Former Eiband & Fischer store to receive historical marker
By Myra Lee Adams Goff A Texas Historical Marker honoring Eiband & Fischer store is being cast at the foundry in San Antonio, soon to be installed at the site of the one-time famous mercantile store. You or your family may remember this store if you were in New Braunfels before 1959. The big store […]
Church Hill School served Hortontown and Neighborsville
By Myra Lee Adams Goff From Union St., turn onto Common and drive straight to the Guadalupe River. At the bridge and on the east side of the river, as far as you can see, look left and right. You are looking at Hortontown. Down river to the right of Hortontown was Neighborsville. These two […]
Dowsing for water and switching for graves
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Divining. Dowsing. Witching. Switching. These strange words all refer to the same thing, an ancient method of finding something under the ground. It’s not science. It’s not magic. Some people have “the gift” and others do not. In many cases, the ability is found generationally in families. Whatever it is, […]
Oscar Haas, the Battleship Texas and the “Spirit of the Spanish-American War”
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — How great is this photo of New Braunfels boys! The image was copied for Oscar Haas by Mr. Seidel in 1960, but it dates way back to March 17, 1900. The young men, dressed up for the Kindermaskenzug (Children’s Masquerade Parade), are standing in front of the New Braunfels Academy. […]
Sophienburg — guardians of history for 90 years
Tara V. Kohlenberg — Ninety years ago, on October 8, 1933, New Braunfels celebrated the grand opening and dedication of the new Sophienburg Memorial Museum and Library, erected in honor of those pioneers who founded New Braunfels. It was a grand affair for the entire community. There was a morning parade from Main Plaza to […]
Historic sounds that inspire
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Time is elusive. It moves slowly but passes quickly. It is also easy to lose track of time. As a child growing up in New Braunfels, only a few markers of time stood out to me: the twelve-noon siren from Central Fire Station; the streetlights coming on; and the TV […]
The Pablo Diaz story
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman – Sometimes a little tidbit of information sets me off on a bunny trail. I took one of those trails recently after finding and reading a 1975 letter from Oscar Haas to Mrs. Gregorio Coronado here in New Braunfels. Haas was drawing her attention to the mention of a Mexican boy, […]
Comal Sanitarium
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — I love driving through the tree lined streets of New Braunfels in the winter month(s). The absence of leaves invites a closer look at the buildings, the rooflines, the architectural details, the landscaping. Oddly, I have always been drawn to the properties lined with mature palm trees. They seem so […]
True crime series: Break-in of First National Bank
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman It’s just a little snapshot of three old guys in a back yard. The story that goes with it, however, is a humdinger and you’re gonna love it. It was uncomfortably cold and wet that midnight hour of January 20, 1922. Deputy Marshal W. Nance Meredith had walked his section and […]
Where is Freiheit?
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — The summer I graduated from high school, I think the New Braunfels city limits signs boasted a population of 19,000. The county had a whopping 34,000. Since then, the city limits signs have moved further out, taking in the wonderful little communities that existed peacefully “in the country” for more […]
