A house at 457 W. San Antonio St. will open shortly as a Bed and Breakfast. The house is referred to by old-time New Braunfelsers as the Karbach House. But it didn’t start out as the Karbach House. The house was built for George and Hulda Eiband in 1906.

Family tradition says that the house had an interesting background. Hulda was the sister of Emmie Seele Faust, both of whom were daughters of Hermann Seele. The sisters supposedly had a friendly competition going between them. Townspeople in those days were aware of this competition because talk flies in a small town.

Emmie Seele married John Faust in 1905 and they built the Victorian home in the 300 block of W. San Antonio St, complete with wooden columns and wooden wraparound porch. It was a showplace. When Hulda Seele married George Eiband, she wanted a bigger house but definitely not a Victorian. Hulda’s house would be bigger and would be built in the new style of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, with high ceilings, brick columns, terrazzo porch, straight lines, lots of glass windows and 12 ft. ceilings. One thing is certain – both houses are substantial enough to remain standing. After Hulda Eiband’s death, George Eiband died in 1936, with no heirs, leaving the house to his brothers.

Soon after George’s death, the home was sold to Dr. Hylmar Karbach and wife Katherine Taylor Karbach in 1938. They bought the home from the Eiband estate.

The house now became a child-centered home. The Karbach children were 10-year-old Hylmar Jr., six-year-old Kathleen and four-year-old Jo. Carole was born two years after the family moved into the house.

Hylmar Karbach Sr. descended from pioneer families here in New Braunfels. His father and mother, Julius and Hedwig Karbach owned a general store in Maxwell, Texas. This is where Hylmar was born and after a move to Lockhart, he graduated from Lockhart High School. Acquaintances in Lockhart say that as a teenager Hylmar “pushed the limit”. Having a motorcycle he once rode his bike up the front steps of the Courthouse, drove through the building and out the back steps.

He was then off to the University of Texas and then the U.T. Medical School in Galveston. It was here that he met S.M.U graduate Katherine Taylor who was chief dietician at the Med. School. Hylmar did his internship in San Francisco and he sent for Katherine to join him and she did.

About 1925 the couple moved to New Braunfels and he went into medical partnership with Dr. A.J. Hinman. Their combined offices were above the Peerless Drug Store, where the present Dancing Pony store is now located.

And then came World War II. Hylmar joined the U.S. Navy as a Lt. Commander and later became a Commander. In the Pacific he was on the ship, USS Briscoe. Incidentally, the family named the family dog “Briscoe”. In 1946, he was anchored in Tokyo Bay when the peace treaty was signed. This was the highlight of his naval career.

All through the war, the family stayed in New Braunfels. After the war, Dr. Karbach resumed his practice in New Braunfels and he died in 1959.

No doubt, the house helped hold the family together during and after the war. Many memories were made in this house for the Karbach family. Daughter Kathleen Karbach Kinney remembers the fun times in the large house. The children’s bedrooms and a gigantic playroom were upstairs. She remembers how at Christmastime a tree would mysteriously appear upstairs and brother Hylmar would convince his sisters that he heard Santa Claus on the roof. A wide staircase led from the top story to the rest of the house below with its spacious living room, dining room and sunroom.

Another favorite memory was how Dr. Karbach, although he wasn’t a veterinarian, would treat wounded and sick animals that he found along the way. On two different occasions Kathleen raised a skunk in the large basement of the house. All went well until Kathleen and her friend Ellie Luckett took the skunk down the rapids at Camp Warnecke. It was just too much for the skunk.

Since Kathleen and I were in school together, all the way from Kindergarten to high school, I also have some memories of the house and the activities there take me back to a gigantic slumber party for what seemed to me, hundreds of girls. We never “slumbered”. We walked downtown in our “baby doll” pajamas (yes, that’s what they were called) to the Plaza where we sang and danced in the gazebo. We walked on the railroad track back to the Karbach house. We must have been 14 or 15 years old. “Those were the days, my friend; we thought they’d never end”. But they did.

Another memory was of a handful of seventh grade girls calling themselves the “Eight Date Baits”. The “eight” part fits but the “date baits” part was only wishful thinking. We decided that the boys in our class had no manners. We sent postcard invitations to the boys that we thought needed the most rehabilitation. We invited them to a party at the Karbach House where we intended to tie them up and read a book of manners to them. We decided to keep our intentions a secret, but like all secrets, the word got out and the boys didn’t show up. They had to grow up without our help.

The Karbach House, with its New Braunfels Historic Landmark Property designation, is welcoming new owners. The house will, no doubt, provide experiences for those who stay there. It’s that kind of house. The Bed and Breakfast should be open soon.

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Shortly after the immigrants arrived in New Braunfels in 1845, small communities sprang up in the outer reaches of Comal County. Settlers were interested in good farmland which was available in the area. One of these small communities was called Ufnau, located in the western area of Comal County off of present Hwy 46. The community began in 1858.

By 1872, the settlement found a need for a school for their children. Several families purchased a four acre plot from Ludewig Moeglin for $1.00. That sort of thing was possible in those days. Those that negotiated with Moeglin were Henry Wehe, Charles Georg, Louis Beuche, Phillip Wagner, Christian Hanz, William Haas, Frank Ahrens, and Fredrick Foerster.

A small rock one room school building was built of coursed limestone. A fireplace with chimney heated the room. Shortly after this room was built, a cedar log room with caliche chinking was added to the west side. The attic above was floored and probably used for storage. Kerosene lamps were used for light. Nearby a log teacherage was built for the school’s first teacher, Phillip Stroeck. Outside a storm cellar was built east of the schoolhouse. A large bell called the students to school in the morning.

Fast forward to 1931 when a well-known New Braunfels educator, Werner Rahe, taught at Ufnau. In 1936 he transferred to New Braunfels Schools and eventually became principal of Lone Star School. Interestingly, Rahe’s father, William Rahe, took his son’s place at Ufnau after his son left. William taught there until 1940, at which time his brother, Ernest Rahe, began teaching there. Many Rahes lived in the teacherage.

As with many other one room schoolhouses, Ufnau along with other small schools was consolidated into the Bulverde Rural High School District in 1945 and was no longer used after that year.

The property was sold to Mrs. Reuben Bagby in 1952 and she sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Buddy Wolfe in 1966. They were devoted to the restoration of both buildings. Also salvaged at that time was a back gate through which children rode their horses to school and the large bell which still stands in the shade of an old oak tree.

Time once again took its toll on the property and in 2003 the present owners became Wallace and Margaret Brumley. A massive restoration project began. The bell, the gate leading to the school and the double doors were intact. Inside the school, a 1910 wood stove was converted to electric and in the teacherage a 1932 cast iron General Electric refrigerator was restored. In the school house, the Brumleys began collecting furnishings typical of the old one room school house. An old teacher’s desk and old student’s desks fill the room along with a collection of old books, one dating back to the 1700s.

One question remains: Where did the name Ufnau come from? One thing that is known is that Ufnau (Ufenau) is an island in the middle of Lake Zurich in Switzerland. It is also known that many of the original inhabitants of the Texas Ufnau were of German-Swiss origin. Did they decide to name the area after a well-known landmark in Switzerland? Did they decide like so many immigrant groups to name the area after the area in which they lived? Remember the Prince Carl named New Braunfels after Braunfels, Germany.

Here’s what we know about Ufnau Island in the middle of Lake Zurich: By the second century A.D. a Roman temple was built on the island. Then by the eighth century the first Christian church was built. Two centuries later, a Swiss duchess named Reginlinde, suffering from leprosy, retired to the island. Isolation was a common practice for lepers.

In 965 A.D. Emperor Otto the Great gave the island to the Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln. It was Otto’s wife who was the grandchild of Reginlinde. Reginlinde had built a larger sacred building (St. Martin’s) next to the original abbey. Reginlinde died there on the island of Ufnau and is buried on the grounds of the abbey. Her son, Monk Adalrich, was named the parish priest. By 970 A.D. there were two churches on the island, the church of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Chapel St. Martins.

As time went by, other churches sprang up on the shores of Lake Zurich and the parish of Ufnau lost its importance. Historically, every year a pilgrimage of people on barges go to the island. The island has become a popular tourist destination.

The concept of the one-room schoolhouse worked for the time it existed. All students and all subjects were taught by one teacher. My 1938 through 1950 school experience was totally different. In elementary school, there was one room and one teacher for each grade and in high school, there was a specialized teacher for each subject in different rooms. We don’t even know what the school of tomorrow will bring. Technology has entered the classroom. Changes are inevitable.

The Brumley’s property is not open to the public but they have hosted groups from Switzerland and groups of individuals that have a connection to the old school. They are to be complimented on their historic restoration and teaching us all about the days of the little one-room schoolhouse.

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In the Central Lowlands, the Hills, and Edwards Plateau, where Comal County is located, the average rainfall is 28 inches a year. Along with elevation and content of soil, these conditions determine the types of trees that grow in the area. New Braunfels was once called “The Oasis of Texas” and this oasis produced many famous trees.

On the east side of Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church stands a large live oak tree. Under this tree a concrete marker proclaims “Folklore says that here, in the dawn of Texas history, stood an Indian village on which one of the early missionaries lingered many days; that here a vision of the chief’s daughter freed the first German in Texas. Tradition says that under this tree Mass was offered by the Abbe Em Domenech in 1849”. This memorial was placed by the Texas Historic Landmark Association organized by Adina De Zavala, granddaughter of Lorenzo De Zavala and she was responsible for placing 38 historical markers around Texas. Everett Fey, of the Sts. Peter and Paul Archives Board, said that church officials don’t deny, but can’t prove the legend.

Founders Oak

Another and perhaps the most well-known tree in Comal County is Founders Oak in Landa Park. According to park officials, this large Texas Live Oak is believed to be approximately 308 years old, so it was already well over 100 years old when the settlers arrived. When Texas celebrated its Sesquicentennial in 1986, early settlers were honored with this living memorial and a sesquicentennial marker.

Trees in Landa Park

Founders Oak is one of 54 different species of trees in Landa Park thought to represent trees in Comal County. Much of the information gathered about the trees was from Bill and Delores Schumann, for which the area called the Arboretum, is named. In 1981 the Guada Coma Garden Club hired a botanist to identify the trees. Harry Landa, one of the early owners of the property, opened his private park in 1898 and all of Landa Park became a public park after the city purchased it in 1936.

In Landa Park there are six different types of oak trees. One of those species, a Lacey Oak with a circumference of 114 inches, has the distinction of being the largest oak tree of its kind in the nation. Three other trees in Comal County hold distinctions for size – a national champion Juniper Ash with a circumference of 139 inches, a national co-champion Mountain Laurel with a circumference of 58 inches and finally an Evergreen Sumac, a co-champion with 31 inches circumference.

One of my favorite trees in Landa Park and located throughout Comal County is the Anaqua tree. Several trunks cord together giving the appearance of a single trunk. The Anaqua grows well along streams and hillsides. White flowers in the spring lead to orange-yellow berries. In the Spanish Mission Era, priests used the berries to make communion wine. The flexible wood was used for wagon wheels. The Parks Department guide states that the early German settlers called the tree “Vogelbeerenbaum” meaning bird berry tree since many birds enjoy the berries.

The Seele Elm

Another famous tree in New Braunfels was the Seele Elm. Below Sophienburg Hill, Rev. Louis Ervendberg conducted the first church service for the immigrants in this large elm forest. It was also under one of these trees that Hermann Seele held the first school for the children of the immigrants in August of 1845. By November of that year, because of cold weather, the school was moved into the log German Protestant Church (later First Protestant Church).

One by one, the elms died until one remained. Seele recalled that he taught school in the elm forest, so this particular tree was the last left and not necessarily the tree that Seele taught under. The tree was finally removed in 1955 and part of the trunk was given to the Sophienburg. A plaque in the pavement marks the spot where the elm forest was located.

Personal Tree Stories

Just think about this. Very few trees become famous, but we all have personal stories about trees, whether climbing one, falling from one, making a tree house, swinging from one or just remembering one. Trees grew up with us. Often trees are planted to commemorate an event, an anniversary, a birthday, or the birth of a child.

Here is a story about a tree that I have personally known: In the middle of the driveway between the two houses where I grew up (and still live), was a large elm. It was also a part of an elm forest, as much of Comaltown was. As a young child, my neighbor was a boy my same age named Bobby Govier, about whom I have written before. We had a game that we invented. After chewing a big wad of bubble gum, we would stick it on the trunk of this tree and then decorate the wad with seeds and rocks to make faces, some happy, some sad. When the tree finally succumbed, it was still decorated with these faces.

What trees have you known?

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“Sprechen Sie sausage?” I love it! It’s this year’s Wurstfest advertising gimmick. I want to add another expression for those of you that are so inclined: “Sprechen Sie history?” Well, maybe not, but if you are interested, read on. A good way to find out what Wurstfest is all about is to read the book “Wurstfest, New Braunfels, Texas; The First Fifty Years” by two long-time Opas, Alton Rahe, with photographs chosen by Darvin Dietert. This book was written to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of Wurstfest.

Let’s take a walking trip through the Wurstfest grounds beginning at the entrance on Landa St. Outside of the gate to the left is a historical marker dedicated to Wm. Meriwether, the first to purchase the property from the Veramendi family. The marker, however, commemorates Meriwether’s invention of snake wire fencing. Right behind this marker stands the Maibaum Maypole dedicating the 150^th Anniversary of New Braunfels by the NB German-American Society. It depicts 20 important German contributions to the city.

To your right outside of the gate is a brick building that was once the Landa Power and Light Company. Landa installed generators in the building run by water power and sold electricity to the community. Also on our right is the rock, original Landa Flour Mill building.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AREA:

The property on which Wurstfest finally located belonged to Maria Veramendi Garza and her husband, Rafael Garza. Maria originally inherited it from her father and then sold the 480 acre Comal Tract to Wm. Meriwether from Tennessee in 1847. In three years, Meriwether’s slaves dug a canal parallel to Landa Park Drive, continuing into the millpond and then spilling down several tail races or spillways into the Comal Creek (now considered the Comal River). Here he set up a sawmill and gristmill, and later a cotton gin, using water power. The only remnant of Meriwether’s mill structures is the Meriwether Mill House at 133 Landa, behind you to the left.

In 1860, Wm. Meriwether sold his holdings to Joseph Landa. Landa and his son, Harry, eventually operated flour and cottonseed oil mills, an ice company and an electric light company, all using hydro-electric power. Landa sold the entire operation in 1925 to J.E. Jarrett who soon declared bankruptcy. Dittlinger acquired Landa Roller Mills and Feed Mills from a bank in Dallas that had obtained the mill in bankruptcy. The rest of the property was closed in 1933, and in 1936 the city acquired the land that would become Landa Park. The city purchased the Cotton Oil Mill in 1946. The Wurstfest Association later purchased the Landa/Dittlinger Roller Mill property.

BACK ON OUR TOUR:

Looking behind you from the Landa Street entrance is a Landa Industries warehouse where a railroad spur from the IGN main railway crossed Landa Street and followed the path you are now walking. The spur ended at Elizabeth Street and had several smaller spurs providing access to some of the buildings. The tracks were removed from the grounds in 1978.

Continue through the gate and you will see the millpond on the left and at the end of the millpond, the spillway gates on the left and the spillway on the right. At one time there were as many as four waterfalls or tail races generating hydroelectric power for the mills and plants. The two buildings on the left after the millpond are the Power Plant and Landa Steam Power Plant now owned by New Braunfels Utilities.

After passing the big tent, you will see the Wursthalle which was the Landa cottonseed storage for the Landa Cotton Oil Company. Next to the Wursthalle on the left is the Kleinehalle (which also includes Circle Arts Theater, the Wurstfest Offices and the Spass Haus) which was the Landa oil mill. The Landa Recreation Center was the Landa cottonseed oil storage building and the NB Park Department rock maintenance building was once the Landa cottonseed hull storage.

WURSTFEST’S BEGINNING:

Rahe traces the beginning of the sausage festival to the present. Dr. Ed Grist, local veterinarian and NB meat inspector, was well aware of the fact that Comal County had an extraordinary number of companies and individuals who made their own sausage. In August of 1961 Dr. Grist presented his idea about a sausage festival to the City Commissioners and Mayor Joe Faust proclaimed the week of December 11-16 as Sausage Festival Week. A city sausage band organized for out of town advertising, and Joe Chapman, owner of the Smokehouse, mailed out 5,000 invitations to friends announcing the festival.

The first event was to be held in Landa Park, but because of rain, was moved to the National Guard Armory. It was then held in Landa Park for the next two years. In 1963 the festival moved to a downtown hole left by the burned out Eiband and Fischer building on the plaza (burned in 1947 and left that way for 16 years). 1967 began the move toward the present property. Half of Wursthalle was leased for the event and tents were set up on the grounds.

The not-for-profit corporation has enjoyed enormous success over the years and helps many organizations by allowing them to sell food and souvenirs. Speaking of souvenirs, Sophie’s Shop of the Sophienburg has a new pewter Christmas ornament, a spoon with the Wurstfest Opa. Every time you look at it hanging on your tree, you can remember the “Spass” (fun) you had at Wurstfest and “Ja, wir sprechen history”.

Larger Image

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It did not surprise me to find out that Harry Landa was the first president of the Comal County Fair Association. In those early days before the turn of the century, his name appears over and over for new projects, new industry, innovative ideas, and most of them succeeded. He would have gotten the Chamber of Commerce’s Besserung Award.

Here’s how the Comal County Fair began: The editor of the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, Anselm Eiband, (the second editor after Lindheimer) asked the question in an editorial, “Why don’t we have a fair here in New Braunfels when towns like Fredericksburg and Lockhart have one?”

An opportunity arose, as it so often does. The newly built Krankenhaus (hospital) needed money, so they decided to have a fair on their lot (corner of Zink and Seguin Sts.) during their dedication Sept. 30, 1892. It was a huge success.

Shortly thereafter, a group of civic-minded men met in the courthouse and formed the Comal County Fair Association. They elected Harry Landa to be president, so in 1893 they set the date for the fair to be in November on Landa’s pasture.

“No Rain, No Fair” screamed the newspaper headline. That first fair was called off because of a drought. In other words, too much dust for everything that was going to happen, livestock and horse races. The fair was postponed for a year.

That first fair in 1894 was a huge success according to the newspaper, and I’m sure Harry Landa relished in that success. For that matter, he rented the pasture to them to have four more years of fairs until they bought their own land.

Harry Landa became interested in horses although he admitted that he knew nothing about them. He bought a string of standard bred trotters. In the bunch was a magnificent dark brown stallion that he said he appropriately named “Bankrupt”. He not only spent a lot of money on this new venture, but he decided to dress the part himself as a racehorse owner. He bought a white plug hat (bowler), a loud checkered suit, gaudy shirt and tie with an immense Hot Springs diamond on the tie. To top off this outfit, he put a cigar in his mouth twice the ordinary size.

Possibly this new interest in horses had something to do with his interest in forming a fair association. Before the New Braunfels races, Landa decided to try out his horses at other tracks: Austin, Baylor, Waco and in all these races his trainer sent word that the horse was either lame, cast a shoe, or couldn’t be seen for the dust. Now came the New Braunfels Fair. By this time, Landa’s desire to be a big time racehorse owner had reached an all-time low. Landa’s brother, Morris, traded his horses for him for 30 carloads of hay and then sold the hay for $1,030 . This was the end of Harry Landa’s racehorse adventures.

Here is a little bit about the Landa family and how they came to own the property later known as Landa Park:

Joseph Landa, Harry’s father, ran away from his home in Germany to escape his father’s desire that he become a Rabbi. Working his way to England, he saved enough money to buy his steerage passage to America. He arrived in New York and after a few jobs, he bought a horse and loaded down a wagon with merchandise. He made his way to Texas selling his goods and arrived in San Antonio in 1844. Here he opened a little store and three years later rode his mule to NB and opened up a store on the corner of San Antonio St. and Castell Ave. now occupied by the Phoenix Saloon. Source: (Harry Landa, “As I Remember”)

He would make an annual trip to New York to replenish his stock where he met and married Helena Friedlander. She was 16, he was 41. In New Braunfels they stayed in the Millett Boarding House (where the CC Courthouse now stands). Right behind this boarding house Joseph and Helena bought the property adjoining it on the Plaza. For 75 years, members of the family lived in the beautiful Victorian home, a real showcase.

By 1862, Joseph was a prosperous merchant, owned a gristmill, owned the Comal Springs and the surrounding areas. He owned a cotton gin, a sawmill, a flour mill and a store. Then in 1896, Joseph Landa died. Harry and his mother, consequently carried on the various businesses in NB. This successful business partnership of Harry Landa and his mother bought small river frontages on the Comal River until they owned the entire stream on both sides.

A large contribution to the city was Harry Landa’s establishment of the Landa Electric Light and Power Co. Electricity for street lights would be furnished to the city at the rate of $1.50 a light a month. Soon everyone wanted electricity.

In 1927, Landa sold the entire estate including the park in compliance with the will of his mother, which called for liquidating and dividing the estate ten years after her death. The property was purchased by an investment company, suffered reverses during the depression years, and the park was closed with barbed wire surrounding the property until 1936, when the City of New Braunfels finally bought the area of Landa Park.

This week in all the excitement of the fair, let’s give a little thought to the guy that brought us Landa Park, electricity, and of course, spearheaded the Comal County Fair.

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On May 8, 1914, the New Braunfels Herald’s front page story announced that “a model federal highway was to be built from Austin to San Antonio”. This Federal Post Road was a forerunner to IH 35. The same year that the road was completed in 1916, a young man from Ohio named Joe Sanders arrived in New Braunfels. He would have a huge impact not on the highways but on the backroads of Comal County.

State legislator S.V. Pfeuffer considered this new highway the most important project ever started anywhere in Texas. He believed it would inaugurate an era of road building that would never stop. The old Post Road from Austin to San Antonio had deteriorated badly over the years with some sections having no topping and some sections muddy.. Crossing over the Cibolo Creek was often flooded.

Joe Sanders’ story has to do with roads, automobiles, and tourism. Because of a bout with typhoid fever, a doctor suggested that he move south. Choosing New Braunfels, he brought with him a natural knowledge of the newly invented automobile. He took a job locally with Hippolyt Dittlinger, a local successful businessman.

Around the turn of the century the automobile had made its debut in New Braunfels.The first automobile dealership in town was Walter Gerlich Auto Co. opened in 1912. Gerlich sold Buicks and Model T Fords. By 1916 other auto dealers in town were: Hamilton Zipp selling Hudson and Dodge; Zoeller, Voigt & Bornemann, dealers selling Oakland High Speed Motor Cars; Baetge Auto Cycle Co. selling Willys-Knight autos; D. Stahl & Son selling Studebakers; Gruene Bros. Auto Agency at Goodwin selling Velie and Maxwell cars; C.H. Bruemmer Auto Shop selling Crow & Elkhart and Velie. Source: (Sesquecentennial Minutes, Nuhn and Skoog)

The touring car was the most popular car. It was an open car and the public had the idea that this car was safer. As a touring car, more could be seen on a tour from an open car. Of course, dust was a big problem because early roads were dirt. Traditionally drivers wore long coats and goggles to protect from the dust. They had to scramble to put up the top when it rained. The gas tank was under the front seat and had to be removed to fill the tank. Car lights operated with gas or carbide generators and sometimes kerosene oil lamps. The car had to be cranked to get it started. Flat tires were a big problem.

Now with the highways everyone had access to transportation. The Red Ball bus lines from San Antonio to Austin were nothing more than touring cars that could carry six passengers.

By the 1920s tourist courts popped up along the highways and served as rest stops .By 1927 Texas had 18,728 miles of highways with only 9,271 hard-surfaced. Source (Jasinski)

Back to Joe Sanders. When he arrived in NB in 1916, the circumstances were ripe for his abilities and interests. He loved the highways and roads, the mechanics of the new automobiles,the touring cars, the backroads and the Dittlinger family.

Hippolyt Dittlinger , a very successful businessman, hired Joe to work on all of his cars and be his chauffer. Dittlinger owned three Franklin cars, air-cooled with a wooden frame, the “Cadillac” of the time. Most cars in NB were Model T’s, much more affordable than the Franklin.

Sanders became acquainted with all the roads in Comal County by “touring” the back roads. He often came across motorists who were lost. He decided he would make road signs from wood painted white and lettered with black stencils.The Texas Highway Dept. posted state and federal route signs by 1929 but there were no signs for the backroads.

This was quite an undertaking on Joe’s part and when he was elected commander of the local American Legion, their members helped to install the signs. As if Joe wasn’t busy enough, he designed an illustrated map of these roads showing tourist destinations .This 1933 map listed every road and village and gave mileage between various points. 5,000 copies were made to give away. Other maps followed and he issued a series of editions until his last map in 1960.

With time, more and more roads were constructed in the County and a beautification program during the 1936 Texas Centennial (spearheaded by Mrs. H. Dittlinger) helped the local tourist industry and helped to establish historical markers.

Laurie Jasinski wrote the book “Hill Country Backroads” honoring the accomplishments of her grandfather, Joe Sanders. Her book which includes three maps can be purchased at Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg. Jasinski’s book contains much more information than I could ever put in this column. It’s a good read.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Have you ever experienced a Christmas where you thought you would get nothing from Santa?

I am sure that there are several good children that have worried about getting gifts due to their parents’ circumstances. During the Great Depression, it was the generosity of angels that helped out needy children in New Braunfels.

The U.S involvement in World War I lasted from 1917-1919. During that time, everything went to the war effort to support our soldiers, causing restrictions (read shortages) of meat, wheat, sugar, eggs and more. Once the war was over, with a short readjustment, the economy rebounded with gusto. Oil was flowing, business was booming, new construction was up and all was well again for nearly a decade. Texans were looking to the future, that is, until the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929.

Texans were not initially affected by the downturn. In fact, they were optimistic that it was a little recession, a short-lived blip on the radar. The cotton crop was already harvested and sold at very good prices. The population had grown by 25 percent. New Braunfels’ new building projects were still being built in 1931. Then reality hit. The battered economy caught up to New Braunfels.

Many people did not have money to spend. Business suffered. The one-year-old Montgomery Ward store closed along with others. Men were out of jobs. Some lost their farms. Some lost their homes. Women went to work doing what they could. Many people were hard pressed to survive. Some went to the poor house with their family. Others reached out to charities for help with food and clothing. In 1931, Christmas joy was a faraway memory for many.

To lessen the heartache of a Christmas without presents for the children, the Lions Club joined with New Braunfels firemen to collect toys. The Lions Club of New Braunfels (chartered April 1925) was founded on the basic tenets of loyalty and service to community, state and nation. The Lions jumped right in to make Christmas better for the children of the less fortunate with a city toy drive.

Unlike the toy drives of today, (think KENS-5 Bill’s Elves or Marines’ Toys for Tots), they were not asking for new toys or monetary donations. They wanted old, used, castaway toys. The idea was for the Lions to do the collecting and the firemen to repair and refurbish the toys.

The wheels may be turning in your head thinking, “my child would flip out if they got a broken toy.” Perhaps, but toys were made differently in the ‘20s and ‘30s and were not generally considered disposable. They were made to last. We are talking metal scooters, tricycles, pedal cars, velocipedes, kiddie-cars, doll buggies, mechanical toys and wagons (these are all of those wonderful things that catch your eye in the big antique stores). Replacing a wheel or putting on a new coat of paint made it all new again.

Calls went out for old toys beginning in November. The toys were collected by Lions Club members and dropped off at Central Fire Station (now the New Braunfels Fire Department Museum on Hill Avenue). Why partner with the fire department? At that time the New Braunfels Fire Department was made up of approximately seven to eight paid men located in three stations with 60 on-call volunteers. The paid men were basically confined to the fire station premises during their shift when not on a call. After daily chores were completed, they had some down time to work on repairing and painting the toys. Paint was furnished by Louis Henne Company and Jacob Schmidt & Son provided cloth for new doll dresses, which were made by Mrs. Walter Staats, wife of the fire chief. The campaign was deemed a success as there was an incredible number of toys turned over to Associated Charities for delivery to identified needy families.

As the Depression dragged on, the Lions and Fire Department continued their Christmas Toy Drive. In 1932, the Lions and Fire Department were already organized and ready for the toy campaign. They enlisted cloth donations from Eiband and Fischer and paint donations from Cameron Lumber Company.

By 1933, the firemen were not only repairing toys, they were also in on the delivery of the toys with Santa (the best part). That year, Santa named Chief Staats and his firemen as Special Agents to Santa Claus, meaning that the toys, along with apples and oranges provided by the American Legion Auxiliary, were loaded up on a big red firetruck for special delivery to each and every recipient.

In 1934, the firemen rode the big hook-and-ladder truck to make deliveries themselves to those children identified by the Comal County Relief Board. By 1935, the recipients were identified from relief rolls along with input from the elementary school principals. Each year, the Lions Club provided new toys to help meet the demand of needy children.

The toy drive continued through 1936. In 1937, the fireman’s and Lions Christmas toy program was postponed when an investigation determined that there was no longer a need. However, in late December of 1937, an urgent plea went out to the public from the Junior Chamber of Commerce for old toys.

So, here we are. It is December. The economy is rocky. Inflation is high. Food prices are high, and people are struggling. I hope that you will follow the lead of the Lions Club and New Braunfels Fire Department to do something good for your fellow man and for the community. If you have a little extra in your pocket, be an angel, pay it forward to a non-profit organization or something that warms your heart … and theirs.

I love that New Braunfels is a generous community. The number of people that volunteer their time, talents and money to non-profit organizations in New Braunfels proves it. We take care of each other. I wish you joy this Christmas season!

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

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

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

This is the story of two mark­ers. One was put up at Co­mal Springs in 1968, and the other was placed out­side the yard of Franz and Mary Joyce Coreth on Hwy 46 (it now stands in front of Chick-fil-A). They both mark the lo­ca­tion of Mis­sion Nues­tra Señora de Guadalupe.

So the ques­tion is, why? Some back­ground on the mis­sion is needed to un­der­stand.

Very ba­si­cally, the es­tab­lish­ment of the mis­sions in Texas be­gan in the 1630s. Spain needed to hold the land, and they wanted to Chris­tian­ize the na­tive peo­ples. Fran­cis­can monks were tasked to set up and over­see mis­sions across Texas which would gather the mi­gra­tory tribes into per­ma­nent set­tle­ments with the hope of con­vert­ing them to Chris­tian­ity, as well as teach them agri­cul­tural tech­niques and trades.

Spain usu­ally sent sol­diers along with the Fran­cis­can mis­sion­ar­ies to es­tab­lish pre­sidios (forts) for the pro­tec­tion of the mis­sions and set­tle­ments. The pre­sidios and the mis­sions were hardly com­pat­i­ble, both with dif­fer­ing agen­das. Trou­ble be­tween the sol­diers and the Na­tive Amer­i­cans led to fric­tion be­tween the mis­sion­ar­ies and the sol­diers. The monks ab­horred the abuse and an­tag­o­nis­tic mea­sures the sol­diers used against the na­tive peo­ple they were try­ing to be­friend.

Our mis­sion, Nues­tra Señora de Guadalupe was born out of this strug­gle.

Three mis­sions were es­tab­lished on the San Xavier (San Gabriel) River in Milam County in the 1740s: San Fran­cisco Xavier de Hor­c­a­sitas (1747), San Ilde­fonzo (1748) and Nues­tra Señora de la Can­de­laria (1749). These were re­ferred to as the San Xavier mis­sions. The pre­sidio San Fran­cisco Xavier de Gigedo was set up to guard all three mis­sions.

The re­la­tion­ship be­tween these mis­sions and the neigh­bor­ing pre­sidio broke down over the mis­treat­ment of the Na­tive Amer­i­cans. The con­flict went on un­re­solved for sev­eral years, cul­mi­nat­ing in the mur­der of Friar Juan Jose Ganzábal and a civil­ian at the Can­dalaria Mis­sion in Feb­ru­ary 1752. Sol­diers, Na­tive Amer­i­cans and civil­ians were gath­ered and held for ques­tion­ing. Of­fi­cial pro­ceed­ings held at Pre­sidio San An­to­nio de Be­jar (the fort pro­tect­ing the San An­to­nio mis­sions) took place from May 13 to June 14, but reached no real judg­ment and with­out con­vic­tions or any­one pun­ished.

By 1753, the San Xavier mis­sions were full of fear and faced the added tragedy of drought which led to bad wa­ter and “pests” which brought sick­ness; the mis­sion­ar­ies were plead­ing to be re­lo­cated to the San Mar­cos springs. San Ilde­fonzo no longer had priests or Na­tive Amer­i­cans and Can­de­laria was left with only one friar. San Fran­cisco Xavier man­aged to hold onto 70 con­verted Na­tive Amer­i­cans and one friar. Even the pre­sidio cap­tain was re­quest­ing to move to the San Saba River.

In 1755, mis­sion­ar­ies and re­main­ing Na­tive Amer­i­cans fled with­out Church or Span­ish sanc­tion to the San Mar­cos River. Some of the na­tive peo­ple moved to the San An­to­nio de Valero mis­sion (Alamo): Co­cos, Xaraname, Te­jas, Bidai and Or­co­quiza tribes were among them. The May­eye peo­ple re­fused to go to San An­to­nio and stayed with the friar of San Fran­cisco Xavier at San Mar­cos. He re­quested and was given per­mis­sion to es­tab­lish a mis­sion on the Guadalupe River. He also re­quested and was given per­mis­sion to not have a pre­sidio but civil­ians “of good fam­ily” to help pro­tect the mis­sion.

In 1756, the mis­sion San Fran­cisco Xavier de Hor­c­a­sitas was re­lo­cated and reestab­lished in New Braun­fels as Mis­sion Nues­tra Señora de Guadalupe. The site cho­sen had been scouted out by sol­diers and priests from San An­to­nio and de­scribed in records:

There are sev­eral large springs flow­ing from a rocky hill nearby, and ad­van­tages for an ir­ri­ga­tion ditch on the west side of the river a short dis­tance from the springs; there is ex­cel­lent lands for crops, plen­ti­ful tim­ber, pas­ture lands, and the ridge north of the stream is thought to con­tain min­er­als.

The new mis­sion was vis­ited in 1757 and said to be com­prised of a small mis­sion build­ing (most likely of wood con­struc­tion) with two fri­ars, 41 Na­tive Amer­i­cans (May­eye) of which 27 were bap­tized, and sev­eral huts in which lived four civil­ian fam­i­lies.

At this point, in­for­ma­tion on Nues­tra Señora lit­er­ally van­ishes from records. All that is ref­er­enced is a re­quest of the fri­ars for the re­turn of San Fran­cisco Xavier’s equip­ment (6 bells and some uten­sils val­ued at $1804.50. The equip­ment even­tu­ally went to the new San Saba mis­sion. There is also a state­ment in 1762, that says at the time of the San Saba mis­sion’s de­struc­tion in March 1758, Mis­sion Nues­tra Señora de Guadalupe had al­ready been aban­doned due to its in­abil­ity to sus­tain it­self against mul­ti­ple en­e­mies.

Know­ing all of that, we can re­turn to the dilemma of two mark­ers. Based on the de­tailed de­scrip­tion of the site in 1756, it seems the short-lived mis­sion could have been down by the Co­mal Springs (1968 marker). And al­though the mis­sion name in­cludes “Guadalupe” we need to re­mem­ber that early Span­ish ex­plor­ers of­ten called the Co­mal, from the springs to the con­flu­ence, the Guadalupe. This seems to be a good fit.

The 1936 marker up on Texas Highway 46 claims Nues­tra Señora to be near or on Mis­sion Hill. Was it likely that they would es­tab­lish a set­tle­ment on the hill and travel through Pan­ther Canyon to Co­mal Springs? Would they have used the spring at Alt­gelt’s pond be­low Mis­sion Hill? Per­haps Mis­sion Hill held some sort of sig­nif­i­cance as the high­est point? Could it have been named be­cause of its just over a mile lo­ca­tion from the mis­sion down by Co­mal Springs? It seems a less likely lo­ca­tion.

Also, who gave the hill that name: Na­tive Amer­i­cans? Span­ish? Texas Rangers? The early Ger­man im­mi­grants called it by that name and there are two maps that rec­og­nize it as Mis­sion Hill from 1878. Af­ter scour­ing the So­phien­burg Archives and talk­ing to archivists at the Texas Gen­eral Land Of­fice and at the Span­ish Col­lec­tion of the Bexar County Archives, hard, prov­able ev­i­dence of the lit­tle mis­sion’s lo­ca­tion just has­n’t been found.

So, the mys­tery around Nues­tra Señora de Guadalupe will re­main — a mis­sion lost but not for­got­ten.

Sources: Roemer’s Texas in 1848 by Ferdinand Roemer; “Texas in the Middle Eighteenth Century” by Herbert E. Bolton, “Proceedings Year of 1752” by Don Torivio de Vrrutia (Bexar County Archives); Handbook of Texas; Texas Almanac 1936; Texas Historical Commission; Texas General Land Office map collection; Sophienburg Museum & Archives map collection and Liebscher and Haas manuscript collections; https://www/texasalmanac.com/articles/the-spanish-mission-in-texas.

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

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff — (Originally published December 13, 2006)

I am sure you have seen our beautiful lighted Comal County Courthouse. The Grand Dame of Main Plaza buildings is 125 years old. In December 1898, the courthouse was inspected and given the seal of approval by the Commissioners Court. A translation of an article in the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, done by Robert Govier, Ph. D., for the Sophienburg, states:

“On Christmas Eve a splendid picture was made by our new Courthouse whose many rooms were lit by electric lights in such a manner that the warm glow emanated from its many windows, reaching far into the night from the three-story building.”

From that same translation you can get a fair picture of what downtown New Braunfels was like at Christmas time. Druggist Bruno Voelcker, on the corner of San Antonio and Castell (Red Stag), had the latest gift — a Kodak — for sale. He stated, “You can get pictures with it.” Then you could hop over to the Phoenix Saloon and buy fresh pig’s feet. You could then finish up your day by watching the New Braunfels Fire Department Band marching “snappily” down the street and listen to their concert on the plaza.

Much later, in 1936, Bill (Willie) Vollmar, proprietor of Vollmar’s 5¢ to $1 Store, located where the Art League is now, is given credit for first bringing Santa Claus to town. Santa Claus arrived not by sleigh but by train! He was welcomed at the station by a crowd of hundreds made up of parents and children. After a formal appearance on the plaza, the jolly old guy made his headquarters inside Vollmar’s store. It was a huge marketing success for Vollmar and the other downtown businesses also profited from his vision.

Vollmar was born and raised in Seguin, and he and his wife Alice moved to New Braunfels in the early ‘20s. First, he was a shoe salesman at Jacob Schmidt and Son and then was manager of the Values Store. By 1932, he had saved enough money to buy the store from his employers, and he opened Vollmar’s 5¢ to $1 Store.

The Vollmars had no children of their own, but they loved them. The Christmas season was special to “Uncle Willie.” My friend, Pat Langston (was Patsy Harmon), who lived downtown in her early years, shared with me her first visit to the “real” Santa at Vollmar’s at the age of five. Having seen only pictures of the fat, jolly elf in magazines and books, she was shocked by a six-foot very thin version. Oh well, he brought presents.

Langston told me other memories she had that related to Vollmar’s Store. How many of you remember perfumery like the “over-the-hill” Tigress, Woodhue, and Tabu? Then there was that remarkable Tangee lipstick that came in pink only, but turned different colors on different people. Pat described the wonder-inducing candy cases at the front when you entered the store with their array of tempting sweets and chocolates. During the summer, she was allowed to buy a new tin bucket with a shovel for her family’s annual vacation to the coast.

Some people just make you laugh and Willie Vollmar was one of them. He could tell comical stories for hours and was president of just about every club in town. He eventually sold his variety store and started working for Krueger Motor Co. At Christmas, he would dress up in a Santa costume and go deliver new cars. After work, he would visit children and grandchildren that he knew from the past — still dressed as Santa, of course.

Christmas in old New Braunfels was wonderful and magical. Hope your Christmas this year was just as precious.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Okay, time for another House story. This House is not a stately manor made of brick, (or straw or wood, nor is it coveted by a wolf). This House is of flesh and blood. Umm, no, not horror movie style. Today’s story is about George House and the property located at North Seguin Avenue and Zink Street. The unassuming little one-story building located on that corner is an office building — now. But it was once a real hoppin’ place, and oh, and the stories it could tell!

George Warren House was born in 1907 in Uvalde, Texas. He and his family lived all over Southeast Texas during his childhood due to his father’s job. He attended school through the 8th grade, leaving to help the family by working whatever jobs he could: chopping cotton, working at filling stations, shooting galleries, dry goods store, bank, and an oil company.

He was really good at his oil company job. While working for the oil company during 1926, he made his first trip to New Braunfels in his Model T. He thought it was the prettiest place he had ever seen. He went to Landa’s Park to swim. He thought the elephant ears lining the banks of the river were beautiful. (Remember, the park was still private property owned by Harry Landa at that time). On another trip through Oklahoma, he met his wife, Rosalea. They were married in 1927. Their daughter, Mary Anne, was born two years later in Houston.

The House family began visiting New Braunfels in 1936. They were taken with the beauty of New Braunfels and visited as frequently as possible. When there was no available accommodation, they would camp across the river from Camp Warnecke (where Scout Hut now stands).

George House worked in oil exploration before working for Dow Chemical in Freeport for 17 years. After more than a decade of camping trips along the Comal River, George and Rosalea might have been some of the first Houstonians to relocate to New Braunfels when they moved here in 1948. They bought a lot on the corner of North Seguin Avenue and Zink Street and built a copper and brass gift manufacturing business. The copper and brass steins, cups, and decorative tray inventory would be loaded into a woody station wagon to sell to retailers across the South under the Steincraft brand.

Metal materials became hard to get when the Korean War broke out in 1950, so they shifted gears. Steincraft gifts expanded to become Steincraft Drive-in Grocery. Their son, George W. House, Jr., “Sonny”, was born in August of 1950, on the day they received their first truckload of groceries from San Antonio.

Although Warnecke’s Drive-in is thought to be the first drive-in grocery in New Braunfels, it and the Steincraft Drive-in Grocery business were the precursors to today’s ice houses and convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Stop-n-Go and Toot-n-Totem.

New Braunfels boasted a population of 12, 210 in 1950. While not big by any means, the city was considered The Beauty Spot of Texas. Visitors traveled from all over to see Landa Park, and the drive-in grocery was located in the best spot ever to sell ice and picnic supplies to them on their way to Landa Park. Steincraft was the perfect tourist stop, be it for ice, picnic supplies, jewelry, or German cuckoo clocks.

About 1952, the House’s daughter, Mary Anne, and son-in-law, Stan Hollmig, became partners. The industrious family expanded their drive-in grocery by adding a kitchen with short orders, on-premise beer license, delicious chicken “fried by two old hens”, and a long carport for drive-in orders (Sonic drive-in style). By June 1956, they renamed the store Stan Hollmig Drive-In, in honor and recognition of their son-in-law, a noted professional baseball player and Houston Astro scout.

George House liked baseball and could talk baseball all day. When Craig and Sonny were old enough to play Little League, Mr. House coached. Stan Hollmig Drive-in sponsored a Little League team from the mid 1950s to at least 1972, modeling good sportsmanship for hundreds of boys. Hollmig’s also participated as an official weigh-in station for the annual deer hunting contests, even when it was still Steincraft Drive-In. Whether about baseball, deer hunting, or politics, you could almost always find a good discussion going on at Hollmig’s,

For the Houses and Hollmigs, it was always about family and community. The Houses built a home adjacent to the drive-in. Mary Anne and Stan Hollmig welcomed a son, Craig, about six months before George House, Jr. “Sonny” House was born. Cheryl Hollmig came along a little later. All three grew up together at the drive-in.

In later years, the Houses changed gears again. They turned their home into an antique business and lived in an old fachwerk home that they had salvaged outside of Gruene. He was definitely a heck of a good House.

Stan Hollmig Drive-In was closed in 1974, and the buildings became the offices of Hollmig Engineering & Surveying. Now, history could be yours. The Hollmig’s office building is currently vacant and available for rent.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Sonny House; Craig Hollmig; Cheryl Hollmig Warnecke.

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