Four phases of education in rural Comal County

By Alton J. Rahe — Education was of paramount importance to the German immigrants. Basic education classes were started for their youth in the more populated areas soon after their arrival to Texas. However, this was not the case for rural settlers where more formal education was slower in coming. There are four phases of formal […]
Fish Tales

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman, Sophienburg Curator I recently found photos of Alfred Selke in the Oscar Haas collection. In August 1926, Selke and several coworkers were walking around the grounds of the new Comal Power Supply Co. (LCRA). They caught what he described as a “lobster” in the millrace pond. The group gathered for photos […]
Entertainment different in the 1940s

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Doing research on the Sophienburg Hill property brings back memories of my 7th and 8th grade at New Braunfels High School. How does the museum fit together with the 7th and 8th grades, you ask? Here’s the story: My introduction to the first two years in NBHS, the 7th and […]
Mission Hill Park

By Myra Lee Adams Goff How would you like to watch the New Braunfels July 4th fireworks from the highest point in New Braunfels? Maybe you could even see the fireworks in San Marcos, Seguin and Randolph Field from this spot. Well, you can’t do it this year, but maybe it will be possible in […]
Bill George, Renaissance Man

By Myra Lee Adams Goff In my travels in Comal County researching history, I have met some interesting individuals that tell great stories. One of them was Wilbur Bill “Big Willie” George, age 91, 92 in April. Herb Skoog, who interviewed George a few years back for the Sophienburg Reflections Program, called him a Renaissance […]
New Braunfels Conservation Society gets windfall

By Myra Lee Adams Goff A windfall of big proportions happened to the New Braunfels Conservation Society. They now own a piece of property that is known as the Arnold-Rauch-Brandt Homestead that goes back to the mid-1800s, located northwest from New Braunfels in an area known as Mission Valley. The house, barn and smokehouse are […]
Downtown renovations important

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Ron Snider has been awarded the Dr. Frederick Frueholz Comal County Historical Commission Award for his work in the restoration and preservation of downtown New Braunfels buildings. In the 1960s a trend of tearing down old buildings, remodeling them into modern buildings or using the property for parking lots caused […]
First Baptist Church dedicates Bill and Gwen Arnold Ministry Center

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Next Sunday the First Baptist Church will reach another milestone with the dedication of a Christian Life Center named the Bill and Gwen Arnold Ministry Center. The first attempt to establish a Baptist Church in New Braunfels was in 1905 when the San Marcos Baptist Association purchased a lot on […]
Henne Hardware survives 148 years downtown

By Myra Lee Adams Goff I walked into Henne Hardware and the bell rang above the door alerting the clerk that someone had entered. I was immediately greeted by two cats named Clifford and Eugene, so named by owner of the store, Paul Martinka. These cats, or at least their names, will bring back memories […]





