not expect that, but he insisted so we were squared off.

After the war, Albert went back to his job at Henne’s and then worked for the IRS in Austin. He eventually moved to the Cuero area where he worked for Magnolia Oil Company (MOBIL) and then the Crescent Valley Creamery as office manager.

He was married — twice — and had one son.

In 1952, he made a full circle back to his first job and bought a drycleaning/laundry business. In 1964, he sold that business to his son and retired.

Almost. His son bought a second laundromat in 1978 and Albert took it on. He ended his 1979 autobiographical sketch with a lot of pride in how he lived his life and his accomplishments:

During my business career, I opened or kept from sinking, eight establishments, four for the Crescent Valley Creamery and four for myself. All of them turned out successful and all but one are still operating. At 83, I work eight hours a day, seven days a week, and I enjoy it.

As I said before, Albert C. Fischer passed on 10 months later.

Well done Mr. Fischer, well done.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives, Fischer family genealogy, Reflections: Oral History Program #155.

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

The post Albert C. Fischer, in his own words appeared first on Sophies Shop.

The post History among the ‘stones — Part II: Panteon Hidalgo appeared first on Sophies Shop.

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 headstones of many designs. Most are whimsically personalized with multi colored tiles, marbles and seashells. Traces of paint, usually white, remain on many of the older monuments. Old photos of the cemetery reveal that at one time most all of the markers gleamed white. The names of the inhabitants were inscribed in the wet concrete and sometimes reveal not only names and dates, but place of birth, and relationships.

Color abounds in this cemetery and there is a feeling of celebration of life rather than grief of death. The names will be familiar as many of those early 1900 names are still present in today’s population. The land for Hidalgo Panteon was secured through the hard work of Francisco Estevez in 1918. Estevez was and still is well-known for his extreme efforts, in the early 1900s, to improve working conditions and better the lives of the Hispanic population in New Braunfels. Francisco Estevez also helped to preserve Mexican traditions and customs through participation in local organizations: The Association Cuahatemoc, the Hidalgo Lodge and the Comision Honorifica.

Walking and reading headstones, I stopped to take a photo and heard Sylvia shout, “Oh my God! There is a German man in here!” Sure enough, randomly leaning up against the fence that separates Hidalgo Panteon from Perpetuo Secorro (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) is a stone of crystalized white limestone with “Hier ruht Theodore Klaus, 1871-1885.”

Well, that is puzzling. First of all, there is the date of 1885. Hidalgo Panteon’s land wasn’t obtained until 1918. There are many headstones bearing death dates in 1919. Secondly, the headstone’s material is all wrong. Where is the concrete that even now dominates the gravesites in this cemetery? It sticks out like what it is, a German headstone.

Back at the Sophienburg, we dove “head first” into this “headstone” mystery. I went for family info while Sylvia got into Find-a-grave online. Theodore was listed as being buried in Hidalgo Panteon AND at the Confederate Cemetery in San Antonio! But wait, ”the plot” thickens.

I looked through the German Neu Braunfelser Zeitung and found a very descriptive obituary for Theodore Klaus:

Last Sunday afternoon between 3 and 4 o’clock, Theo Klauss, the son of Wilhelm Klauss, the well-known and popular postmaster of Danville, shot himself by accident. Theodore was on the hunt and was about to step over a stone fence, rifle in hand, when the gun went off and he was shot in the chest. The barrel of the rifle was so close to his body at the time the shot was fired that his clothing was burned. The dear boy lived for about one more hour. The burial took place on Monday afternoon at 4 o’clock in the afternoon in the New Braunfels Cemetery with many people attending. The pastor of the local Catholic parish held the funeral services according the rites of the Catholic Church. “Rest in peace poor boy.” We share heartfelt sympathy for the great pain of those left behind.

Not only is this a seriously tragic story about the death of a 14-year-old, but did you notice where Theodore was buried? New Braunfels Cemetery on the other side of town! Sheesh. Now he is in three cemeteries.

I grabbed the sexton records for burials in NB Cemetery (by the way, it’s the oldest public cemetery in town). Theodore was listed as burial #569 in 1885. I also found listings for a Klaus infant in 1876, a sister in 1902 and a father in 1902. Time for a field trip to this cemetery.

I found only one Klaus headstone. It belongs to Jacob Klaus (1830-1872) who was Theodore’s uncle. What happened to the others? Just slightly more disconcerting was that Jacob’s headstone is exactly the same design and size of my poor friend Theodore’s. I also noticed that the stone next to Uncle Jacob’s was the same design and size but was for another Danville area family; they were neighbors in life and in death.

Ok. I had to step back and rethink this mystery from a different angle. I contacted the Confederate Cemetery in San Antonio. That cemetery was first used in 1855, but was bought by Confederate veterans in 1885 and renamed, The Confederate Cemetery. It was to be utilized by Civil War Veterans, their dependents and later descendants. It also contains veterans from WWI and WWII. Unfortunately, there are no early written records for the cemetery. But it wasn’t a complete “dead end.” I was informed that near Theodore rest the remains of the father (plus wife) and the sister that had disappeared from the New Braunfels Cemetery, probably at the same time as Theodore.

For now, I can only surmise that sometime after 1902, the Klaus family (some of whom lived in San Antonio) must have reinterred Theodore, dad and sister in the Confederate Cemetery. I have someone looking into government records to see if Theodore’s father, Wilhelm, participated in the Civil War. But who knows?

My best guess is that the original Klaus Family headstones, including Theodore’s, were discarded after the remains were moved. Newer style monuments grace the graves in San Antonio. Like German Americans, Mexican Americans don’t like seeing good material wasted, so I wonder if someone didn’t just rescue the abandoned headstones for reuse. With that in mind, I made another trip to Hidalgo Panteon to take another look and Theodore’s headstone praying that on the back side I would find the remnants of reuse — maybe added writing?

Nope. I guess the travels of Theodore Klaus’s headstone across town will remain a mystery.

Sources: https://www.findagrave.com/; https://www.ccasatx.org/; Sophienburg Museum newspaper collection and family history collection; research materials for Hidalgo Panteon and New Braunfels Cemetery.

The post Tombstone mystery appeared first on Sophies Shop.

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 races. The celebrations that I remember featured barbeque dinners, pumper races and dances in the evening. The pumper races were my favorite. I loved the tight knit crews, the excitement of the race and the rush to push water, all skills they used in fighting a fire. Never seen a pumper race?

Let me explain.

In 1886, the growing city of New Braunfels took steps to acquire their first fire-fighting equipment — a hose reel cart and hook and ladder cart. About that time the New Braunfels Volunteer Fire Department was formed. Forty interested men showed up for the first meeting. They were divided into three companies, two hose reel companies and one hook & ladder company. These equipment carts were big-wheeled carts that required the stamina and strength of several men to pull it from one end of town to the other to get to a fire — not pulled by horses, but by people. There was a lot of running: to the fire cart station, to the fire pulling the hose cart, back to the station to return the equipment for next use. To say the least, it was very physically challenging. Think Camp Gladiator, but in real life.

For more than 25 years, firemen actually ran, pulling the equipment carts to fight any fire. It was not until 1913 that a fire truck was purchased, but the entire city was still protected by an all-volunteer department. By 1918, the city finally had a real fire station and the first paid firemen. Training was required to develop skill and accuracy. Out of this training came the natural competition between companies to be the best and a race was born. The races are a type of recreational competition among the firefighter teams involving timed completion of tasks related to or simulating common firefighting activities. Races test for speed, strength, dexterity, and teamwork. New Braunfels teams and individuals competed in both hose reel races and pumper races. The hose reel race had eight to eleven men pulling the cart down a track, drilling a wooden water pipe, getting water and returning the cart to the original position.

The pumper race is more detailed. There are a lot of moving parts. First of all, a “pumper” is a fire apparatus (truck) with a large tank and the capability to pump water at high pressure on to a fire. A pumper race is a timed 6-man race. Before the start, with all hands in the air, there are two men seated in the cab, one man standing on the truck rail on each side of the truck, and two on the back bumper of the truck. The starter pistol fires. The men on back grab the hose and nozzle, running to the 100-foot line, where they attach the nozzle. The two on the passenger side wait for the end of the fully extended hose to come off of the truck, break the coupling and attach it to the side of the truck. The two men on the driver’s side grab the big black suction hose off of the side of the truck, attaching one end to the truck and one end to the hydrant. Once attached, they immediately begin turning the wrench to open the hydrant full blast. All of that happens in anywhere from 16 to 20 seconds, without busting a connection. There was also an individual version of the race. What prizes did the winners take home? Pride! The races were friendly rivalries between hose companies. Their goal was to be the best team with the fastest time without a busted connection. They got to hold that title until the next big event.

New Braunfels Volunteer Fire Department was a member of the Texas State Firefighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association organized in 1876. It held annual statewide and district conventions to keep volunteer departments up to date. They also made the convention more interesting by inviting volunteer departments to bring their race teams for competitions at the district and state levels. State level competitions offered cash prizes to the top three winners. New Braunfels hosted the 41st convention in 1916. The first known photograph of a competitive race team from New Braunfels was in 1920. The 1934 race team won the State Championship.

In 1962, the Ladies Auxiliary was formed. Chief Zipp’s wife was actively involved in the Fire Marshal’s Association and promoted the Auxiliary locally. It was sometime in the ’70s that the Ladies began practicing as a six-person race team. I practiced with them, but never competed. In the ’80s, the Ladies’ team seemed to get some traction with members like Betty Doeppenschmidt, Earlene Klabunde, Teresa Haag and Geraldine Wesch. They were very competitive. They even created their own competition uniforms and custom patch. Again, they competed for pride.

The New Braunfels Volunteer Fire Department grew to 60 members, never more than that. There were four companies of 15 men. They were selective and members had to be voted in. In 1925, there were three paid city firemen. By 1958, the number grew to thirteen paid men. The Volunteers were instrumental in keeping the community safe and rescuing many during the flood of 1972. The Volunteer Fire Department finally was disbanded in 1996. The Texas State Firefighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association is still one of the oldest and largest fire associations serving fire and emergency responders of Texas. Pumper races were not held at convention in 2020 nor will they be held in 2021, but are scheduled to return again in 2022. If you know a fire or emergency responder, thank them for what they do every single day.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Reflections; Roger Brinkkoeter; Darren Brinkkoeter; Earlene Klabunde; Teresa Haag; New Braunfels Fire Museum.

The post Race for pride appeared first on Sophies Shop.