The House That Jack Built

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I have heard some murmurings in town lately about a place called The House that Jack Built. As often happens at the Sophienburg, I had already done some research into this business. Let me share some facts and a couple stories that I discovered along

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Waggoners important to early New Braunfels transportation

(Encore presentation — Originally appeared February 8, 2011) By Myra Lee Adams Goff Waggoners or Teamsters were important to early New Braunfels. They not only led the wagon trains of the early German settlers but they hauled freight to and from the frontier, especially the Gulf coast. G. Fred Oheim,

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For the love of antlers

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — This is the story of a boy born in Erbach, Hessen, Germany. It is about a boy who was fascinated with antlers. It is about that boy growing up and emigrating to Texas and creating his own future. Ernst Dosch was born in 1822. He

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New Braunfels forty-eighters

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — The forty-eighters were refugees of the failed German Revolution of 1848. They were idealists. They fought to establish a liberal and unified Germany using liberty, democracy and unity as their main tenets. The designation “forty-eighter” excludes the hundreds of thousands who emigrated from 1848-1852 for

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Indian Days House

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Legend, lore and local memories hover over this old house. The structure is one of the oldest permanent dwellings in Comal County. Old it is, and certainly old to be so far out of New Braunfels. The current address for the place is 7600 FM

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Charcoal burners of the Guadalupe

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — A year ago, I alluded to a book, Charcoal and Charcoal Burners, published in 1950, by Fritz and Emilie Toepperwein of Boerne. From around 1870 until 1919, the name Charcoal City was given to a region of land in the Guadalupe River Valley that extended

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Recipes for life

By Tara Voigt Kohlenberg Now that circumstances are anything but normal, there is a pretty good chance that you, too, have been playing “What Can I Make With This?” The game is played while standing in front of an open pantry or refrigerator. Don’t get me wrong, I do love

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Women in history

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — When the Museum is quiet, like it has been for the past few weeks, I like being in the exhibit hall. In fact, my favorite thinking spot is sitting on a bench in there, just listening. In the silence, one can almost hear the sounds

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“He Got the Drop on Waldrip”

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I found this story by Louis B. Engelke in the Sunday, January 3, 1954, edition of the San Antonio Light. It’s the story of Henry Langerhans and the part he played in the demise of Capt. J.P. Waldrip. It is really too good not to

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Troop 133 – the oldest established troop in New Braunfels

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — The year 2018 marks 75 years of Scouting for New Braunfels Troop 133 sponsored by First Protestant Church. Seventy-five years is a significant milestone… so my story topic is born. At the beginning of any project, we tend to use the “scatter gun approach,” which

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