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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The third weekend in May I realized how hard it was to preserve historic customs. We can remodel, renovate and preserve buildings, bridges and artifacts. Even history is preserved when we write it down. But the arbitrary laws of custom are transient. In other words,” at random” customs are changeable.

Anhalt in the western area of Comal County has held on to old traditions with their Maifest and Octoberfest. Members of the Comal County Historical Commission went to Maifest and observed these old traditions first hand. The Anhalt Association is interested in getting an historical marker on their property. Preserving the history of Anhalt got a big boost when Harvey Schaefer in 2000 wrote the history using the minutes of the organization going back to when they were still written in German.

Comal County was created in 1846. The area of Anhalt in Comal County is typical of other hill country areas with rocky terrain covered with elm, mesquite, oak trees and abundant water. Farming is possible but ranching is preferable.

Way back in 1859 this area was known as Krause’s Settlement founded by Conrad Krause and sons with a store, residence and dancehall. A Post Office was established in 1879 and the settlement name changed to Anhalt, meaning “stopping place”, because that was what it was. Farmers gathered at the store to discuss their common problems, one of which was what to do about cattle rustlers that had become a big problem particularly after the Civil War. Since there was no fencing in the area, stock ran loose.

The solution to this problem was to form the Germania Farmer Verein in 1875. Thirty- five farmers met earlier at Krause’s store and decided to organize to protect their livestock by branding the letter “G” on the left shoulder of the cattle, along with the rancher’s own brand. This practice eliminated the cattle rustling problem. The all male organization leased and later purchased nearby land for their hall (across the highway from the original Krause’s Settlement). Over the years the organization built and added on to many sections of the building and in 1908 the large hall was built. It has a well-polished floor and unique arches in its architectural design.

The Spring Festival began as an annual event in May when planting was complete. Then a Fall Festival was held in October when harvesting was finished. Fairs were held to exhibit stock and vegetables, however, this practice ceased when the Comal County Fair organized in 1898.

Now let’s look at the customs that have been preserved:

The 2013 Maifest began at Anhalt Hall at noon. Food was served all day and the menu hasn’t changed much over the years. Due to a lack of refrigeration in the old days, nothing could be served that would spoil. Several men were making meat out back – potroast and sausage. Also sauerkraut and German potato salad which is served warm with no mayonnaise were served. There were two modern inventions served from cans – peas and peaches. In the old days food was served family style, but now by plate only.

Here is the real reason for the Maifest- the dance. Starting at noon the atmosphere is strictly German. An Oompah band plays German music until 4:00 o’clock at which time there is a Grand March. After that the music and crowd is strictly western. This is, after all, ranch land. Along the side of the wall western straw hats are for sale. At one time hats were not allowed on the dance floor.

Signs on the wall make it very clear as to what is acceptable on the dance floor and what is not. “No shorts, pedal pushers, blue jeans allowed on the dance floor”. That custom was obviously modified because there were many clad in blue jeans, shorts and boots.

Another sign posted says: “Indecent, uncommonly dancing in the hall is strictly prohibited.” Since there was none of the above taking place, I have a feeling they mean that one. Even the Chicken Dance and Put Your Little Foot were done with utmost precision.

Couples danced polkas and waltzes in a circle around the hall. Some danced holding babies and small children twirled around the outside of the moving circle. In the old days there was an area in the corner where children were bedded down. These dances, after all, lasted way into the night and it was a long way home.

Do you remember Gerhard and Regina Adam who married on our Plaza during our Sesquicentennial in 1995? He was representing Braunfels, our sister city. He and Regina came to Anhalt with Dr. Fred Frueholz. The Adams glided across the floor. He told me later that this old time polka and waltz was no longer done in Germany except occasionally in Bavaria. So Anhalt is preserving a custom brought from Germany that is no longer preserved in Germany.

A real treat was a performance in costume by the Austin International Folk Dancers. They performed several old dances like the Ländlar, Schottish.

A tee shirt for sale read “Wo in Himmel ist Anhalt? “ (Where in heaven (?) is Anhalt? I know where it is and I’ll be back the third Sunday in October for Octoberfest.

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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, it has proven to be a relatively effective technique for finding minerals, coal, oil, water, treasure and burial sites for centuries.

German miners used dowsing rods to locate minerals in the 1400s. English miners were using the method in the 1600s. Americans tended to call dowsing either “witching” or “switching”, possibly because many practitioners used witch hazel branches (switches) for the rods. Dowsing rods can be made of hazel, hawthorn, willow, peach, pear or cherry branches, but not elder. Elder trees were associated with witchcraft and dowsing is not witchcraft.

Dowsing rods are simple to use. The diviner (dowser, witcher or switcher) holds the ends of a Y-shaped branch with the joint nosing upward and then walks across the ground they want to survey. Say he or she is looking for water — when underground water is passed over, the joint end will point down or twist. The strength of the rod’s movement can even estimate the distance under the surface so you know how deep to drill for a well.

Elmo Jonas (1916-2001) learned how to switch for water in the 1930s from watching his uncle. As a Wassersucher, or switcher, Elmo used a Y-shaped rod from the branch of a peach tree. He stored his rods wrapped up in his freezer. Mr. Jonas was known across the county for his ability to find water to help people locate sites for wells on their property. In a New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung article, Mo Schwab was quoted saying, “To my knowledge, he’s never had a client say it was a dry hole …. He doesn’t charge for switching. He earns his living on his sheep ranch off Purgatory Road. People make donations if they want to, but I know he’s found good water sources for people who gave him nothing.”

In other words, he wasn’t scamming anyone.

The Herald-Zeitung interviewed Elmo in 1995 about the “gift” he shared with others. He and many of his neighbors were relocated when their family ranches and farms were bought to make way for Canyon Lake and Dam in the late 1950s. Buying new land and building a new home made it necessary to also drill new wells. Elmo Jonas found just the right spot for good wells for those resettling.

How does it work? No one really knows. Some think it has to do with a physical principle, possibly electrical in nature, that isn’t yet understood. Curtis Bremer (1934-2016) said, “There is no scientific evidence, but I’m satisfied that it works, and I’ve used Elmo Jonas on six or eight wells. I’d want a switcher if I were drilling a water well today because you increase your probability.”

The U.S. Geological Survey can’t prove how or if it works so they caution against using a water witcher. But, they cannot prove it doesn’t work, and as many people have seen, somehow it does. In 1975, Mrs. James Mayer of Bulverde was asked to locate water for a well at the Comal Indepent School District’s Smithson Valley High School. Successful, she was asked by the school board to also find water for Mountain Valley Elementary and Middle School in Sattler. Harvey Pape reported on that experience. “She would just walk across the field and the rod would go straight down — she just could not hold it. There were two places on our land like that. It was really amazing to watch, in fact, the first switch she used split in half.… She gave me the switch, and it wouldn’t do anything, … we gave it to my little daughter, and the switch pulled almost out of her hands.”

Water is not the only thing people switch for. Former educator Wilfred Schlather also uses a divining rod to locate lost gravesites. Sounds weird, right? Mr. Schlather taught high level math and physics at New Braunfels High School as well as hand-built the first computer on campus. He is definitely no stranger to scientific facts. He doesn’t know how switching works, he just knows that it does.

I got to go on a grave hunt with Wilfred (It is so hard not to call him Mr. Schlather.) a couple of years ago. We needed to find out where a young boy was buried in one of the local cemeteries. We vaguely knew about where he was lying, but with no headstone, it was just guesswork. Wilfred got out his switching rods — two copper pipe cylinders in which he put L-shaped pieces of wire. He held one copper cylinder in each fist so that the long end of the L-shaped wires swung freely facing forward. As he passed over different areas of ground, we watched in astonishment as suddenly the wires turned inward and crossed each other and then several steps later uncrossed. I. Kid. You. Not.

Wilfred repeated the action flagging where the wires first crossed and then flagging where they uncrossed. Between the flags was the exact space that would be needed to bury a child’s casket. To make certain of his results, he walked parallel to the marked space. The wires did not cross. When he walked across the area of another marked grave, the wires did their crossing thing again.

“May I have a go, Wilfred?” I asked hesitantly. “Here, try it,” he said, handing me his rods. I held one copper pipe in each fist and with the rods floating forward walked over a marked grave. At the foot, the wires turned inward and crossed. At the headstone, the wires uncrossed. I tried the burial site he had just located. At one end of the space the wires turned inward and crossed and at the other end the wires uncrossed.

It was quite the OMG moment. Apparently, I have the “gift” for finding graves. Who knew I was so blessed. I was telling my mom about this article. It seems I had an uncle in the Fredericksburg area who was a water switcher. Looks like I need to try switching for water!

Sources: New Braunfels Herald; New Braunfels Herald Zeitung; Texas Escapes Online Magazine: “The Ancient Art of Dowsing”,  “Dowsing for Graves, Witching For Water”; Farm and Dairy, “The Curious History of Water Witchers”.

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

By the time I sat down to write this story, we were several weeks into back-to-school ad campaigns for clothing, athletic gear, and school supplies. The term “back-to-school” made me think of popcorn, parakeets and Big Chief tablets.

Maybe your brain doesn’t track like this, but there is something oddly comforting about the smell of freshly made popcorn, the sound of tweeting parakeets, and a new Big Chief tablet. In New Braunfels, it meant shopping at Winn’s.

Winn’s was my favorite back-to-school shopping place. They had everything we needed and then some. Winn’s was what they called a variety store, a five-and-dime or simply dimestore. It was downtown across from the post office on Castell Avenue (now 2tarts Bakery and River Rose Boutique). I loved Winn’s. I can still smell the fresh popcorn and hear the parakeets twittering in the back of the store.

Winn’s, founded in 1926 by San Antonio businessman Murray Winn, opened its 55th store in New Braunfels in 1959. Winn’s Stores Inc. bought the North Castell Avenue property from Norman J. Henne in March of ’59. An 8500-square-foot building was built after they razed buildings previously housing Schumann’s Battery Service, real estate office of Hilmar Doehne, and the burned out remains of Fred D’s Sporting Goods Store.

Before that, school supplies were purchased at drug stores or places like Vollmer’s or National’s Five & Dime (now Antique Mall). It must have been somewhat competitive since the stores tried to entice school shoppers by offering coupons for ice cream sodas or a free pass to the movies. I am not sure that Winn’s ever had that type of promotion.
A typical list from my childhood mirrored that of the 1959 New Braunfels Independent School District first-grade supply list. On it were nine items: #2 pencils with erasers, box of eight crayons, pointy scissors, spiral composition books, mixed construction paper, tissues, jar of paste, a pencil tablet and a cigar box.

This year’s NBISD supply list for first grade has at least 20 items. The basic items are still the same today, including crayons, construction paper, spiral notebooks, tissues and scissors (but scissors are no longer pointy). Gone is the paste that came in glass jars and tasted like mint (so I have been told). Teachers today want glue sticks.

They have replaced pencil tablets with primary notebooks. The pencil tablets were 8 x 12 pads of wide lined newsprint writing paper with Big Chief being the favored brand. Easily recognizable from anywhere, it had a red cover with an image of a Native American chief on it. It was my very own new pad of writing paper for a fresh start.

Cigar boxes were the predecessors of today’s plastic pencil box. Everyone used what was available. Back when people smoked cigars, the pharmacies and stores would save the boxes to sell with school supplies. I loved the smell of tobacco when I opened the lid of my new cardboard King Edward cigar box. Later, as people smoked less, cardboard boxes were specifically made for school supplies in bright colors, but it just wasn’t the same.

As we grew out of the Big Chief phase, we got filler paper to put in our zippered 3-ring binders which we carried in our satchels (a dorkier, more cumbersome book bag). There were no Trapper Keepers or backpacks, but we did have lunch boxes. Mine was a shiny, black-patent-look Barbie lunch kit with matching thermos. Unlike today’s Yeti insulated cups and mugs, a thermos in those days was lined with glass. Yep! A thermos in the hands of a second grader was risky business. Just one bounce when dropped and you had instant crystal maracas (which every mother loved to hear).

As for school clothing choices, there was not a lot available in downtown New Braunfels. Some people ordered through catalog stores like JCPenney or Montgomery Ward. There was no Amazon or overnight delivery so it took weeks to receive it. We got one pair of school shoes that had to last until summer: saddle oxfords or P.F. Flyers or Keds. New Braunfels had B&B Poll Parrot (left side of the New Braunfels Art League next to Scores sports bar) for shoes but they were probably a little pricier than Winn’s.
Winn’s had blue jeans, shirts, socks and tennis shoes in stock for boys. For girls, they had petticoats and slips and socks. They also had a healthy stock of bobby pins, hair bands, clips, and Aqua Net. I really do not remember the dresses at Winn’s because my mom made dresses for my sister and me. But the fabric — there were tons of fabric and patterns and buttons and zippers. I would spend time looking at pattern books while my mom shopped for fabric until I got sent on a mission to find my brother.

My brother, and most of the boys, could usually be found in the back of the store looking at all the things my mother said no to: bubbling aquariums full of fish or the dozen blue-and-green parakeets in a cage or the turtles. He did talk her into a turtle once.

Beyond school supplies, Winn’s had a wonderful supply of anything found in a variety store including lamps, curtains, laundry baskets, toilet paper, garbage cans, kitchen gadgets, costume jewelry, candy, and the list goes on.

In May of 1968, a second location of Winn’s Variety Store was opened in the new Landa Plaza Shopping Center (Das Rec) that was designed to look like faux fachwerk. It was the 87th store. It was closer to our house, but we still liked to go to the downtown Winn’s.

Winn’s Stores continued to expand in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico under other ownership, reaching 230 stores in 1987. Then things went south. Walmart and other major national retailers began moving into cities with their discount department store model. Then the dollar stores began popping up.

Winn’s sold off stores, closed others, and filed bankruptcy before finally dissolving in 1995. It was a great ride that made a ton of memories! Especially the popcorn, parakeets and Big Chief tablets — and I almost forgot, the ICEEs!

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

The world is full of magnificent works of art and sculpture, some of which are centuries old. New Braunfels is even home to one, featuring a female figure and gargoyles. Now somewhat obscured by trees and traffic, the 19th-century Victorian fountain was actually the beginning of our Main Plaza.

In 1845, surveyor Nicholaus Zink was contracted to lay out the town of New Braunfels. He allowed for the Plaza at the junction of San Antonio and Seguin Streets. It has always been oval-shaped. The Plaza was known for many years by New Braunfels citizens as “our park” because no other was available. It was simply a large, flat, clean space in the crossroad where the townspeople gathered for concerts, parades and community events.

The only mode of transportation at that time involved horses or oxen, which both required water. The idea for a central watering hole/fountain on Main Plaza initially came about in 1887. The idea was quashed after complaints by local merchants.

New Braunfels celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1895. In September of that year, Hermann Seele, president of the anniversary celebration committee, approached the city council for permission to erect a water fountain to beautify the Plaza, utilizing surplus funds from the celebration.

The committee chose the fountain design from the J.L. Mott catalog. The cast iron structure, said to be 19 feet tall, features a female figure in Greek-style robes atop two lower pans and a basin. The figure is holding a vase above her head with water that sprays from the top of the vase into the pans below. She is listed as “The Vase Bearer” in the catalog. There are two types of gargoyles (carved faces with spouts that drain water). The top pan is round, decorated with leaves and flourishes, supported by a center column. Water flows into the lower pan from the mouths of stylized sea horses (or maybe griffons) that adorn the center column. The lower pan is octagonal, adorned with eight sheep’s heads spouting water into the octagonal basin made of concrete and metal.

The natural-colored cast iron fountain was purchased from J.L. Mott Company of New York for $3,000 with anniversary funds and donations. After all was said and done, there was a remaining balance of $58.05, which the city paid. It was installed on the Plaza in 1896.

By 1897, there were problems with people watering their stock at the water fountain. To discourage the practice, the city spent $342 to have the fountain area high curbed. Later in 1897, the city began planting shrubs and trees to beautify the Plaza. The Band Stand came along in 1905.

The beautiful work of art took center stage on Main Plaza for years without issue. In 1963, the New Braunfels Lions Club took on the project of refurbishing the fountain and landscape improvement. The fountain was sandblasted and received new lighting, additional sprays and a new off-white paint job. A new rock wall enclosing a planted area was also added. It was indeed a beautiful sight at night.

For many more years, the fountain survived freezing temperatures and drought. It also survived pranksters that found “soaping of the fountain” a novel idea. Soap seriously damages the workings of fountains and is no laughing matter.

1976 brought about a flurry of improvements to go along with the nation’s Bicentennial Celebration. The complete renovation of Main Plaza was the project of the Rotary Club. Eighteen months of planning and $100,000 of work later, Main Plaza was completely redone. The fountain received a new watering system sending the water up instead of down with indirect lighting installed around it. At 80 years old, the Main Plaza fountain was also designated a historic landmark by the New Braunfels Landmark Commission.

The grand fountain’s age began to show. In 1985, the fountain was turned off. The mechanics of the fountain were in good shape, but the cast iron structure was succumbing to sheet rust on all of the interior surfaces. She was slowly rusting to death.

In 1992, Mayor Clinton Brandt formed the Plaza Fountain Restoration Committee. They were in for a shock when they sought restoration quotes. Yikes! That little $3,000 fountain needed $50,000 of work!

The two-year fundraising campaign raised $54,000. The Mott fountain was fully restored to her original cast iron color by Robinson Iron of Alexander City, Alabama. It took approximately four months. Robinson Iron had restored at least sixteen other Mott fountains previously. At the time, there were known to be about 35-40 Mott Company fountains left in the United States, with ours being one of the finest.

The fountain once again took her place on her pedestal in December of 1993, a full year before the slated Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1995, and all was right in the universe. Except — a drunk driver plowed through Main Plaza in November 1994, shattering the fountain and causing $50,000 in damages. The driver was not insured, nor was the car he was driving. Robinson Iron repaired the 100-year-old fountain and returned it to its rightful place by the end of January 1995 in time for the Sesquicentennial events.

Fast forward to today — our precious fountain is 128 years old. Sadly, due to water restrictions, the fountain is turned off. She looks a little rough but is still a treasure. Come see her up close and personal. No ticket required.

She will be waiting for you to join her on Main Plaza for the Ol’ Fashion Fourth of July Parade and Patriotic Program which has been presented by the Sophienburg Museum and Archives in collaboration with the City of New Braunfels since 1978. Wear your Star-Spangled-Banner best and be there!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database.

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff —

A young German count, Arnold-Henkel von Donnersmark, came to the New Braunfels settlement in 1845 with Prince Carl. He built a large frame building where he lived and conducted his hotel and saloon business. In less than a year he had accumulated several thousand dollars.

This is how he did it: he bought a barrel of whiskey in San Antonio, set up a tent in New Braunfels, and sold it to emigrants that had money. These early emigrants, having just arrived and not yet established homes, stayed in Donnersmark’s hotel, for it provided a comfortable place to stay. Besides, they liked the idea of being served by a member of the aristocracy. This would never have happened in Germany. (Source: Roemer’s “Texas”)

Donnersmark’s house, hotel, saloon, was located on the corner of Castell and Mill Sts. which is now a parking lot across the street from McAdoo’s Restaurant. Donnersmark’s house itself served a very important role in early New Braunfels because it was designated as the first post office. It was dismantled in 1904 by Louis Henne who then used the lot for a customer camp yard for his lumber, hardware, and tinning business.

C.W. Thomae was the first postmaster in 1846 and then Donnersmark took over in 1847.

In 1851 the post offices moved to the Adolphus Benner store. Benner was the postmaster and when he died, Mrs. Benner took her husband’s place, thereby having the distinction of being the first woman postmaster. She served until after the Civil War, when she was replaced due to the fact that she served under the Confederacy. (All of those positions were replaced if they had served during the Confederacy).

Next, post offices were in the bus station, Courthouse, Hermann Seele residence, and Pfeuffer store. Then in 1915 President Woodrow Wilson signed a law appropriating $50,000 to build a post office building in New Braunfels. This is the building that now houses McAdoo’s Restaurant. Guess who the U.S. Secretary of Treasury was at that time? William G. McAdoo! The present post office on Seguin Ave. was built in 1984.

In addition to the post offices in New Braunfels, there were about 20 rural post offices, two of which are at the bottom of Canyon Lake (Cranes Mill and Hancock). Each of these post offices had an individual postmark signifying that the letter had been mailed from there. Eventually all small sites were closed except New Braunfels, Spring Branch, Fischer, and Canyon Lake.

Originally stamps on letters were postmarked by the postmaster writing the cancellation date and place. Then cancellation progressed to hand stamping. Can you imagine the post office doing either one of those methods now? Cancellation then moved to digital postmarks.

These postmarked letters have become collector’s items, as everything does when it becomes obsolete. One can learn a lot about history by collecting these cancelled letters. Collectors look for old hand-cancelled letters and specific postmarks. I have seen a 28th Wurstfest postmark dated Nov 4, 1988, and a New Braunfels Sesquicentennial postmark of April 14, 1995, with the Sesquicentennial seal. A most interesting one to me is a New Braunfels Centennial celebration envelope which says “mailed from Landa Park.” It has a picture of the old Sophienburg, Las Fontanas, with the message “Because of these, the now famous Comal Springs, the German emigrants chose the site of New Braunfels.” The official postmark is New Braunfels.

Permission for special postmarks have been granted, like the commerative Pony Express rider in 2006. I have seen two stop stations, one in Gruene and one at the Schmidt Hotel.

Growing up in New Braunfels, I remember the socializing that took place on the post office steps on Castell St., especially on Saturday. Maybe this form of socializing had its roots in Arnold-Henkel von Donnersmark’s hotel and saloon across the street.

Excerpt from Around The Sophienburg by Myra Lee Adams Goff, Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg

St. Nikolaus is thought to be the forerunner of our modern Santa Claus. Like other old legends, there are many variations of the St. Nikolaus story. He was from Turkey and in the 4th century entered the seminary. He soon became the Bishop of Myra, Asia Minor, and won many converts. Because of his popularity, the Romans imprisoned him. Finally, the new emperor, Constantine, released him from prison and even made him a church council member. He was known for selling off his own items and then giving the money to the poor. He would commonly leave coins in peoples’ shoes and dedicated his entire life to serving people who were sick and suffering. This is how he gained his saint status, and is what inspired St. Nikolaus Day celebrated on December 6.

One well-known story of St. Nikolaus involves a dowry for a father’s three daughters. In the third century, it was common for fathers to offer money to prospective husbands. However, one poor father with three daughters did not have money to do this. St. Nikolaus paid for all three daughters’ dowries by leaving gold in their shoes.

St. Nikolaus Day was celebrated in different ways. In Italy, this day was celebrated with feasts, gift-giving, and festivals. In Germany and the Netherlands, children would leave their shoes in front of the fireplace or front door the night of the 5th and find presents in them in the morning. Because of Nikolaus’ generosity, he became the patron saint of children in several countries.

During the Protestant Reformation, St. Nikolaus was banished from most European countries. The Dutch made him the protector of sailors and began the tradition of children filling wooden shoes with treats. Americans went from wooden shoes to leather shoes to long socks, even stretchable panty hose. In American New England, where the Dutch settled, they spelled St. Nikolaus “Sint Nikolass” which, with time, became “Sinterklass” and finally Santa Claus.

Clement Moore wrote the poem, “The Night Before Christmas” and he described St. Nikolaus as a little man in a red robe with a belly that “shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.” This description contradicted the vision of a tall, stately man in a red Bishop’s robe trimmed in fur with a long white beard as described before. It also smashed St. Nikolaus into Christmas Eve and away from his saint day.

Then cartoonist Thomas Nast drew a picture of what he thought Santa looked like for Harper’s Weekly in 1881. Nast’s picture definitely put on weight. He looked like the Santa of today. As with the Christmas tree, St. Nikolaus was brought to Texas by German immigrants. For the last fifteen years, our St. Nick at the Sophienburg has been a combination of several versions from those stories. He wore a hooded red robe trimmed with animal fur and had a long beard. Nikolaus speaks only German and hollers out to the children, “Kannst du beten?” or “Can you pray”? and without even understanding what he said, the wide-eyed children say, “Yes, I can pray”.

The Sophienburg Museum & Archives has hosted St. Nikolaus for forty-plus years, with several versions of the Saint. We wish to pay tribute to one of them — the quiet, unassuming man who brought life to St. Nikolaus here for the past fifteen years, Michael Gene Krause.

Michael was born in New Braunfels, Texas, and raised on the family ranch about 15 miles outside of town. A descendant of several German families who helped found New Braunfels, he learned to speak German first and learned English in elementary school. He grew up on the ranch as an only child and only grandchild on both family sides. He was an inquisitive child and as a teen became interested in herpetology. He actually had a functioning snake stick. Michael chose to wear a white shirt and tie every day of high school to honor his father who was in a management position at City Public Service in San Antonio. His father held a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UT-Austin and was involved with the planning of the South Texas Nuclear Plants.

Michael was a 1974 graduate of Canyon High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with specializations in Nuclear and Heat Transfer from the University of Texas at Austin — with highest honors. Michael finished his Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering with the same nuclear specialization at UT in 1984 and then went on to work for 36 years at the University of Texas at Austin at the UT TRIGA Nuclear Research Reactor. Michael was very good at his job managing and maintenance of the UT TRIGA Nuclear Reactor. He often gave training demonstrations and lectures to nuclear operators in other countries, including Egypt, Malaysia, Morocco, Thailand, and Algeria. During his work at UT, and after retirement from there, he continued operation of the family ranch, eventually becoming its owner.

Michael and his wife Connie, were active in New Braunfels’ historical community. He was a member of several local organizations including the Sophienburg Museum and Archives, the Comal County Genealogy Society, the German-American Society, the New Braunfels Conservation Society, and the German-Texan Heritage Society where Michael was president for several years. Michael was also well-known in helping folks locate ancestors’ graves using divining rods. He was a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and along with his appearances as a German-Texan Saint Nikolaus at the Sophienburg, he played the part for many other Central Texas groups since 1995. Michael Krause passed away in July after a short illness, leaving his wife Connie and many, many friends to miss his sense of humor and wry smile.

St. Nikolaus will be at the Sophienburg Museum & Archives again on Sunday, Dec. 5. Call the museum to RSVP for either the 5pm or 6:30pm session. $5 per family.

Sources: Around the Sophienburg, Myra Lee Goff; Michael Gene Krause by Connie Krause; Sophienburg Museum personal recollection.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

How do we pick topics for Around the Sophienburg? you might ask. Well, a myriad of mysteries and ideas come across our desks, but this one came simply from the question, “Whatever happened to that armadillo guy?”

First off, let me tell you how we got “armadillo guy”. In the 1970s Country music was spreading across the U.S. like wildfire when country musicians Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Jeff Walker and others escaped the constraints of Nashville and became known for their Outlaw Country sound, which took root in Texas. Suddenly, it was cool to wear hats and boots, dance the two-step and essentially be anything that was Texan.

The promoters of Lone Star Beer, The National Beer of Texas, played off the whole Texan theme. Leon Burns, a New Braunfels restaurant manager, attended a Lone Star Beer event in San Antonio where they held armadillo races at Hemisfair Plaza. The event was such a hit, that the Lone Star marketing team began traveling all over the U.S., creating Armadillo Races in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and more just to promote Lone Star Beer.

Leon Burns and Bill Daughtery and about five other individuals formed the New Braunfels Armadillo Association. They decided that there should be a championship style event for all of the big city winners to race in. They contacted this young marketing guy named Jim Schmidt, who was fresh out of University of Houston. Jim was also the force behind the very successful “Luv Ya, Blue!” promotion for the Houston Oilers. In August 1979, the first International Invitational Armadillo Races took place at the Comal County Fair Grounds. It was a one-day event boasting The Derrick Dolls cheerleaders, food booths, beer, and music all afternoon. The “armadillo athletes” were rounded up from local ranches. Barry Jaroszewski not only ran a booth called Barry’s Rent-a-dillo, he provided the beer license through his Under-Pass Saloon. It was relatively successful.

The following year in 1980, Urban Cowboy with John Travolta was released. The Texas cowboy craze consumed everything and everybody. Could it be any cooler to be Texan? The Armadillo Races morphed into a three-day event called the Armadillo Olympics. Their flyer read “see highly trained armadillo athletes competing in a variety of breath-taking events.” Their logo had an armadillo sporting running shoes and cowboy hat in front of Olympic rings. The event was held at the end of August in an open field on the I-35 access road that sits between what is now Walmart Distribution Center and the back of Creekside Shopping Center. There was a chili cook off, five-acre carnival, hot air balloons, arts & crafts, sky divers, booths by non-profit organizations, food and beer. They held a dance every night featuring Ernest Tubb, Roy Head, the Geezinslaw Brothers and more. There were reports of 30,000 people in attendance, which is absolutely amazing.

In 1981, the NBAA learned to deal with their celebrity. Burns said they received a cease-and-desist letter from the International Olympic committee. The Association could not use the word Olympics or the rings in the logo. Great! They changed the ‘O’ to an ‘A’ and moved on to obtaining festival permits. Judge Max Wommack listened to over an hour’s worth of complaints about noise, trash, dust, and trespassing from area residents before granting the permit. Think about that. I-35 was so narrow (two lanes each way) that the people living on the other side of it complained about noise and trash from the festival. Those were the days. Burns said it was the biggest ever, estimating over 45, 000 people in attendance and cars backed up to Hiway 46 to get in, but not a lot of money was made.

After the collapse of the New Braunfels Armadillo Association, Jim Schmidt created the Texas Armadillo Association headquartered in New Braunfels for the preservation, protection and promotion of the Texas nine-banded armadillo. He and his Armadillo Rangers, including locals like Lee Rodriguez, continued to drive all over America with Arnie the Armadillo, making appearances on Regis & Kathy Lee, PM Magazine news shows in every market and of course, at schools, fairs and trade shows. He even rode the Texas float in the 1989 Inaugural Parade for President H.W. Bush.

It was during the first State of the Union Address of H.W. Bush that Jim Schmidt responded to something he heard the President say. He heard a plea to help him and Barbara continue Nancy Reagan’s platform of “Just Say No” to drugs. Jim Schmidt, taking his cue from Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes”, formed the Put On Your Armor Foundation, a non-profit to help armor children and protect them from drugs, crime and violence. He and his Armadillo Rangers have traveled internationally with USDA approved armadillos, educating and entertaining millions of kids. Who knew that a giant beer-fest with armadillos would turn into a non-profit educational career.

Oh, but, wait. There is more. Armadillo Jim left New Braunfels in 1995 for Oklahoma to attend Bible college. There he married and has three children. He has devoted his life to building a children’s ministry, helping to instill good character and Christian values in our youth; raising awareness for abused and missing children, and providing resources for grief recovery. During his career, he has appeared at well over 1000 schools, 750 conventions, special events, trade shows and meetings, 120 state and county fairs/festivals, and community outreaches and many church crusades and meetings. Armadillo Jim Schmidt and his side-kick Arnie Armadillo continue to live a blessed and full life, spreading the Word through what I have always considered to be a nuisance in my garden. The wonder of the smallest creatures never ceases to amaze me.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; GuideStar.org; Alton Rahe; Jim Schmidt; Leon Burns; Barry Jaroszewski; Lee Rodriguez.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

There’s been a lot of chatter on a local Facebook group recently about Queen of Hearts. In an effort to satisfy inquiring minds, I did a little research. The Queen of Hearts is an age-old tradition of a bygone era (which is really hard to say and harder to see in print since I was around for some of it). Queen of Hearts was a week-long New Braunfels High School fundraiser that took place each February. It was THE social event of the year, featuring competition between the classes to finance the Unicorn yearbook. The week of competition culminated in a formal dance and crowning the winner, Queen of Hearts.

The very first Queen of Hearts was held in 1937. The Unicorn Band came up with the idea to hold a concert and dance to raise funds for the band. Along with it, they sponsored a contest to elect the Queen of Hearts. It was open to any girl in the area. Votes could be purchased for a penny a piece with votes being cast at Peerless Pharmacy, Richter Pharmacy, Plaza Drugs or in the Principal’s office. The winner that year was Mary Louise Hobson. The total amount raised was $17. That may not seem like a huge amount, but it was a lot in the post-Depression era.

In 1938, Queen of Hearts was promoted as a Valentine Carnival featuring a dazzling floor show, Games of Luck, Games of Skill and a supper which was sponsored by the Future Homemakers and the Senior Class. Instead of buying votes for the Queen, classes competed to raise funds to help finance the yearbook. One girl representative was selected from each class. The class earning the most money through their projects had their representative crowned queen. New Braunfels High School was located on Mill Street at that time and housed six classes of students 7th through 12th grades.

Queen of Hearts continued to be held annually, but the class competition projects changed and grew with the times. In 1940, participants from all six classes took part in the floor show entertainment for the coronation. The identity of the Queen was secret until coronation. At that time money was raised through service type activities. LaVerne Schwab Pearce remembers that during WWII, the classes collected/sold scrap newspapers, aluminum and iron and turned it in for money. She also remembers that cake bakes, which have always been a staple of Queen of Hearts class projects, did not take place during the War Years because sugar was rationed. Although the fundraising competition was held, there were actually no annuals produced for class years 1943 and 1944 due to shortages and rationing of supplies.

For many years the upper classmen would easily win the competitions, but in 1944, the 8th grade class stunned everyone by getting their candidate, Rachelle Mendlovitz, crowned Queen . In 1948, the designation of monies for yearbook changed slightly to include campus beautification.

By 1950, the funds raised were strictly to help offset the cost of printing the yearbook. Myra Lee Adams Goff remembers that one of the reasons that she was crowned Queen of Hearts was because her mother made “thousands of pralines” to sell. They were more popular than cakes or pies.

The Class of 1951 was the last class to graduate from the high school on Mill Street. The following year only the top three grades moved to the new Guenther Street high school. Mill Street became the junior high with grades seven through nine. In addition to having fewer classes competing, the 1952 Queen of Hearts decided to include the election of a King of Hearts in same manner as queen. Apparently, it had a surprise ending as Senior Esther Kanz was voted Queen and Sophomore Malcom Bartels was voted King. That did not set well with the classes. The following year, Class representatives were chosen as a pair. The first King and Queen of Hearts chosen as a pair were Juniors Mary Lou Obercampf and Charles Hower. Queen of Hearts celebrated their Silver Anniversary in 1962, also the year the current NBHS opened on the hill. They raised $2484.04 that year. By 1972, the classes easily raised $5260.09.

The 1970s and 1980s saw little change in the format or the money making projects, some of which included singing valentines, car washes, bake sales, Rent-a-Kid, and Queen of Hearts supper. The coronation ceremony had all the pomp and circumstance of any coronation in Europe. The trumpeters still heralded the entry of the court into the gym. The queens, each in ball gowns of white, performed a Texas Dip (deep extended curtsy) to her escort at center court before taking their place on the stage. In 1995, that all changed. The students still raised money through projects and competed for points in a “fun night” of games, but the annual dance was done away with. The coronation took place right after Fun Night and the girls wore casual street length dresses. As time progressed, Queen of Hearts popularity waned. There were multiple factors contributing to the decline, one of the most important being the inability to serve or sell homemade goods after a city hepatitis outbreak. Another was the district’s contract with an outside food service company that prevented any outside food sales on campus or use of the cafeteria for the spaghetti supper. The culture of the high school also changed, with overtaxed teachers and administrators no longer willing to support a tradition that did not directly benefit them. Queen of Hearts disappeared for a couple of years. In 2000, it made a return in a very pared down version that consisted mostly of Fun Night and the casual coronation. It lasted only a few more years before sputtering to a stop. The final Queen and King of Hearts were crowned in 2003 with monies going to Habitat for Humanity. According to what I can find, Queen CandiZeitungce Box and King Jody Walker will forever hold that notable distinction. The list is too long to print in the Herald-, but there is a complete listing of all of the Queens and Kings of Hearts from 1937 to 2003 below.

Request: The Sophienburg Museum and Archives is missing some NBHS annuals from our collection. If you have annuals from 1977, 1978, 1994-99, or anything after 2003 that you would like to donate to the Archives, we would gratefully take them.

New Braunfels High School Queens and Kings of Hearts

• 1937 — Marry Louise Hopson
• 1938 — Freddie Robertson
• 1939 — Martha Dietz
• 1940 — Elvira Kinser
• 1941 — Trilby Schnautz
• 1942 — Mary Ann Stollewerk
• 1943 — Mary Lynn Williams
• 1944 — Rachelle Mendlovitz
• 1945 — Jeanelda Denmark
• 1946 — Carolyn Karbach
• 1947 — Peggy Ludwig
• 1948 — Kathleen Karbach
• 1949 — Jane Warwick
• 1950 — Myra Lee Adams
• 1951 — Bonnie Ann Knox
• 1952 — Ester May Kanz, , Malcolm Bartels
• 1953 — Mary Lou Oberkampf, Charles Hower
• 1954 — Linda Larkin, Franklin Demuth
• 1955 — Mabry Otto, Fred Kappel
• 1956 — Carol Jean Hanz, Bop Reeh
• 1957 — Marjorie Hansmann, , Lawrence Stephens
• 1958 — Virginia Weisser, Maurice Fischer
• 1959 — Sandra Kneupper, James Norwood
• 1960 — Mary Ann Voigts , Kenneth Fiedler
• 1961 — Joan Wilkinson, Randy Heinen
• 1962 — Nancy Becker, Bill Oberkampf
• 1963 — Betty Jean Moellering, Kermit Forshage
• 1964 — Barbara Bean, Ronald Zipp
• 1965 — Barbara Eikel, Leroy Schleicher
• 1966 — Georgia Lynn Moore, Patrick Cobb
• 1967 — Connie Jo Hill, Marvin Klein
• 1968 — Renee Reinarz, Sam Kneuper
• 1969 — Vicki Alves, Jon Eikel
• 1970 — Debbie Kohlenberg, Donald Klein
• 1971 — Cheryl Sweet, Barry Buske
• 1972 — Lynda Kohlenberg, Kent Lohman
• 1973 — Suzanne Sacco, Jay Schriewer
• 1974 — Patty Goff, Rudy Gutierrez
• 1975 — Toni Castilleja, Clay Aguirre
• 1976 — Mary Burrus, David Shelton
• 1977 — Cheryl McCampbell, Randy Caddell
• 1978 — Donna Cook, Bob Simpson
• 1979 — Kim Pinson, Bryan Richardson
• 1980 — Pam Dunks, Alan Fischbeck
• 1981 — Gwen Thomas, Rory Duelm
• 1982 — Suzanne Nolte, Tony McKee
• 1983 — Susan Scheffel, Chris Lacy
• 1984 — Inez Villanueva, Paul B, rotze
• 1985 — Yvette Haegelin, Alan Matney
• 1986 — Jan Zimmerman, Derek Seidel
• 1987 — Melissa Garza, Tim Zipp
• 1988 — Misty Brink, Lonny Aleman
• 1989 — Kim Bing, Jimmy Simmonds
• 1990 — Kimber Streety, Cody Moos
• 1991 — Lynn Ann Carley, Wade Lindeman
• 1992 — Joleen Evans, Kevin Painter
• 1993 — Analicia Morales , Omar Hernandez
• 1994 — Alison Bruemmer, Brook Cavert
• 1995 — Diana Torres, Richard Perez
• 1996 — Stacey Kuhn, Scott Campos
• 1997 — Bryndy Zaeske, Chris Millett
• 1998 — N/A, N/A
• 1999 — N/A, N/A
• 2000 — Amy Eichmann, Bryan Vargas
• 2001 — Tasha Granzin, Chance Herblin
• 2002 — Stephanie Ramirez, Burton Speckman
• 2003 — Candice Box, Jody Walker

Sources: The Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Myra Lee Adams Goff; Fritzi Richter; LaVerne Pearce; Stephani Ferguson; Amy Kohlenberg Schorn.

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