The House That Jack Built

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I have heard some murmurings in town lately about a place called The House that Jack Built. As often happens at the Sophienburg, I had already done some research into this business. Let me share some facts and a couple stories that I discovered along

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Where is Freiheit?

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — The summer I graduated from high school, I think the New Braunfels city limits signs boasted a population of 19,000. The county had a whopping 34,000. Since then, the city limits signs have moved further out, taking in the wonderful little communities that existed peacefully

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“Reflections” on movie history

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — What do New Braunfels and the 1929 Academy Award for Best Production (Picture) have in common? The answer is in Jack Kaufmann’s oral history recording for the Sophienburg Museum’s “Reflections” radio program. Jack’s father, John P. Kaufmann, Sr., owned and ran one of the early

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Women in history

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — When the Museum is quiet, like it has been for the past few weeks, I like being in the exhibit hall. In fact, my favorite thinking spot is sitting on a bench in there, just listening. In the silence, one can almost hear the sounds

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The Herman Lehmann Show

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman – Did you read my Herald-Zeitung article on Herman Lehmann? If not, you should, because this dovetails into it. To recap, Herman Lehmann was captured by Apache in 1870, when he was 11 years old. He published an autobiography, Nine Years Among the Indians, in 1927.

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Mom’s cousin was an Indian captive

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — In May I traveled to Mason, Texas, with my mom and dad and met with some aunts, uncles and cousins to watch a 45-minute documentary: “Herman, der Apache: Ein Deutscher unter Indianen” (“Herman the Apache: A German among Indians”). The film, made by a German

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When cotton was king

By Myra Lee Adams Goff  — The fall of the worldwide stock market, known as the Great Depression in 1929, was not of major concern to New Braunfelsers. Being an agrarian area, the county was more affected by a serious drought that had occurred in the early 1920s up to

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Emmie Seele Faust Memorial Library

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — As a child, going to the library with my mother was an awe-inspiring event. We mostly went during the summer when school was out. I remember it being cool and quiet. I felt very grown up because they had children’s books in a gated area

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Martin Luther important to the Protestant Reformation

By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Happy Easter today while you celebrate the Resurrection and the coming of Spring. It’s a particularly exciting time for members of St. Paul Lutheran Church of New Braunfels. They have chosen to build a new church on their historic property. While traveling down San Antonio

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Summer camps on the Comal

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Growing up in New Braunfels, I was well acquainted with the name Giesecke. I knew the names of all the watering holes from early age on – Landa Park pool, Camp Ulbricht, City Park (later Cypress Bend Park), Camp Warnecke, and Camp Giesecke. Camp Giesecke

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