I really haven’t lived through a major war, but my mom and dad did. I have heard their stories and they are very different because Mom lived on a ranch/farm north of Fredericksburg and Dad lived in New Braunfels. Myra Lee Adams Goff grew up with my dad and she described those times through the eyes of the child she was then. In light of the current world situation, I thought it would be good to reprise Myra Lee’s article and see how New Braunfels coped back then with the uncertainty and fear that such times engender. — Keva Hoffmann Boardman

Around the Sophienburg, December 27, 2006

By Myra Lee Adams Goff —

It’s the end of December and this pesky little song has entered my head again and won’t leave. “Let’s remember Pearl Harbor as we did the Alamo.” I’m back in Julia Odiorne’s fourth-grade class at Lamar School. Earlier, on December 7, 1941, a surprise attack on the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor had suddenly plummeted our country into World War II. We sang this song with gusto because as Texans we would never forget the Alamo and now we would be called on to “Remember Pearl Harbor” forever.

Miss Odiorne tacked a map of the world on the wall that she had gotten from the Weekly Reader, a newspaper for children. Every time Germany won a battle, she would place a little swastika on the map and for Japan it was a little white flag with a red “rising sun” in the middle. Naturally when the U.S. won, there were stars and stripes. For all that first year, there were almost nothing but swastikas and red suns, and that was scary.

We kept on singing and doing our part as children. The Junior Texas Rangers, as the children were called, collected scrap metal and even gum wrappers. New Braunfels was cleaned out of scrap metal. Newsman Roger Nuhn wrote that school children collected over a half-million pounds of scrap, including the cannons on Main Plaza. My Girl Scout troop collected string and I never knew why. We folded bandages, and I did know why. The Red Cross was very active in that endeavor.

A Civil Defense League was formed under the leadership of Mayor Walter Sippel. Citizens were assigned to air raid shelters in basements of schools, churches and public buildings. Now get this: Lamar’s basement is about 10 x 10 and there were about 350 people living in the area. We would be mighty cozy. Mock air raids, announced by the fire siren, were conducted on a regular basis. We were, after all, close to the many military bases in San Antonio.

The PTA at Lamar installed blackout curtains in our auditorium so that if there was a bomb dropped on New Braunfels, the children would be hidden. I never really understood that either, because we never were at school at night, but at least once a week, we were able to see our geography movies without the interference of the sun.

Rationing had become a way of life. Sugar, gasoline and tires were all rationed. A family was issued ration stamps according to the size of the family. Cookies were not as plentiful, Hershey bars were not to be found, and no frivolous driving could be done. If a tire went bad, just park the car in the garage for the duration of the war. My friends and I walked everywhere.

Every family was encouraged to plant a Victory Garden and the water rates were lowered for that project.

Right down on Main Plaza there was a Center for Service Men in the old Landa Building (present day Commissioners Court parking lot). Open to all servicemen and women, they would arrive on buses from San Antonio on weekends. The downstairs had a radio, nickelodeon, piano, pool tables, card tables and lots of food provided by local clubs. Upstairs there were 100 beds. Dances were planned at the center as well as at Landa Park. Thousands of servicemen and women would come to New Braunfels on weekends. In the end, 73,000 servicemen and women registered at the center.

Making money for the war effort was a big thing. The selling of war bonds was a huge activity and each county was expected to sell an allotted amount.

We sat in front of the radio as we now do the television. The news was always bad and as young teenagers, we listened to the terrible problems of Stella Dallas and One Man’s Family, two popular radio soap operas. “If you think you’ve got it bad, think about their problems.” Father Barber solved his family’s problems with a calming, “Yes, yes.” That was it.

When the war was over in 1945, the newsreels of the concentration camps that were in the movie theatres were shockingly real, and we knew then the importance of sacrifice. Almost 1,500 men and women served their country from New Braunfels, and sadly 38 gave up their lives.

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

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Have you heard of Sylvester’s Abend? Have you heard of New Year’s Eve? Two names for the same event. To arrive at the Gregorian calendar that we and most European countries use was not an easy process. Many changes took place before the final calendar set up by Pope Gregory XIII was adopted.

Sylvester’s Abend was what the German emigrants called New Year’s Eve, or Dec. 31st.The name “Sylvester” translates from Latin as “wild man”. The German “Abend” translates to “evening”. Sylvester’s Abend is named after a Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 314 A.D. to 335 A.D. Ever since the Gregorian calendar was adopted by most of the world, the feast day celebrated Sylvester’s death on Dec. 31st. The name Sylvester’s Abend was used locally for many years but eventually changed to New Year’s Eve. The local German American Society still uses Sylvester’s Abend.

Speaking of Sylvester’s Abend traditions, some of the interpreters at the Sophienburg who grew up in Germany remember a practice carried out on New Year’s Eve called Bleigiessen or “lead pouring”. It resembles the practice of reading tea leaves to predict the next year’s events. A small amount of lead is melted in a spoon over a candle. Then the molten lead is poured into a bowl of water and the pattern that forms predicts events of the coming year. There is a long list of what these forms could mean. Sounds like an entertaining game.

Advertisements in the old Zeitung newspapers give a hint of how New Year’s Eve was celebrated locally. Dances at halls in town and in nearby settlements were prevalent. A popular early hall was Matzdorf Halle which eventually became Echo Hall and then finally, Eagles Hall. There were dances at Sweet Home Hall at Solms, Walhalla at Smithson’s Valley, Teutonia Halle, Anhalt, Landa Park, Reinarz Hall, Schwab Hall, Lenzen Hall, and smaller ones. Downtown Seekatz Opera House, built in 1901, was a popular dance hall with its stage, dressing rooms, kitchen, and large main floor with seats that could be removed easily for dances. An added feature was a balcony for onlookers and private club rooms on the second floor in the front of the building. At midnight the fire siren would blow.

All of the dances furnished trappings of the celebration of the coming of the New Year with noisemakers and fireworks. Designed to ward off evil, fireworks and noisemakers go back to ancient times.

In a Sophienburg Reflections program, the late Kola Zipp recalls a custom in her younger years (early 1920s) that had to do with New Year’s Eve. She called the practice “New Year’s Callers”. Young men would hire a carriage from the local livery stable and go out on New Year’s afternoon to visit girls. Girls would stay at home to welcome them and offer the boys wine. (That’s a switch) These New Year’s Callers would visit and then move on to the next house.

Marie Offermann and her sister Jeanette Felger often went to dances at Echo Hall as children with their parents. There was even baby-sitting service in one of the back rooms. People brought food that was placed in the basement under the stage. New Years was a dress-up time. Look at the picture.

New Year’s Eve is celebrated around the world, often with strange customs, from throwing dishes, to wearing red underwear, to congregating in a cemetery to ring in the New Year with departed loved ones. In France the wind direction predicted the year’s crops and weather and in Spain if one could consume 12 grapes in 12 seconds from midnight, good luck would follow.

Since the invention of television and computers, millions watch the New Year’s celebration at Times Square in New York. Since its beginning in 1907, a huge 12 foot diameter ball suspended above Times Square is lowered. When it reaches the bottom of the tower, it is midnight.

No New Year’s Eve celebration would be complete without the ever popular traditional song, “Auld Lang Syne”. Poet Robert Burns is given credit for translating the Scottish song. Here’s the last verse of Burns’ rendition:

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!(friend)
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!(give us your hand)
And we’ll tak a right guid-willie waught,(take a good-will draught)
For auld lang syne,(long, long ago)

Chorus:

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

The post We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet for auld lang syne appeared first on Sophies Shop.

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

With the Comal County Fair over and done, we look forward to the other fall community events. Dia de los Muertos comes next and will be followed by the granddaddy of them all, Wurstfest!

For me, a first founder descendant, Wurstfest is my favorite. It is much more than beer and sausage. It’s the time families and friends, old and new, gather to have Gemütlichkeit. Translated loosely, that means a time of warmth, friendliness and good cheer amongst people. Wurstfest is also a time we get to dance to the music and songs that have always been a special part of our lives.

The polka music that our grandparents taught us to dance to at weddings and dances have a nearly 200-year-old history. Mystery surrounds the true beginnings of the polka. Some say the name comes from the Bohemian word pulka, which is the half-step dance movement one uses. Others claim that the dance was invented by a young Polish servant girl and named “polka” in reference to the word for Polish woman.

History only knows that around 1830, in villages around Prague, the polka rhythm and steps were noticed and became a sensation in Prague itself. The upbeat tempo, catchy tunes and often humorous lyrics then took Paris by storm in the 1840s. Well, all of that and the added bonus that a man could hold his lady friend deliciously close when spinning her around the dance floor. The polka was a far cry from the formal and staid minuets, quadrilles and waltzes of the 19th century.

The major emigration of Europeans in the 1840s brought the sound, beat and steps of the polka to North America. Texas, with its high concentration of Germans, Czechs and Poles, became a hotbed and haven of the polka. As Germanic immigrants settled throughout east and central Texas, they tended to band together for their common good. They formed vereins. These associations or clubs promoted their members’ general welfare as well as preserving their culture. Music — and the polka — always played an integral part.

Dance halls were basically mandatory in these communities and bands were readily available since there were many men who knew how to play at least one instrument. Stringed and brass instruments came with the immigrants. Woodwinds like flutes, clarinets and saxophones were also prevalent. But the most distinctive instrument was the accordion.

The accordion is a wind instrument comprised of two reed organs connected by folding bellows. Sound is made by expanding and compressing the bellows forcing air through the reed organs. A keyboard of keys or buttons is used to play the melody.

The earliest accordion was invented by Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin, Germany in 1822; Buschmann called his instrument the Handäoline. In 1828, Armenian organ and piano maker Cyrill Demian created the Akkerdeon and chose that name based on the German word Akkord, which means chord.

The Germans, Czechs and Poles loved their accordions and the polka, and the music was heard often. In a wonderful turn of events, Texas-born Tejanos in the San Antonio area took the accordion, the polka sound and dance steps they heard and saw and invented the unique musical genre of conjunto. Conjunto blended the sound and rhythms from both German and Hispanic communities and remains popular in Texas music today.

The same beat, similar dance steps and the all-important sound of the accordion still echos in dance halls and street festivals. Even if you are new to the polka or conjunto sound, I guarantee that if you listen to the beat your foot will start tapping. If you listen closely to the words, you will often find yourself giggling. If you really listen to the music, I’m going to bet that you will get off your chair, grab yourself a partner and dance deliciously close in circles around and around the dance floor.

Sources: PBS Western Reserve: The History of Polka: From Europe to Northeast Ohio; Appalachian Freunde Polka Band; Handbook of Texas.

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

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff —

Have you heard of Sylvester’s Abend? Have you heard of New Year’s Eve? Two names for the same event. To arrive at the Gregorian calendar that we and most European countries use was not an easy process. Many changes took place before the final calendar set up by Pope Gregory XIII was adopted.

Sylvester’s Abend was what the German emigrants called New Year’s Eve, or Dec. 31. The name “Sylvester” translates from Latin as “wild man.” The German “Abend” translates to “evening.” Sylvester’s Abend is named after a Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 314 A.D. to 335 A.D. Ever since the Gregorian calendar was adopted by most of the world, the feast day celebrated Sylvester’s death on Dec. 31. The name Sylvester’s Abend was used locally for many years but eventually changed to New Year’s Eve. The local German American Society still uses Sylvester’s Abend.

Speaking of Sylvester’s Abend traditions, some of the interpreters at the Sophienburg who grew up in Germany remember a practice carried out on New Year’s Eve called Bleigiessen or “lead pouring.” It resembles the practice of reading tea leaves to predict the next year’s events. A small amount of lead is melted in a spoon over a candle. Then the molten lead is poured into a bowl of water and the pattern that forms predicts events of the coming year. There is a long list of what these forms could mean. Sounds like an entertaining game.

Advertisements in the old Neu Braunfelser Zeitung newspapers give a hint of how New Year’s Eve was celebrated locally. Dances at halls in town and in nearby settlements were prevalent. A popular early hall was Matzdorf Halle which eventually became Echo Hall and then finally, Eagles Hall. There were dances at Sweet Home Hall at Solms, Walhalla at Smithson’s Valley, Teutonia Halle, Anhalt, Landa Park, Reinarz Hall, Schwab Hall, Lenzen Hall, and smaller ones. Downtown Seekatz Opera House, built in 1901, was a popular dance hall with its stage, dressing rooms, kitchen, and large main floor with seats that could be removed easily for dances. An added feature was a balcony for onlookers and private club rooms on the second floor in the front of the building. At midnight the fire siren would blow.

All of the dances furnished trappings of the celebration of the coming of the New Year with noisemakers and fireworks. Designed to ward off evil, fireworks and noisemakers go back to ancient times.

In a Sophienburg Reflections program, the late Kola Zipp recalls a custom in her younger years (early 1920s) that had to do with New Year’s Eve. She called the practice “New Year’s Callers.” Young men would hire a carriage from the local livery stable and go out on New Year’s afternoon to visit girls. Girls would stay at home to welcome them and offer the boys wine. (That’s a switch.) These New Year’s Callers would visit and then move on to the next house.

Marie Offermann and her sister Jeanette Felger often went to dances at Echo Hall as children with their parents. There was even baby-sitting service in one of the back rooms. People brought food that was placed in the basement under the stage. New Years was a dress-up time. Look at the picture.

New Year’s Eve is celebrated around the world, often with strange customs, from throwing dishes, to wearing red underwear, to congregating in a cemetery to ring in the New Year with departed loved ones. In France the wind direction predicted the year’s crops and weather and in Spain if one could consume 12 grapes in 12 seconds from midnight, good luck would follow.

Since the invention of television and computers, millions watch the New Year’s celebration at Times Square in New York. Since its beginning in 1907, a huge 12-foot diameter ball suspended above Times Square is lowered. When it reaches the bottom of the tower, it is midnight.

No New Year’s Eve celebration would be complete without the ever-popular traditional song, “Auld Lang Syne.” Poet Robert Burns is given credit for translating the Scottish song. Here’s the last verse of Burns’ rendition:

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!(friend)
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!(give us your hand)
And we’ll tak a right guid-willie waught,(take a good-will draught)
For auld lang syne,(long, long ago)

Chorus:

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Sources: Around the Sophienburg; Sophienburg Museum and Archives Collection

Originally appeared December 2012.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

I love driving the streets of downtown New Braunfels on a crisp, clear October morning. My favorite streets are the those laid out by Nickolaus Zink and the streets of Comaltown/Braunfels. Some of the oldest buildings in Comal County are located along these streets.

As with anything old, there is likely much more to those buildings than meets the eye. Some are old buildings refreshed with multiple exterior facelifts to keep up with the latest trends, leaving them looking much younger than they really are. Then, there are old buildings that remain the same (historically correct) on the outside, even though the inside has been updated and made more functional by adding electricity and indoor plumbing. These buildings, are the most beautiful. My favorite buildings? Those with hidden secrets, of course. Imagine learning that the building you own holds a treasure underneath!

One such treasure is Eagles Hall. From the outside, it looks like a plain stucco, sort of art deco building with a hodgepodge of multiple additions marked with the year “1922.” But there is more to that story.

In 1870, New Braunfels celebrated the 25th Anniversary of its founding. The parade wound through town and across the Comal footbridge, continuing the festivities on open lots located on South Street in Comaltown. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Heinrich Paul Weichold, an 1845 immigrant, purchased two lots facing South Street. He built a 54-foot by 100-foot hall out of Comal County limestone, complete with a 38-foot by 30-foot stage. It was the largest public place for merriment anywhere around. Did you get that? 1870! That is at least eight years before Gruene Hall was built. Weichold’s Hall served both as a community meeting place and center of entertainment, hosting Turnverein (gymnastics club) events, dances, concerts, meetings, 4th of July celebrations, masquerades, and theatrical performances. The hall even held a performance of Japanese aerialists. Since most of his patrons came from across the Comal River, Mr. Weichold had railings installed on the footbridge for their safety. On the evenings of performances, he also stationed two men with lanterns at each end of the bridge to light the way. Weichold fell into financial difficulty and his property was sold on the courthouse steps on June 16, 1874.

The hall sold to the Matzdorf’s and became known as Matzdorf’s Hall. The hall was leased and run by numerous managers throughout its years of operation. In 1877, Matzdorf took over again from Rheinlaender. He made repairs to the building and put in a new dance floor. Rudolf Brandt took over as manager in 1890. He promoted the venue as “Comal Concert Hall.” In 1893, Mrs. Matzdorf became the sole owner. Other managers of the hall were Moritz Schutz, Hermann Klein, and H. Lenzen. Matzdorf Hall continued hosting touring companies, balls, lectures, operas and more.

In February of 1922, the Echo Home Association was organized solely for the purpose of buying and remodeling the Matzdorf’s Hall property. The group had 300 subscribers (paid members). By April, they hired a San Antonio architect to draw up plans and let bids to build a new building. All of the bids were rejected as too expensive. The Association bought materials in May to renovate the building themselves and dedicated the building in July. Renovations included a layer of stucco over the building’s exterior. They marked the building with “1922 Echo Halle” over the South Street entrance. The original windows and doors were left open with ceiling fans overhead. Over time, additions were made to the long side of the building, including a bar and meeting areas, and at some point, indoor bathrooms were added to the rear. There was a large porch constructed on the front, perhaps in the early to mid-40s, with multiple arched openings. Echo Halle had events going all the time, hosting firemen’s benefits, precinct elections, singing festivals, speeches by governors, bridal showers, church programs, graduations, and dances with all sorts of orchestras and bands every weekend. Many a dancer found their life mate on the Echo Halle dance floor.

In 1958, the Echo Halle was sold to the Fraternal Order of Eagles. They removed the words “Echo Halle” from the stucco but left the year 1922. They also added an inverted star/crescent emblem. Eagles Hall was ‘the’ place to have a dance, wedding reception, anniversary celebration, graduation dance. Bands like the Hi-Toppers, Cloverleaf and more filled the air with music. The well-worn dance floor is smooth as glass, due in part, to the trillions of kids who polished it with their knees or stockin’ feet during intermissions. Kids were part of the celebrations… no baby-sitters. Being the child of a Hi-Topper, I learned to dance back-stage. Others remember being put down on a palette under the tables while parents danced the night away. Eagles’ Hall has been painted a few hundred times, and paneling conceals the original windows and doors, but the bones of the structure are the same. 150 years of life and music is ingrained in every beam and every wall that surrounds the dance floor, because it really IS the old Weichold Halle.

2021 is the year that the Eagles sold the hall. Only those who have purchased it know what is to become of this historic structure that is older than Gruene Hall. In New Braunfels, we are surrounded by the historic buildings that define our heritage and city timeline. It ties us to our beginning. We have three Historic Districts established to protect old homes and buildings, including Downtown Historic District, Mill Street Historic District and Sophienburg Hill Historic District. Within these areas, rules are in place so the property owners will maintain the integrity of the original buildings, whether 50 years old or 150 years old. Eagles’ Hall is not in a historic district. New Braunfels Conservation Society has done an amazing job saving and caring for the buildings at their museum, although moving some buildings is not really an option. Eagles’ Hall is historic because of the site, the provenance and the meaning to the community. Would Gruene Hall be as wonderful sitting somewhere else? Only you, citizens of New Braunfels, and our County Historical Commission and City Council can protect the historic buildings of our metropolis. Once gone, these structures cannot be replaced. Help us preserve what makes New Braunfels special, like dance halls that are 150 years old. Older. Than. Gruene. Hall.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

After this past week’s historic Arctic storms Uri and Viola had us in winter lockdown, I jumped at the chance to go driving through the Comal countryside under the clear blue skies. It wasn’t just the sunshine and 70-degree temperatures that were so inviting. It was our history on display all across the county. Did you know that our beautiful Comal County is officially 175 years old this year? The Texas Legislature formed Comal County in 1846. Comal, Spanish for “flat dish”, perhaps so named due to the flat islands in the river near the springs or shallow river basin, lent its name to the newly formed county. Let’s take a look at what the early immigrants outside New Braunfels.

In our last article, I wrote about the historic Freiheit Store and Freiheit Bowling Club in the southeast corner of the county. Using that as our starting point, we can travel down I-35, basically along the edge of the Comal/Guadalupe line, to the southwest corner of the county. Hidden just off of I-35 on FM 482 is the community known early on by several names: “Eight-Miles” and “Seven Miles Creek” (as it as located seven or eight miles from New Braunfels) and Comal, Texas. The families that settled the community were first generation immigrants from Germany who arrived aboard the first group of ships carrying prospective immigrant settlers to Texas. By the 1870s, Comal citizens formed a church and built a one-room log schoolhouse on land donated by Ignatz Wenzel. By the 1900s, the community grew to include a general store, cotton gin, corn-shelling operation and community hall. A brick Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s Chapel, was built in 1905 that still stands today. Plus, any blossoming genealogist would want to know about the St. Joseph Cemetery (if you have family from out there). There are two historical markers detailing the stories of the Comal Settlement and St. Joseph’s Chapel, one of which is by the City of Schertz.

The next place I want to point out is way up on the northern part of Comal County, located 19 miles northwest of New Braunfels on present-day Farm to Market 311 near Highway 281. The area was called Esser’s Crossing. Community survival depended on being able to move harvested crops to market, as well as getting supplies. Crossing rivers with a loaded wagon was not an easy thing to do. Natural shallow rock crossings were sought out and way-stations sprang up along these routes. Hill country rivers were prone to flooding, so they needed to have something seldom affected by the high waters. After evaluating several nearby crossings, the bridge was built at Esser’s Crossing in 1904. The wrought iron, wooden wagon bridge construction was comprised of two main spans knows as Pratt truss spans, flanked by two smaller spans. The Whipple truss style bridge design was popular in the mid-to-late 19th century. The 1904 Esser’s Crossing bridge was the first/only high water crossing of the Guadalupe River between San Antonio, Spring Branch, Blanco/Fredericksburg. Under highwater conditions before the bridge was built, travelers would have to go out of their way to come into town to cross the Guadalupe. That is 30 miles difference one way on our current road system. I cannot imagine how long it would take, with a wagon on dusty, old, windy roads.

The bridge was only the second high water bridge built in Comal County (behind Faust Street), lasting until 1974 when it was removed and replaced. Near to the bridge, a post office popped up and was called Wesson, TX. You can read the markers there.

The last destination for today’s article is in the northeast corner of Comal County, where we find a treasure trove of history: Fischer, Texas. Not only do they have markers, the Fischer Historic District is listed in the national register of historic places. The Fischer Historical District consists of a store, hall, and period houses. The 1902 Fischer Store is located at 4040 FM 484 in Fischer. It is the third structure to serve as the mercantile establishment with that name originally started by Hermann Fischer Sr. in 1866. He and his brother, Otto, settled the northern part of Comal County in 1853 after previously farming in Geronimo, Texas. They both had their part in developing this area of Texas and building the community today called Fischer, Texas. The Fischer Agricultural Society was formed to promote agriculture and animal husbandry and to acquaint families in the area through social activities, like dances. In 1897, Otto Fischer gave a portion of his property to the Society to construct a hall for the Society meetings and activities, including dances. The store is now a museum, opened at limited times, but the marker is out front for all to read.

These are just a few of the notable historical treasures of our county. You can read more about the town of Comal, the Agricultural Society of Fischer and Esser’s Crossing and the rest of Comal County in Around the Sophienburg by Myra Lee Goff ; Bridging Spring Branch by Brenda Anderson-Lindemann or Hill Country Backroads by Laurie E. Jasinsky, all of which are available at Sophie’s Shop inside the Sophienburg Museum & Archives (online sales www.sophienburg.com). Or, you can create your own Comal Backroad Bingo by finding and checking off the historical markers listed on the Comal County Historical Commission website while driving, cycling or running the roadways of Comal County. Bingo!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Around the Sophienburg by Myra Lee Goff; Comal County Historical Commission.

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The recipient for the Sophienburg’s Myra Lee Adams Goff history scholarship has been chosen.

Out of over 50 entries from Canyon High School, Canyon Lake High School, New Braunfels High School and Smithsons Valley High School, the recipient for this year’s $1000 scholarship is Isabel Zuniga from New Braunfels High School. The entry chosen must include an essay that reflects a person or event that has had an impact on New Braunfels or Comal County.

Isabel chose to write about her great grandparents, Felipe and Elisa Delgado, who were responsible for the creation of the West End Dancehall and Baseball Park. Isabel shows how her great grandparents created the hall and how it became a gathering place with dances, weddings, music and other social events and a way for the community to enjoy the Hispanic culture. Baseball games on the property were some of the most popular activities that brought the community together. Felipe and Elisa Delgado were responsible for creating and sharing the West End and the rich Hispanic culture with all of New Braunfels.

By Isabel Zuniga

I am humbled and honored to speak of my great grandparents, Felipe and Elisa Delgado, as a historically significant duo in Comal County’s history for the purpose of bringing to light the important work they contributed in building our New Braunfels community. Their work as one unit gave a gift of great pride for the Hispanic culture and fellowship through the West End Dance Hall and Baseball Park (The West End) changed the life of New Braunfels forever. All that they created would not have existed had they not worked as one.

Although I only met my Abuelito Felipe (Great Grandfather Felipe) 2 short months after I was born, just before his passing, I feel like he would have taken great joy in seeing the person that he helped raise, indirectly through the loving family and great grandmother who carry his values and spirit on to the generations that follow. Abuelita Elisa is now 99, and as youthful in mind and feisty in spirit as the days of her youth. She speaks often of the importance of our New Braunfels heritage and upbringing, for it is unique in that we are grounded in the spirit of giving, supporting, empowering, and most importantly, traditions.

Felipe Delgado was born on August 23, 1920 in Marion, Texas, to immigrant sharecroppers who lived on a ranch, and worked their way to private land ownership in New Braunfels. Although he only attended formal schooling until 6th grade (to assist the family financially by working), he eventually attended and graduated from the Comal Vocational School. He began work, at age 17, for the Civilian Conservation Corps where he served two terms. He served our Country honorably as a radio operator during World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific front, and finally as a great contributor to the life and culture of our New Braunfels Mexican-American and a bridge to the general New Braunfels community. This last was only made possible by the deep-rooted belief my great grandmother Elisa Delgado had in Felipe’s dream.

Elisa was born on July 20, 1920 in Seguin, Texas, also to immigrant parents who had escaped the horrors of the Mexican Revolution. Abuelita’s family moved to Dittlinger or “La Calera” (the limestone kiln in New Braunfels). Her family life revolved around La Calera’s rich community where she attended school until 5th grade, and then jumped in to work to help her family financially. During her life prior to my great grandfather, she helped care for her siblings, taught herself to sew, and worked with her family as a migrant worker following the crops to Michigan. She worked as a seamstress at Cater Frock (the present day Recreation Center in Landa Park) where she had risen to a supervisory position at the time of her retirement. She continued to sew after her retirement from work as a supervisor and West End Partner, creating elaborate costumes for the Mexican Folkdance group her daughter and granddaughter founded, contributing greatly to the display and presentation of New Braunfels’ Mexican heritage.

As fate would have it, Felipe and Elisa met at a baseball game at Carl Schurz. They married in 1944 while he was on furlough, and began their life together as a valued couple of the community. In 1947, Felipe and Elisa purchased 4 acres of land for a dream my grandfather had of establishing a venue where the Hispanic people of New Braunfels could show their talent and share their love for baseball, while also gathering and celebrating their culture and company.

It was through this land that The West End was born. This exceptional place my great grandparents owned brought semi-professional baseball teams from around the area together to vie against each other and against teams from Mexico. This park was the pride of New Braunfels as it provided its many baseball players an opportunity to play on its home team, the Cardinals, and later the Lions. My mother remembers the final years of this hallowed ground as her mother and father used to play baseball and softball there on weekends while she and all the children ran underneath the bleachers playing their games of tag, Elisa stood her ground cooking the much sought after hamburgers on her now famous “comal,” (cast iron pan), and Felipe walked around visiting and assuring that all aspects of the park and dance hall were running smoothly. Hamburgers and Coke or 7Up — that is one of the collective memories that is repeated lovingly when our community gathers to reminisce.

The West End Dance Hall was another piece of The West End dream. This was where Hispanic families celebrated their life events: quinceñeras, birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and anniversaries. This was where memories were born. From the meager beginnings of a concrete slab, The West End Dance Hall was a celebration of life — an unprecedented entity that breathed life into the New Braunfels Hispanic community. This land served as a host to carnivals and community events, such as the famous Diez y Seis de Septiembre and crowning of the queen, which remain unforgotten and still bring smiles to those who remember.

In 2016, I participated and watched in awe as our small town honored and reveled in the many years of service that my great grandparents gave to the New Braunfels community. Through the countless, selfless hours of historical research my grandparents, Robert and Estella Farias embarked in, this New Braunfels gem which no longer exists beyond memories, was resurrected and validated as a place of high value in our New Braunfels community. The land where The West End Park existed received a State of Texas Historical marker and recognized Felipe and Elisa Delgado for creating this magical place where the nerves and tensions from the week diffused into the “Whack” of bats, thunderous applause and cheers, children laughing and playing, musically infused evenings, boxing matches, and enduring friendships that will never be forgotten. Felipe and Elisa Delgado were beloved visionaries at a time when our community needed it most.

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This article originally appeared in the Herald- Zeitung on January 23, 2007.

Marie Jarisch and Gaston Parsons have an obvious pride when they talk about their grandfather and the Seekatz Opera House. The current Seekatz Opera House owned by Ron Snider is on the exact site of the original building, which burned down in 1941. Brothers Louis and Otto Seekatz, Louis being the grandfather of Jarisch and Parsons, saw a need in the late 1800’s for a large building downtown to accommodate traveling shows and local entertainment. The brothers were butchers by trade and decided to build their building on the Seekatz homestead next to the butcher shop downtown. They chose local builder Chris Herry and architect James Wahrenberger to come up with the plans. I have seen the architect’s specifications and they read like the instructions for building King Solomon’s Temple. Example: the brick was to be good hard well-burned selected Laredo brick. It’s hard to believe that a building so solidly built could burn like it did.

The two-story building had a wooden floor with removable seating for dancing. The large, beautifully appointed stage was the focal point of the main floor, complete with backdrops, velvet curtains, and dressing rooms.

On entering the front doors there was a bar on one side and barber shop on the other. This bar was quite successful until the advent of Prohibition, at which time it converted to the Staats brother’s Candy Kitchen.

On the second floor were balconies on both sides for viewing the stage and happenings on the floor below. Upstairs were also private clubrooms. The basement housed a kitchen and tables and chairs.

Living up to expectations, the Seekatz Opera House not only became the scene of traveling vaudeville shows but just about every large event in town. There were New Years Eve dances, Firemen’s Balls, Kindermaskenball, Fourth of July celebrations, orchestra concerts, high school graduations and many dances.

Marie Jarisch remembers seeing the famous fan dancer Sally Rand on the stage. Dancing with only two large ostrich feathers to cover her, Rand had introduced this dance at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Supposedly she was good at creating the illusion of nudity while dancing “tastefully” to the music of Chopin. Hmmmm.

Gradually vaudeville and traveling shows became less popular as silent films made their debut. Jack Kaufmann, Sr. leased space to show movies as the stage productions decreased, and his son, Jack, Jr., who lived upstairs at the Opera House along with his parents and sister, Mary Virginia Brinkley, remembers some of those early stage shows. There was the freckle-faced singer and later movie star Arthur Godfrey and he recalls animal shows with live animals, especially monkeys.

Kaufmann said a Mr. Toepperwein did trick shots with a 22 rifle. He said Toepperwein stood in the balcony and fired at a screen over the heads of the audience. Can you imagine that today?

Then there was the 7 day bicycle rider whose bicycle was on a stand outside the theater. He actually rode 7 days and 7 nights.

Eventually movies overcame all the other entertainment. Kaufmann remembers the first silent movie,“The Great Train Robbery”, and the first “talkie” was Al Jolson’s “The Jazz Singer”. It was half silent and half talking. He said that his dad tried to keep up the show tradition by bringing in live animals when he showed the Frank Buck “Bring ‘Em Back Alive” movies. Otto Locke would bring in the animals and once he brought a giant boa constrictor.

In the 30’s G.A. Cole bought the movie business and the Seekatz Opera House became exclusively the Cole Theater. That’s what it was on January 21, 1941 when it succumbed to fire. “Stella Dallas” was showing at the Cole and outside the billboard advertised the upcoming “Misbehaving Husbands.” They never had a chance to misbehave at the Cole.

In the 1960s Gaston Parsons located the 300 plus pound marble cornerstone, which he still has. You can now view a display concerning the Opera House at the Sophienburg, including one of the 45 star flags flown in front of the building, plus the contents of the prematurely opened (due to the fire) time capsule. Shimmy on up the hill and see it.

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Rural communities in Comal County outside of the City of New Braunfels formed mostly around land for farming and ranching. Stores, post offices and dance halls sprang up around these farming communities. Around Comal County roughly 30 of these small settlements developed. One of those communities was originally called Fischer’s Store. It was one of the largest and luckily it still exists because it wasn’t swallowed up by Canyon Lake.

One of the reasons for the success of this community was a social but cooperative organization called the Agricultural Society of Fischer’s Store organized in 1875. As you will see, as time goes by, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for this group.

Go back to 1853 when two brothers, Otto and Hermann Fischer emigrated from Germany to Texas and made their land claim. A few other families made their claims in this area in the late 1850s but up to that point, it had no name.

Due to the difficulty of clearing land for agriculture in the hill country, the Fischer brothers started their cattle ranching business. They encountered many hazards, such as Indians, wild weather, wolves, and rustlers. This was a time of open ranges (no fences) and the cattle roamed from the Pedernales to the San Antonio Rivers. During the Civil War, cattlemen had to have a pass to move from one county to another to retrieve lost cattle. Neighbors worked together to round up cattle to send on the trail drives to markets in Kansas. A trip to Kansas took about three months. Trail drives did not last very long due to these hazards.

On their ranch, the Fischer brothers not only raised cattle but also Merino sheep, a breed that was introduced by George Kendall. When fencing became possible, they were able to raise a better brand of cattle. At this same time, Hermann Fischer began a general store and the area became known as Fischer’s Store and finally, just Fischer. Hermann Fischer eventually became a successful mercantile business man and Otto became a successful rancher. This store is still standing at Fischer.

The Fischer Agricultural Society was formed to promote agriculture and animal husbandry and to acquaint families in the area through social activities, like dances. Dances were held outside or in someone’s home. A mixture of alcohol and the ability to carry a fire arm resulted in sometimes violent behavior at the dances. The first incident was an altercation between attendees in 1877 at which time a fiddle player was killed by a stray bullet. Can you just picture the scene? This caused the Agricultural Society to close down.

A few years later, the Society reorganized but in 1892 when a dance was held at the Andrea Kuhn place, a few miles from Fischer’s Store another shooting took place, resulting in the decision for the society to try and find a permanent home.

While Hermann Fischer was busy with the mercantile business, Otto Fischer had become a very successful rancher and he eventually owned over 2,000 acres. Otto’s interest in having an Agricultural Society is easy to understand. He gave a portion of his property to the Society to construct a permanent home which they did in 1897. A building for the dance hall would provide more security for Society activities. Society minutes before the last 1897 tragedy were not found and so the society’s minutes officially began in 1897 even though the Society was much older. A dance hall called Fischer Hall was built and still stands.

It is thought that members built the hall with some outside help. It is positive that most of the lumber was purchased at Henne Hardware in New Braunfels, as that name can be seen stamped on the inside boards. Like other dance halls in the county, this hall was built utilizing a lamination of pine and curved into arches, vaulting the ceiling. The wood for the arches was soaked in water and then bent in the form of an arch.

Immediately, activities and dances were held and in the first two years there was a July 4 Ball with Guenther’s Band providing the music, a costume Ball, an Easter Ball with the Bird’s Band, a Festival Ball and the Fischer Store Band performed.

Everything went well at the dances. Right? Wrong! In 1917, at a society dance a Comal County Sheriff’s deputy was shot by a man named George Burkhardt whom the deputy had suspected of robbing a watch in a recent burglary. Burkhardt had a gun in his boot, pulled it out and shot the deputy. Ironically and sadly, the deputy Alfred O. Fischer was the son of Otto Fischer.

Fast forward. The dance hall didn’t close but became the site of weddings, anniversaries, reunions, plays, school functions and masked balls. Best of all the hall became famous because it was the site of some famous western bands. Adolph Hofner started his career at Fischer Hall and Bob Wills who was named to the Music Hall of Fame in 1968, played there. His songs like “San Antonio Rose”, “Take Me Back to Tulsa”, and “Ida Red”, spilled out of the hall into Comal County.

In 1978, a Texas Crossover artist decided that Hollywood would use the hall in the movie, “Honeysuckle Rose, starring Willie Nelson. Although the scene in the hall was only a few minutes long, everyone enjoyed being entertained by Willie Nelson after shooting the pictures, where he sang for the crowds that had gathered.

In 1897, the Society built a nine-pin bowling alley adjacent to the Fischer Hall. The alley has expanded to four lanes and is still in use today. The dance hall is still used today also.

Bryan Weidner has done extensive research on the Fischer family and the Agricultural Society of Fischer’s Store. He is the son of the late Homuth Weidner and Thelma Fischer Weidner. He lives in the Fischer homestead in Fischer, where his grandfather Arnold B. Fischer lived and his mother, Thelma, grew up.

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Felipe Delgado had a dream. It was during WWII when he was in the U.S. Army Air Corps stationed in India. He dreamed of home in New Braunfels and of creating a place of entertainment for the Hispanic people. He and his wife Elisa fulfilled that dream by building the West End Hall and West End Baseball Park.

Elisa Saenz (Delgado) was born in Seguin after her parents had come from Mexico in 1926 to find work. At age 7, Elisa and her family moved to Dittlinger or as it was called, “La Calera” meaning “the limestone”. That’s what it was, a community for employees at the Dittlinger limekiln. It was one of the businesses owned by Hippolyt Dittlinger. In 1931, he formed the Servtex Material Company.

A community grew up around the lime and rock-crushing company. Houses were provided for the workers and a building that housed both a church and a school, called the Rosa Mystica School. The teachers of the school were brought in from Our Lady of the Lake Convent. Elisa did not finish school because she, like many other children at Dittlinger, took off to be migrant workers with their families, traveling on the back of big trucks to other states to pick fruit. Those who became migrant workers were gone about three months every year during the school year.

Elisa looks back to those days at Dittlinger with fond memories. There were lots of children to play with. Her father would often make barbeque, skinning a pig with every bit of the pig used for something. Elisa also remembers how hard her mother worked washing her father’s lime-covered clothes outside in a big pot over a fire. Every day the clothes had to be washed twice to remove the lime.

Felipe Delgado and Elisa Saenz met at a baseball game being played at Carl Schurz School here in New Braunfels. As a young man, Felipe joined the U.S. Army Air Corps where he became a radio and Morse Code operator. Elisa joined him when he was on furlough in 1944 and they were married. When Felipe got out of the service, the couple remained in New Braunfels. Here they would fulfill Felipe’s dream.

Elisa had a talent that provided her with a good job. She could sew. She worked at Cater Frock, sewing top-quality children’s clothes. That business was located in the present Recreation Center in Landa Park. When that business closed, Elisa kept on sewing for other people. She sewed the ornate Mexican Folk Dresses for the Ballet Folklorico that her granddaughter was in.

After WWII, Felipe came home to New Braunfels determined to build an entertainment center for the Hispanic people in the West End. He felt that there was a need for such a business. He worked at various jobs, finally ending up with a Civil Service job. But he devoted his spare time to working on the West End Park.

The property in the West End Subdivision #2 was owned by Charles and Laura Wallace and the Delgados bought the large piece of land, about four acres, in 1947. The City gave permission for parts of Katy and Michigan Sts. to be closed to traffic because Felipe needed that property to complete his plans for his West End Park.

First, a large concrete slab was poured by the light of lanterns because there was no electricity. The park eventually contained not only the large hall, but a ballpark, a large field for outdoor activities and carnivals, and a cantina. The park became popular very quickly with its dances and special events like weddings, anniversaries, birthday celebrations, Diez y Seis celebrations, boxing matches, and the Quinceanera celebrations for girls. At times the hall with its concrete floor became a skating rink. There was a rink outside as well. Elisa cooked hamburgers inside a small area next to the stage in the hall and in the cantina.

The baseball field with its grandstand encouraged the love of baseball and many games were played with other New Braunfels teams. The West End team was called the Cardinals and later the Lions. Many teams from Mexico played on that field as well.

A tragedy almost closed the hall in 1962 when the hall burned down on New Year’s Eve. All the band instruments burned. The Delgados had two daughters, Estella and Rosalinda, and that year Estella was to celebrate her 15th birthday with a Quinceanera. The hall was rebuilt by May and the celebration went on as planned.

The Quinceanera is a Hispanic tradition celebrating the 15th birthday of a young girl’s coming of age. It recognizes her journey from childhood to maturity. The custom highlights God, family, friends, music, food and dance. Naturally when Estella’s Quinceanera was finally held, it was in the new West End Hall. It is a very formal affair with elaborate dresses, tiaras and flowers. Fourteen girlfriends are chosen by the honoree. They are dressed alike and become part of the ceremony. It begins with a religious ceremony followed by a reception and then a dance. The honoree dances the first dance with her father.

Another very important celebration at West End Hall and all over Texas, for that matter, was the Diez y Seis de Septiembre. This event celebrates Mexico’s Independence from Spain in 1810. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla launched the Mexican War of Independence from Spain on September 16th. Hidalgo set out to spread the word, carrying a staff affixed with an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe. It became a symbol of the Mexican liberation movement. The struggle against Spain had to do with the rights of the “Creoles”, those who were born in the new world with Spanish ancestry, but not given the same privileges as those born in Spain. After the war, those Spanish born Europeans were expelled from Mexico. Locally this celebration includes a queen and her court for the evening.

The Delgados leased the complex in the 1970s and the hall was torn down and sold in the 1980s. West End Park and Baseball Field fist the old saying, “Gone but not forgotten.”

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