Rabbits, eggs become mainstay Easter traditions

(Reprint of AROUND THE SOPHIENBURG article published March 31, 2009, by Myra Lee Adams Goff) Children don’t question whether it’s possible for rabbits to lay eggs. They just know that when they build a pretty nest of grass and flowers, the Osterhase (Easter Rabbit) lays these beautiful multi-colored eggs. It’s the miracle of the beginning […]

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. […]

Rancho Comal at Spring Branch

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — A Princely Estate — We learn that Maj Leland of New York, has settled among us, having purchased the Comal Ranch of Col. Sparks, fronting the Guadalupe River 9 miles, and laying 22 miles west of New Braunfels … all one body of some ten thousand acres with improvements thereon, […]

Postmarks tell interesting history

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 […]

History is everywhere

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 […]

History mystery: South Seguin Avenue, Part I

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Having lived in New Braunfels for most of my life, it feels oddly disturbing to see long-standing buildings damaged or torn down. It also piques my interest. Questions about what happened there or where the buildings went start spinning in my head. I wanted to know what happened to the […]

1881 bird’s-eye view of New Braunfels

  By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Created by Augustus Koch in 1881, the “Birds Eye View of New Braunfels” is so much more than just an etching of early New Braunfels. An aerial view of the city lying nestled between the rise of the Balcones Escarpment and the black dirt farmlands, it is almost photographic […]

Much can be discovered by visiting graves at Comal Cemetery

(Encore of article that first appeared November 26, 2008.) By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Recently I went to the Comal Cemetery to visit family and friends. Don’t tell me that I’m the only one that does that; someone brings the flowers! Since I started writing this column I have greatly increased the number of […]

New Braunfels had a poor farm

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — As a child, were you ever told that wanting a special toy or dress or bike would land the whole family on the poor farm? I’m not sure it was said specifically to me, but I have heard it said. I wondered where these farms were and who had to […]

The Dittlinger legacy

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Who would believe that a Union soldier residing in New Braunfels for a mere three months could leave a lasting mark on our city? Nicolaus Dittlinger did just that. In December of 1865, Nicolaus Dittlinger arrived in New Braunfels with his wife and youngest child, taking a room at the […]