By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Today, July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. America’s 250th birthday. New Braunfels has celebrated America’s birthday for 170 years. The celebrations have changed over time but are no less important.

New Braunfels has a long and storied history of July Fourth celebrations, the first being held in July of 1846. Our earliest founders arrived in the Republic of Texas from Germanic regions of Europe in 1845 when the fledgling America was a mere 69 years old. Within one short year, Texas was admitted into the Union, making the citizens of New Braunfels new Americans.

The first Fourth of July celebration in New Braunfels began with a bang, literally. Two cannons on Sophienburg Hill fired off at sunrise to begin the day. The Adelsverein headquarters building on Sophienburg Hill displayed a large American flag of 28 stars. That flag raising was significant because just the year before, Prince Carl had hoisted a German flag above the Sophienburg while a group of settlers strung up the flag for the Republic of Texas on the Plaza. Three different flags flew over New Braunfels within one year.

The newly minted Americans were very patriotic and found it exciting to celebrate their nation in grand displays of music, parades and patriotic oratory (speeches). Nearly every organization had a band or choral group.

In 1866, the day began with cannon fire. The Declaration of Independence was read by a prominent citizen followed by a short address and most likely the Pledge of Allegiance in German. A festive procession of townspeople was led through the streets by the brass band of the 4th Regulars Union Cavalry Regiment followed by evening dances in several dance halls.

One of the most elaborate and dramatic Fourth of July celebrations ever held in early Texas was the one in New Braunfels saluting the U.S. Centennial in 1876. It was so extensive and elaborate that it received statewide publicity. The Texas Post, a San Antonio German newspaper, reported, “The Centennial of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America was celebrated with dignity befitting the jubilee, greater than in any other city of the State of Texas.”

Citizens went all out for the two-day celebration, decorating their homes and businesses with patriotic flags and wreaths of cedar and mountain laurel. For the parade, they built four triumphal arches downtown close to the plaza and hung a giant picture of George Washington in the Zeitung printing shop.

Setting the tone for the next day’s events, a cannon on Sophienburg Hill was fired 13 times in commemoration of the 13 original colonies. On the Fourth, people were awakened at dawn by the rapid firing of the cannon, followed by trumpets heralding the beginning of the festivities.

The centennial parade was a historical review of the United States of America, played out in pageantry on a grand scale under the 37-star flag. The parade began with bands on decorated wagons, Columbus, George Washington on horseback, followed by floats representing Prince Carl and the founding of New Braunfels, the Liberty Bell, Lady Liberty and a myriad of floats by local organizations and industries.

The entire procession crossed the low-water bridge into Comaltown, where on a large open green (now Eagles Hall), a dance platform had been constructed along with tables and chairs. Hermann Seele gave the opening address before dancing commenced until sunup — for both days!

In 1886, the New Braunfels Volunteer Fire Department was formed. The volunteer department was more than a fire-fighting organization. They were one of the most active civic organizations in town, collecting toys for children and fundraising for fire equipment by putting on costumed shows (they had a band!). For more than 75 years, they were in charge of the Fourth of July festivities.

By the turn of the century, Fourth of July in New Braunfels meant not only parades and speeches but concerts on the Plaza (thus the Bandstand), foot races, baseball games, dances, and fireworks! By 1920s and ‘30s, the Volunteer Fire Department made pumper races (firemen competitions) and water displays part of the fun, shooting arches of water through the air on Main Plaza. There was also miniature golf, boating on the lake and swimming in Landa’s Park.

Many still remember the ‘60s when people gathered across the Landa Park Lake to watch the fireworks. They were set off by local firefighters trained to handle fireworks. Although there were a lot of aerial displays, a number of ground-supported fireworks displays geared to the crowd seated across the lake. Everyone knew it was the end when they saw the American flag sparkling across the water.

New Braunfels grew and changed, gearing summer holidays to more tourist trade. Fireworks displays became the work of professional companies. The volunteer fire Department disbanded as the number of paid fire personnel grew and public Fourth of July events dwindled.

In 1978, Mayor Margaret Naegelin invited city councilmembers to her home for coffee before travelling to the plaza in antique cars, where they enjoyed ice cream and lemonade while the courthouse bells played. Mrs. Naegelin, who was also the president of the Sophienburg Museum and Archives, unknowingly initiated the first Sophienburg Ol’ Fashion Fourth of July Parade and Patriotic Program in Downtown New Braunfels. This year marks 48 years. It has grown into a collaboration with the City of New Braunfels and remains one of the oldest traditions celebrated by our Founding Fathers — of both America and New Braunfels.

Happy 250th birthday, America!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Oma & Opa, German Texas Pioneers by Curt E. Schmidt; Around the Sophienburg by Myra Lee Adams Goff.

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

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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.

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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.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Researching your family? Maybe you want to know about who lived in/owned your home? The Sophienburg Museum and Archives has resources to help you!

Research, of any subject, is basically detective work — analyzing the available records, searching through assembled stories and examining photographs and maps. The Sophienburg has been collecting these kinds of resources for more than 92 years and our staff can assist you in your quest.

So how do we begin the process? At the Sophienburg, we usually start with a surname or a location. If you are researching a property, we look for clues in the phonebooks and city directories. Our telephone book collection goes back to 1906. That’s pretty early in the telephone age. New Braunfels had 7,008 citizens in the 1900 U.S. Census; only 101 phone numbers appear in the 1906 telephone book and many of these are business numbers.

To use a phonebook, you look things up by name or subject. A city directory adds to our chances of finding facts because it also lists by street. For instance, you can look up your home by its address. The directory, depending on the year, can tell you who lives there, what they do, what race they are, if they are renting or own, and other information. The city directory is a little like the census and phone book combined only it is published more than once every 10 years.

City directories were first printed for large cities in Europe in the 16th century. Philadelphia was the first US city to have a directory (1785), followed by New York. The early directories were published by independent publishers who relied on advertisements to fund them. Consequently, most of the listings are from tradesmen and businesses instead of people.

The Sophienburg’s earliest New Braunfels City Directory is 1931 followed by 1940 and 1952-53. Directories from the 1960s-1990s are also available. With the directories, we can trace who lived at a specific address and when residency changed. Each resident change gives us new names to follow for more information. We also find out who their neighbors were, and can sometimes trace the demographic changes in the neighborhood. More property information from the Comal County Clerk’s office is available online.

Following names is how we find out the stories that are associated with your family or your property. As an example, we are currently researching some ranch property for a family who have a log-built structure on their place. By using the resources available to both them and the Sophienburg, we can take their property all the way back to Republic of Texas days (1836-1846). We can find this information by using the Texas General Land Office records, also online. Their property is located on land granted to men who fought in the Texas Revolution. I have a New Braunfels First Founder in my family and on the TxGLO website I found scans of the original German immigrant land granted to my family — if only we still had it!

The Sophienburg has over 500 genealogies of New Braunfels and Comal County names. These are bound volumes of family genealogy that were generated by museum personnel and family members before Ancestry, Family Search and other databases. These volumes contain wonderful anecdotal information which is really what makes your ancestors come alive.

Along with the family histories, the Sophienburg Archives has an almost complete collection of the German-language newspaper Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung (1852-1957), the New Braunfels Herald (1895-1957) and the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung (1957 to present day). These are all on microfilm and can be referenced at the Sophienburg by appointment.

The German Zeitung was painstakingly indexed by volunteers prior to 2000. It can be searched by name or by subject. Of course, the articles will be in German. But that’s okay, because some of us can still read German and, if necessary, you can Google translate it. Newspaper articles will include birth, marriage and death information, as well as everyday occurrences in local, state, national and world news. We are unique in having an overlap in two languages — news is reported with different perspectives. The New Braunfels Herald and the Herald- Zeitung can also be accessed online at the New Braunfels Public Library’s digital newspaper archive.

The Sophienburg Photograph Collection has over half a million images of New Braunfels and the surrounding area. These images (prints, negatives and slides) span the history of New Braunfels and Comal County from the early 1860s to present day. The Photograph Collection illustrates people, homes, city streets, businesses, and farms. It immortalizes city and cultural events and celebrations like parades, festivals and weddings. The collection includes most of the negatives of the Seidel/Braunfels Studio which photographed city and citizens from the 1920s thru the 1970s. The collection is widely used by people searching for old family members, authors needing illustrations, homeowners wanting views of their property and businesses looking for images of New Braunfels in the old days. Copies can be purchased for use and display.

The Sophienburg’s Archive Collection includes early hand-drawn maps and later printed maps of the city, certain neighborhoods, and the county. We have several Sanborn Fire Insurance maps which wonderfully show the evolution of buildings and homes as they rise, are renovated and then replaced. These are my favorite because they include details of building construction, materials and even where the outhouses and wells were located. Other maps in the collection show topographical information which, when it rains again, will show why your street tends to flood after an inch or two.

The Sophienburg welcomes you to come and research in our spacious reading room. There will always be a friendly staff member available to help you find what you are looking for. Well, you might not find ALL you want to know. Research, like detective work, seldom finds all the answers to all our questions. However, it is really fun to try!

To do research, please contact The Sophienburg at 830-629-1572 during office hours (Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m,–4 p.m.) to make an appointment. Daily fee for the Archives is $25 and includes our helpful personnel and admission to the Exhibit Floor. If you need more time, your fee can easily be rolled into an individual membership that allows you unlimited entry to the archives for just $50 per year.

See you in the stacks!

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

While scouring an old Herald-Zeitung for some trivial unrelated detail, I came across a photo of an early 20th century view of downtown New Braunfels. It was taken from a postcard of West San Antonio Street. The corresponding article described the names and locations of the businesses that would have been seen in that photo, alongside the same information from the view in 1973. I was able to find the color version of the postcard at the Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

Today, we will do a little time-travel Tour of West San Antonio Street. Get your time-travel goggles on and try to keep up as we go block by block. Looking down West San Antonio from Main Plaza, the first building visible on the left side where the old Texas Commerce Bank stands, was the Robert Krause Building. Built in 1860, the red brick building with a covered porch housed the O.L. Pfannstiel Racket Store and the F.C. Hoffmann Jewelry Store, with both families living upstairs. It was razed in 1931 to build the art deco First National Bank.

Adjoining the first Robert Krause building was the Piggly Wiggly store, Keinburgs Restaurant then Ed Moeller’s Cafe and Pete Wagenfuehr’s barbershop. Together, the spaces became Krause’s Fashions in the ‘60s and ‘70s. That whole building was taken in by Texas Commerce Bank in their early 1980s expansion/remodel of First National Bank.

The corner of West San Antonio and Castell was the site of the Oberkampf Saloon and Beer Garden. Jacob Schmidt built a three-story building in 1922, housing the Jacob Schmidt Company on the ground floor until the ‘80s. It is now occupied by the Phoenix Saloon.

Across Castell, on the corner was S.V. Pfeuffer & Holm Department Store and the post office. Woolworth’s occupied the whole first floor of that building until sometime in the 80s. The building now houses the Downtown Antique Mall.

Next in line at 223 W. San Antonio, was Willie Ludwig Saloon which became JCPenney, now home to Scores. Next, at 233, was Charles Wells Bakery, which became Plumeyer’s Bakery and eventually Poll Parrot Shoes. Mode O’Day ladies’ fashions occupied the 239 W. San Antonio building in the ‘60s-’70s. Both of the buildings housing Poll Parrot and Mode O’Day are home to the Art League. Next to that was Peerless Pharmacy, which became today’s Dancing Pony. Keep in mind that the upstairs of all of these buildings were occupied by doctors, lawyers, and other offices.

Close to the middle of the block was the original grand Seekatz Opera House, which burned to the ground in 1941. The replacement building housed the Jacob Mendlowitz Company before being taken over by Paul Bruner’s in the 1970s. Bruner’s was noted for the large floor-to-ceiling display windows and a center island of display windows out front. Ron Snider remodeled the retail space into a venue, calling it the Seekatz Opera House in the ‘90s. It is now the home of Traveling Gypsy Antiques.

The little narrow building, Elizabeth James Salon, originally housed Seekatz Butcher Shop followed by New Braunfels Candy Kitchen in the ‘30s and Great Western Finance in the ‘60s-’70s. Heritage Supply occupies the 1918 red brick building which in past years was home to Braunfels Studio.

The current Lone Star Lounge was originally Rahe Grocery. Over the years it became the Depot Drink Stand and Ortiz’s Recreation Center and more recently The Cork Wine Bar. On the end, before the railroad tracks, there was originally something called Seekatz Candy Store which is where Staunch Rugged Clothing is located.

Beginning back at the Plaza to time travel down the right side of the street, where Moody Bank now stands, was a different (new) Krause Building. In the early 1900s, it housed the Streuer Brothers Saloon with a bowling alley in the back. After that, a slick new modern building was built to house the United Gas Company with lots of windows over black, glass-like panels. It was remodeled by Guaranty State Bank.

Next to that, was Streuer & Hoffmann Co. groceries, followed by William Tays Saddlery and harness Shop. In 1910, R.B. Richter built a two-story brick building to house Richter’s Drug Store with the family quarters upstairs. A narrow part of the ground floor was parsed out for Imperial Barber Shop which maintained that spot until at least the late ‘70s. Every teen girl of the ‘70s will remember that the vacated drug store space became the Hang-Up apparel store. It is now Remax Realty. R.B. Richter built a smaller two-story building next door in 1920. It housed Shellaby’s for 20 years and is now occupied by Capital Title.

The current Callaghan’s Pub is a collection of buildings. Originally the Gruene Building sat on the corner of Castell housing the Baetge Saloon. When two newer one-story buildings were built, the Jacob Mendlowitz Company occupied them with a small shop parsed out for Rachelle’s Fashions.

Across Castell, the original Voelker Drug Store, became Shoeland, Ray Allen’s Mens Wear, Chollett’s and then Red Stag. The adjacent new rooftop bar, Cowboys and Cadillacs, sits on a long history of tenants including Ludewig Furniture, Stehling Brothers, Paul Bruner’s, Anthony’s and Seguin Beauty.

Elite Barber Shop spot was at one time the site of Buske Restaurant. In the ‘60s it was occupied by Goepf Jewelers and then Johnson Barber Shop. The Scoop Street slot was occupied by Plaza Meat Market at the turn of the century. The latest building on that site has hosted M&M Jewelers and James Avery Jewelry.

Before it was Moonshine and Ale, it was Fritz Schumann Butcher Shop, H. V. Schumann Drug, and in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Connie’s Shoes.

The 1893 Louis Henne building has always housed Henne Hardware. Sadly, after more than 130 years, it is no longer a hardware store. Across the alley is the original Henne Tin Shop, the stucco building previously the home of Kneupper’s Music in the ‘30s, Kickin’ K and now Le Petite Sweet. Gourmage occupies what was Goepf Jewelers in the 30s, and possibly where Hoerster Goodyear Tire was pre-1968. Both of those buildings housed H&H Sales (fabric) and is where Ducky’s started out.

The old First National Bank building later became City Bakery, Ye Olde Music Shoppe and eventually Mayo Investments. The Brauntex Theatre was built in 1942 on the site of the old John Faust Company.

Our city changes constantly, but we have managed to hold on to our downtown culture. I have only hit on the highlights of the past 115 years. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I am sure that no matter your age, you will recognize a few of these places on West San Antonio Street. Perhaps it will jar a memory loose, like cherry phosphates at Peerless Pharmacy or new Easter shoes at Poll Parrot.

Source: Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

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

The post West San Antonio Street — Now and then appeared first on Sophies Shop.

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

The small dining/living room was stuffed with my eight aunts, seven uncles, Grandma and Grandpa, and my cousins. I think there were about 13 of us kids at the time. It was Christmas. Grandma’s tree was decorated with old ornaments that were not like our 1960s ones. And there were bubble lights — magical, colored-liquid-filled tubes of glass that absolutely mesmerized us.

The night before, Christmas Eve, we had all bathed and washed our hair (not a daily thing) and donned our Christmas finery. I always had new red patent leather “Sunday” shoes; I would get new white patent leather ones for Easter. Then we’d pile into cars and drive to church.

Christmas Eve in the little stone country church was an event full of familiar carols, candlelight and the pungent but refreshing smell of cedar. Some of my aunts would sing in the choir up in the loft. The church was filled with folks we only saw when we came for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. They were mostly “cousins” and relatives of my Grandpa and Grandma’s families. The highlight of the service was at the end when men, usually my uncles, would hand out a white paper bag, with “Merry Christmas” stamped in red on it, to each child. Inside were oranges, apples, pecans, a peppermint stick, possibly a chocolate Santa and a small toy. Do you remember the metal clicker toys?

But now it was Christmas Day! We had eaten a huge lunch around one long table made of several tables and wood planks. Everyone always sat in the same place, kind of like we do in church. My cousin Becky and I always sat at the end on the piano bench. After lunch, all the leftovers were put away and every dish was handwashed, dried and returned to the cupboards. Then the tables were cleared and taken down, the chairs moved all around the edge of the room, and again, families moved to their oddly pre-ordained places. Then we waited.

Knock, knock, knock.

St. Nikolaus was at the front door. We could see him through the glass. My cousin Becky would begin to whimper. She always cried when St. Nick came. This year, some of us were on a quest to find out if St. Nikolaus was REAL. Last year, we were all agreed that he could have been Uncle Leroy dressed in a costume. He had been missing from the room.

“It’s not Uncle Leroy,” I whispered to my cousins, “he is sitting over there.” We all began counting-up the uncles. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight….and Grandpa!” We looked at each other in shock. But at that moment, an aunty had let HIM in the door.

St. Nikolaus was dressed in a red coat, boots and had a beard…sort of like Santa, but definitely not Santa. For one thing, he was quiet and spoke little. And, he was not at all jolly. He had a bag and a stick and he walked slowly with purpose.

Cousin Becky was crying for real now. The two of us always sat on the bottom stair of the stairs that led to the upstairs dormitory-like bedrooms. Mom was one of six girls and three boys and the upstairs was divided into two large bedrooms. Four of the families gathered had slept up there the night before.

“Shhhhhh….,” I told Becky and put my arm around her.

St. Nikolaus began walking around the room and stopping at each child. He looked at you with a frowny, stern face, and yeah, he was a little scary. But I never cried like Becky did. As he circled the room, each of us waited in stillness for our turn to “face-up and fess-up” to St. Nikolaus. He had come to see if we had been good. “Do you obey your Mother and Father?” “Do you go to church and say your prayers?” In light of his commanding presence, you had to tell the truth.

As soon as he had passed, each of us let out an audible sigh then began to once again take a look around the room to see who was missing. One of the boys snuck out the kitchen door and checked the back porch. Another went to see if there was a strange car parked around the house. But all to no avail. We couldn’t find one clue that would let us know who or what was St. Nikolaus.

“Merry Christmas!” said St. Nick as he went out the front door.

Now you’d think that we would just run after him and see where he went, right? But that was all part of our parents’ ingenious plan, because at that point, presents mysteriously appeared in front of us which totally distracted us from continuing our quest. Ripping paper, giggles, loud voices, laughter, “thank-yous” and hugs had become much more important.

St. Nikolaus had come and gone and we kids were no wiser.

Fast forward 20+ years, and I had my children hang up their stockings on December 5th to see if St. Nikolaus would visit. They dutifully wrote him a letter telling them if they had been good or bad and requesting desired gifts. Their St. Nikolaus always visited in the dead of night and filled their stockings with chocolate oranges, candy canes and a little toy. Except the one time he left them only one piece of chocolate and soap. The soap was for keeping a civil tongue in their mouths; it seems they had been terribly disrespectful to their parents and each other.

St. Nikolaus is a custom that the German immigrants brought to Texas. His feast day is December 6th, but it is on December 5th, St. Nikolaus Eve, that we put up our stockings and wait for his visit. Here at the Sophienburg Museum & Archives, we celebrate this tradition each year. Families can come to the museum at 5pm and 6pm on Thursday, December 5th. Cost is $5 per family and you need to call the museum and make a reservation for your preferred time. St. Nikolaus will visit with the children and they will make an ornament. You can then tour the museum which has been decorated for the holidays. Photos are encouraged, especially photos with St. Nick!

It is a great traditional start to the joyous Christmas season.

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Of the many things that New Braunfels’ founders brought with them, one of the greatest is their love of music. Men’s choirs, singing societies and bands of all types, have been the focal point of entertainment and social gatherings in New Braunfels for more than 175 years.

Now that we have made it through the parades and polkas this year, it is time for Christmas music. I am not talking “jingle bells, deck them halls and ho, ho, ho” as Lucy told Schroeder. I am talking about the beautiful hymns and sacred music of Christmas as presented annually at the Advent Vespers program by the New Braunfels Music Study Club.

For those unfamiliar with Advent Vespers, “Advent” pertains to the four-week season in the Church calendar anticipating and preparing for the arrival, or “advent,” of Jesus of Nazareth at Christmas. “Vespers” generally refers to evening prayers, based on the Latin word vesper, meaning evening. The New Braunfels Music Study Club has presented the annual sacred music program since 1959.

The Music Study Club was organized on February 24, 1928. Fourteen ladies met at the home of Mrs. Irene Guinn to establish a club promoting the study of music, encouraging musical education and maintaining a high musical standard in the community. The first order of business was the election of officers, with Mrs. Guinn, a well-established piano teacher, elected President, Miss Roma Koepp elected Vice-President and Mrs. Galle elected Secretary-Treasurer. They studied the opera “Il Troubadore” and Italian composer, Giuseppe Verdi, with multiple selections performed by club members.

The charter members were Mrs. J.F. Johnson, Mrs. M.C. Hagler, Mrs. Irma Guinn, Mrs. R.H. Ransopher, Mrs. U.R. Hellmann, Mrs. O.C. Bassler, Mrs. Arthur Zipp, Mrs. Emil Heinen, Miss Etelka Lucas, Mrs. G. Mornhinweg, Mrs. Ernie Eikel, Mrs. Harold Adams, Mrs. John Fuchs, Mrs. Bob Herring, Mrs. George Baetge, Mrs. Harry Galle, Miss Allene Ashenhurst, Miss Roma Koepp, Miss Loraine Tolle, Miss Gertrude Dietel, Mrs. Howard McKenna, Mrs. Pete Faust, and Mrs. Rennie Wright.

By November 1929, the New Braunfels club had become a member of both the Texas and National Federation of Music Clubs. The national organization was founded in 1898. It was chartered by the Congress of the United States and is the only music organization member of the United Nations. The NFMC is composed of over 90.000 members that include professional and amateur musicians, vocalists, composers, dancers, performing artists, arts and music educators, music students, patrons and music lovers of all ages.

Courses of study for the New Braunfels club were selected from those offered by the national organization. The courses followed specified categories of fine music study including opera, international music, folk music, parade music, sacred music and composers. Members selected the biography of a music master/composer, taking turns in presenting the information at a meeting while the music of said master would be performed by others in the group.

The New Braunfels Music Study Club monthly meetings were held in private homes. In the first years, operas were studied with members and guests performing appropriate music. Later, a ladies’ chorus was formed as well as a ladies’ string ensemble. First Protestant Church invited them to perform a Christmas cantata in the church, followed by a benefit concert for the Church Auditorium Building Fund. When Seele Parish House was finished, the club was invited to hold their monthly meetings there. They bought a grand piano for the parish house to be used for rehearsals, programs and Sunday School meetings.

The New Braunfels Music Club negotiated with the NBISD School Board to improve the music programs in the schools. They established a rhythm band at Carl Schurz Elementary and a choral program at New Braunfels Junior High School.

In the 1930s, the club established juvenile and junior music clubs, giving students the opportunity to compete in Federation festivals which were held in different cities in the district/state. Local student Glenn Richter (who went on to become the University of Texas Band Director) won a prestigious state scholarship to the National Summer Camp in Michigan.

During the ‘50s and ‘60s, music teacher members presented their students in a weekly 30-minute program on KGNB radio station every Saturday morning. In addition, member Franz Coreth presented outstanding opera programming every Sunday afternoon.

Over the years, the club has been led by numerous presidents including Shirley Jochec, Dorothy Johnson, Ann Kleeman, Jo Ann Lemmon and Robbie Borchers to develop outstanding projects. Not only have they supported the Federation by holding district conventions, district junior festivals and conventions, they have also hosted concerts showcasing choral groups, bands, soloists, and orchestras. In 1981, to honor their commitment to music education, the club established two annual scholarships to high school students seeking to continue the study of music in college.

The club’s most well-known project is a wonderful Christmas gift to the community: the Advent Vespers. It was originally touted as a Sacred Music Festival in 1959 with music performed by several church choirs. In 1960, choirs from First Baptist, First Protestant, New Braunfels Presbyterian, St. John’s Episcopal and St. Paul’s Lutheran churches participated, in addition to the Mass City Church Chorus directed by Melitta Frueh.

Melitta, the daughter of a Lutheran minister, the wife of a Lutheran minister, and a retired public school music teacher, combined her love of sacred Christmas music and grew the choral event for nearly forty years. The name changed to Advent Vespers about 1964. The massed choir has grown to more than eighty voices representing more than fifteen churches and organizations and is directed by Jody Leifeste.

The New Braunfels Music Study Club cordially invites you to prepare your heart for Christmas by attending this year’s Advent Vespers, to be held Sunday, December, 1, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. at Cross Lutheran Church Sanctuary, 2171 E. Common St., New Braunfels. As always, a free will gift is accepted.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Jo Ann Lemmon.

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Reaching a certain age and lifespan in New Braunfels entitles me, and others like me, to call buildings/places by other names and not sound crazy. It is like a secret code. We can use the “old” name when referring to a current building, and not many will know what we are talking about. Recently, we were talking about the New Braunfels Social Club building located at 353 S. Seguin Ave., which has nothing to do with the current establishment by that name on West San Antonio Street.

As you know, New Braunfels is known for being a social city, thanks to our founding fathers. When German immigrants came to Texas, they brought more than just tools and clothes to start a new life, they brought their culture, work ethic, music, and family values. They also brought their desire for socialization. They participated in organizations of all kinds — singing societies, shooting clubs, athletic clubs.

Eventually, athletic clubs became less about physical fitness and more about social activities — billiards, card games (skat) and nine-pin bowling. Bowling teams from various clubs around town would compete with one another, as well as travel to other towns to compete for prizes. One of the earliest organizations was the New Braunfels Social Club founded in 1864.

Unfortunately, much of the New Braunfels Social Club organization history has been lost. From what I can tell, they were more of what we now think of as a bowling team. They had no “lanes” of their own, so they bowled at established bowling alleys. They may possibly have taken their name from a hosting bowling alley. Advertisements posted in the Zeitung all-German language paper in 1890 noted that the Social Club Saloon Beer Hall and Bowling Alley, owned by Mangliers, was formerly known as Hasenbeck’s Saloon. The ads of the day gave no addresses, but Karl Hasenbeck showed up in the 1890 census as a barkeeper on Seguin Street.

In 1910, the New Braunfels Social Club organization built a building for their members at 353 S. Seguin Ave. The 1907 Sanborn maps indicate that two bowling lanes, a separate smaller building, and a beer garden had existed on that same property. The one-story Social Club building has many characteristics of the Richardsonian Romanesque period, including grand architectural elements of a heavy stone façade with columns, arched windows and stained-glass detail more like one would see on a large three-story courthouse. The new building had room for club activities and enclosed bowling lanes.

Nine-pin bowling was a team sport. As New Braunfels Social Club membership increased, their support for the community grew, holding fundraising events for Red Cross donations and to buy War Bonds. They did well. In 1930, they expanded, installing first-class billiards tables, card tables, and more bowling lanes for members. Initially, the lanes were set up for nine-pin bowling. Ten-pen bowling became more prevalent with the invention of mechanical pin setting machines in the 1950s. New Braunfels Social Club voted to install pinsetter equipment in 1959. They enjoyed success until a public bowling alley opened in the early ‘60s. Club membership dropped by 75 percent over an eight-year period and they could no longer keep up with expenses. The New Braunfels Social Club made the painful decision to close their doors for good in October 1968 due to overwhelming debt, a good deal of which was attributed to pinsetter equipment. The building would not sit empty for long.

The City of New Braunfels was looking for a site on which to build a new civic center. The City Master Plan recommended a convention site on IH 35 at Walnut (across from H-E-B). The city placed a bid of $35,000 for the Social Club property, only to have it rejected by the club’s membership. The city withdrew the offer but let it be known that it was prepared to initiate condemnation procedures to acquire the property. The Social Club received one other bid for $40,000 and accepted, even though the purchase price would not cover the club’s entire $51,000 debt. So, who outbid the City? The Elks!

A local chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was chartered in 1963. The New Braunfels Elks Lodge No. 2279 leased the old Oasis Club property (current location of Microtel Inn & Suites on Business 35) for their new home. This fraternal organization, built on the tenets of “Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity,” fit right into the fabric of New Braunfels. Their membership grew quickly over the next five years and sought to build their own lodge building. The Elks had already purchased a piece of land on Highway 46 South for their new lodge. When the Social Club building came up for sale, they jumped on it and closed in January of 1969.

The Elks put in over 5,000 volunteer hours to remodel the old Social Club, including removing the bowling lanes and transforming the area into a dance floor. The eight maple bowling lanes weighing 56,000 pounds were painstakingly taken up and reassembled, pegged, glued and refinished to create an 1,800-square-foot dance floor. Think giant jigsaw puzzle. That’s commitment! The new Elks Lodge No. 2279 was dedicated in August 1969. The 114-year- old lodge building has been and continues to be one of the most popular venues in New Braunfels.

On a side note, the New Braunfels Social Club decision to accept the Elks’ bid over the city’s, to some was controversial, but ultimately, it was the membership’s call. They basically saved the 1910 treasure. Had the vote gone the other way, the Social Club bowling alley would have been torn down and the Civic Center would have been built on the other side of the street.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

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

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

This past March I was in Macedonia, Greece with my eldest daughter. No matter where we walked the ground was literally littered with history — bits of marble, colored tesserae from mosaics, tiny pieces of bronze and always, always pieces of pottery.

History was everywhere.

I remember going to elementary school at Seele in the 1960s. We had a playground, but often, we would end up playing in the vast green grassy area between the school buildings and the Fredericksburg Fields. It really did seem “vast” to us. Whether we were playing kickball or some other game, it was not unusual to find Native American points (we called everything an arrowhead) just lying on top of the ground.

History was everywhere.

Recently, retired policeman/Texas Ranger Ray Martinez brought in two metal objects. He had found them while parking cars for the Lion’s Club at Wurstfest. The objects were lying on the top of the ground, not together and not even at the same time. Their shape caught his attention. He donated them to the Sophienburg.

One object is a thin, squared-spike, 8.25 inch-long, that looks like a really big nail not a railroad spike. Hand-wrought and perfectly straight, I’d venture to guess it has never been used but simply dropped and forgotten.

Hand-forged by whom? Possibly by one of the African-American slaves William H. Meriwether brought with him from Virginia in 1847; it is likely at least one of them was a trained blacksmith. Meriwether’s slaves dug the millrace in Landa Park and built the first water-powered mill on the Comal River. The spike was found in the area of what had been the foreman’s house and the slave quarters.

Meriwether sold the property to Joseph Landa in 1859. Perhaps a blacksmith employed by Landa made the spike. Maybe it was dropped by workers constructing the Landa Industries buildings or the sheds along the railroad tracks installed to transport product to and from the Landa complex.

History is everywhere.

The other artifact is not made of iron. It is lead. Lead is a soft metal made from galena ore mixed with antimony or metallic arsenic. It melts at 375 F. The 10.75 inch-long and 3/8-inch-wide bar is stamped in block letters, “St. Louis Shot Tower Co.” It is not often an artifact gives you such a great clue and Ray Martinez had already done some internet research. I did more, and this ugly dark gray bar is way cooler than it looks.

First, what is a shot tower? In 1782, Englishman William Watts discovered that if he dropped molten lead far enough through the air the surface tension of the lead would form it into a perfect sphere. That’s how raindrops are formed. Watts built a six-story tower and placed a water tank at the bottom. At the top he laid a copper sieve. When he poured molten lead through the sieve, its downward six-story flight was long enough to form the lead drops into spheres and to cool the lead enough for it to begin solidifying by the time it hit the water.

Why make little round lead balls? The balls being manufactured were “shot”. Making shot for rifles by hand was labor intensive, so if you need a lot, like for an army or to sell in stores, Watts new shot tower method was a huge technological breakthrough. Shot towers sprang up all over England and after Jefferson’s 1801 Embargo Act which halted imports, shot towers became popular in America as well.

The St. Louis Shot Tower Co. was opened in the 1830s and continued producing shot until the end of the 19th century. It also produced lead bars like the one Ray found. St. Louis Shot Co. reported that during a five-month period, they could produce 1,994,374 pounds of round shot and 426,400 pounds of lead bars.

What were the bars for? Although bags of shot were available in stores, many rural folk and hunters continued to hand-mold their own shot. The Sophienburg has many single and double shot molds used by early citizens. During the Civil War, both shot and bars were obtained and used by soldiers on both sides. If you think about it, with a bar, you could make yourself 20-24 shot balls while sitting around in camp before a battle. Wouldn’t it be easier to just carry a couple bars instead of a bunch of little balls? And what if the supply wagon didn’t make it? You could still have ammunition.

Why was the lead bar found in the parking lot field? Your guess is as good as mine. I know that during the 1850s the New Braunfels Schuetzenverein (Shooting Club) shot targets in fields near the water out at “The Point” (which is sort of where Comal Cemetery, the VFW and Cypress Bend Park are). In the 1860s, men in the Comal County Home Guard shot targets in fields near the Comal around Prince Solms Park. Spent shot was also found in the playground area of Carl Schurz Elementary School. The museum has a handful of shot from the schoolyard in a jar. The Lion’s parking lot would have been a perfect place for target practice as well.

Of course, none of my guesses may be right. Both metal artifacts could have been there because of floods.

I’m thinking that if we look, we might all stumble across really wonderful history in our own backyard. I find Native-American points and scrapers in mine. What might be in your backyard? Who lived in your house, and what is their story?

History really is everywhere.

Remember, please, that searching or (God forbid) digging on someone else’s property or city or state property is illegal without prior permission and authority. Don’t be an idiot. Be responsible and ethical.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives collections; https://stlouispatina.com; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_tower; https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi422.htm; https://www.minnesotatrap.com/history-in-the-makin/shot-towers-page; https://www.inventricity.com/local-heroes-william-watts.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Decorations for Christmas are up at the Sophienburg Museum and Archives. This year we are highlighting 20th century Christmas décor of the 1920s–1960s. You will be wonderfully transported back to your childhood. We also discovered several large boxes with Christmas lights which led me to look into the history of Christmas tree lights.

Candles were the first lights used on Christmas trees. Using tiny Christmas lanterns in the 1870s, counterweighted holders in the 1890s and clip-on holders after 1900, people would light their trees with candles for a brief moment of wonder. Live flames and dry fir or cedar was a dangerous combination, so a bucket of sand or water was kept nearby for expected emergencies. A heavy rug was placed under the tree to catch dripping wax; the rug morphed into the modern-day Christmas tree skirt.

Thomas Edison invented the first practical light bulb in 1879. In 1882, his associate Edward Johnson used that technology to electrically light the Christmas tree in his home. It created quite a stir since the tree also used electricity to rotate and blink on and off.

An electrically lighted Christmas tree was displayed in the White House in 1895. This brilliant exhibit fueled the public’s growing fascination with electrically lighted trees. In response, the General Electric Co. (GE) offered, for the first time, sets of pre-wired carbon filament lights for Christmas trees in 1903. At a time when the average wage was 22 cents a day, a $12 box of 24 pre-wired lights was very pricey. In 1906, Germany and Austria introduced electric figural Christmas lights to the increasingly interested American consumer.

GE launched new Christmas light outfits using the Mazda bulb in 1916. The Mazda was a globe-shaped bulb with a tungsten filament. Other manufacturers of stringed lights paid to use GE’s new Mazda bulbs in their sets. GE replaced the globe-shaped bulb with a flame-shape or cone-shape light bulb in 1919 and it, then, became the industry standard up into the 1960s. By the 1920s, all American lighting manufacturers had converted to tungsten filament bulbs.

The Tri-Plug was invented in 1921 by Lester Haft and allowed several strings of lights to be connected; this was a game changer for the industry. The many companies jumping into the lighting game compelled the Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) to publish quality standards in 1921, and by 1929, lighting sets carried the UL tag.

In 1924, GE and Westinghouse replaced the smooth cone-shaped lamps with smaller ribbed bulbs. The National Outfit Manufacturing Association (NOMA) was formed by 15 lighting companies; the trade association eventually merged into the NOMA Electric Corporation and became the largest Christmas lighting company in the world.

No Christmas lights were manufactured during 1941-1945 due to WWII although companies sold out their back stock. In 1946, NOMA introduced the Bubble Light, which became the world’s best-selling Christmas light set. Other companies followed with their own bubbling light designs. Cloth-covered lighting wires were also changed to vinyl, plastic and rubber coverings following the war.

Italy introduced Americans to the Fairy Light or miniature lights in 1950. First produced with the bulbs wired directly into the light string, these gradually became the familiar plastic base push-in lamps now in use. Twinkling Lamps, units built with a flasher bulb, first made their appearance in 1955, an innovation still widely popular today.

In 1959, the Aluminum Specialty Company first introduced the aluminum Christmas tree The Evergleam and marketed it as a permanent tree not an artificial tree. (I see what they did there.) Since aluminum is highly conductive, electric lights then on the market could not be used with these new trees and the only way to light them was with a spotlight or rotating color wheel. The aluminum tree craze lasted until 1965 when “A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired on CBS which likened the metal tree to out-and-out commercialism.

Massive importation of light sets from places like Japan and Hong Kong severely impacted and caused the collapse of many American lighting companies. By the 1970s, Americans were almost exclusively lighting their trees with imported miniature lights.

Thought you might enjoy this description of the mini lights most of us use.

Mini lites truly have a mind of their own. As soon as they are removed from the box when new, they cling together in a “hive”, resisting any attempt to free them. Shaking them annoys the mini lites very much. It makes them cling even tighter, until the only method of untangling is a pair of scissors. Should you be lucky enough to actually free them, the strands fall to the floor, immediately running for cover under your feet. (This is witnessed by the sound similar to cracking a walnut.) Once the lights are untangled, the cat becomes VERY interested in them. I believe it is the tuna flavored wire that they use. No matter, because before they can get to the tree, the cat will have chewed through the cord in 6 places. Well! You made it this far! The lights somehow make it to the tree. You of course pre-tested them, so they will work. What you fail to realize, is that the mini lites are not going to fail until they are on the tree. — Chris Cuff

You can visit the Sophienburg Museum Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-4.p.m. (Please note that the Sophienburg will be closed for Thanksgiving November 24-26, 2022.) Or, you can bring your little ones to see St. Nicholas on Monday, December 5 for $5 per family. Reservations are required for this event; call 830.629.1572.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives collections; www.oldchristmastreelights.com.

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