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. The Academy was on the corner of Mill and Academy streets (that’s why it is called Academy Street) and was often the starting point for parades that would end over the Comal River bridge at Matzdorff’s (now Eagles) Hall.

Professor John B. Pratt, a teacher at the Academy, enlisted a group of mothers to design and sew sailor uniforms of bleached “Indian Head suiting”. The uniform consisted of trousers, a loose-fitting shirt with a striped collar and cuffs, a dark belt and shoes and a jaunty sailor cap with “TEXAS” on the band.

Why “TEXAS”? Because, the group was representing sailors of the Battleship Texas as “The Spirit of the Spanish-American War”.

Oscar Haas is the fourth sailor from the left in the front row, and like the others, he holds a wooden rifle and bayonet. Back in the Civil War, William Seekatz had the rifles made so he could train boys, under the age of 18 years, how to handle a rifle with a bayonet attached; the boys could shoot but combat with a bayonet was a new skill. Seekatz is best known for his Opera House downtown and for constructing the 1863 saltpetre kiln down by the Landa Park springs. Bat guano was hauled from Brehmer Cave off FM 1863 to the kiln where it was mixed with urine and water and soaked for several months. The liquid was then drained into trays and dried in the sun. Evaporation produced potassium nitrate crystals (saltpetre) which when mixed with charcoal and sulfur made gunpowder.

Writing on the back of the photo and in a letter from 1975, Mr. Haas added more details to the story told by the image. Professor Pratt drilled the group of boys to follow the captain’s orders; in the photo, the captain is Erich Fischer (the older gent on the left). Fischer had the boys perform drills at the completion of the parade at Matzdorff’s Halle. The sailors executed complicated drills as everyone came into the hall and again, at the conclusion of the children’s dance — the Kindermaskenball.

Mr. Haas also said that the Battleship Texas was “commissioned during the Spanish-American War and is now used as a museum for tourists berthed on the Houston Ship Channel at San Jacinto Battlefield Park.

Hmmmm … I have been to the Battleship Texas (before it was moved to Galveston for restoration in 2022) and I was fairly certain that I was told that the Battleship Texas was first used in WW1 and then in WW2. Fact check time!

What I discovered is kind of fascinating.

Investigating the Spanish-American War, I found out that there WAS a Battleship USS Texas (BB1) which was commissioned in 1892 as the first USN battleship of the “new Navy” after the Civil War; the USS Maine (AC), an armored cruiser, joined the Texas in 1898. After the Maine famously exploded in Cuba, the Texas took part in the brief 1898 Spanish-American War in the battle of Santiago de Cuba. The USS Texas was decommissioned in 1908 for she had become obsolete. Recommissioned the USS San Marcos in 1911 (so the name could be reused), she was downgraded to a gunnery target in Chesapeake Bay. She was used for target practice through World War II. In 1959, what was left of her flooded hull and upperworks were razed by explosives and pushed deeper into the mud of Tangier Sound. What a way for this old girl to die.

The second USS Texas (Battleship 35, BB-35) was commissioned in March 1914. It is this Battleship Texas that participated in World War I and World War II. This ship was decommissioned in 1948 and given to the State of Texas. She has been maintained as a memorial at San Jacinto until her drydocking in Galveston for a total restoration. The USS Texas (BB-35) was the first naval battleship to be declared a United States Historic Landmark. She is set to reopen as a museum in Galveston in 2026.

So, Oscar Haas was a little off on his recollection, but that is what makes history so fun for me. A little deeper dive into the story of this photo led me to a couple of Neu Braunfelser Zeitung newspaper articles from March 29,1900. The first is a colorful description of the Kindermaskenball and parade. It refers to the Battleship Texas sailors as “a detachment of strapping marines” who walked from the school to Matzdorff’s Halle. The dance began at 8 p.m. and included “the strapping marines in their elegant uniforms drilled under the command of their lieutenants, which was a real joy, but also frightened the costumed fairies and butterflies with their skillfully executed sabers and bayonets.”

Pretty cool, right? But we’re not done. Also in that newspaper was a letter to Professor Pratt.

Battleship Texas Galveston, March 22, 1900
Mr. J. B. Pratt, New Braunfels, Texas

Worthy Sir!

I have just received your very pretty photograph of your company “Texas Infantry of the Neu-Braunfels School”. This is a further sign of the friendly consideration that has been shown so much to the officers and crew of the Battleship Texas since its arrival in this port. It is most gratifying that the people of Texas are taking such a friendly interest in the ship that bears that state’s name. It will encourage us all to maintain the reputation for efficiency gained in the last war. Rest assured that I will always treasure the image.

Respectfully yours
W.C. Gibson Captain U.S.N.

Obviously, Captain Gibson was unaware that one, Texas means friend and two, Texans love all things Texas. From an old black and white photo to a pretty interesting story. I love my job.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum Seidel Collection, Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung newspaper and Oscar Haas Collections, https://battleshiptexas.org/education/history/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35), https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-navy-ships/battleships/texas-bb-35.html, https://www.rosenberg-library-museum.org/treasures/u-s-s-texas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOp8d_GQBsM, https://naval-encyclopedia.com/industrial-era/1890-fleets/usnavy/uss-texas.php#google_vignette.

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

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School is out and summer is here, heralding the throngs of visitors that will be descending upon our beautiful rivers and lakes. They come because they are drawn by the water, not unlike people who have come here for hundreds of years. Or they come because they like the atmosphere, but they don’t always know about the history of New Braunfels or what New Braunfels went through to become what it is today. In the twenty-six Around the Sophienburg columns a year written first by Myra Lee Adams Goff and now by Sophienburg staff Keva Hoffmann Boardman and Tara Voigt Kohlenberg, we try to share the history of New Braunfels. A lot has happened here since 1845 (173 years), so there is no lack of subject matter. This column will tip its hat to Naegelin’s Bakery, the oldest continuously operating bakery in Texas. One hundred and fifty years ago, Edward Naegelin arrived in New Braunfels. With “a sack of flour and a dollar”, he opened his own bakery on the corner of Mill Street and Seguin Street (aha… not where you thought!). As his business grew he relocated to the current location on Seguin Street. Three generations of Naegelins held the reins before passing them to the Granzin family. This little bakery is not only on the “must stop” list of every tourist, it has remained a favorite of locals.

One local in particular, MacKenzie Minor, wrote about her love of New Braunfels and Naegelin’s bakery. MacKenzie is a Canyon High School graduating senior and recipient of the Myra Lee Goff History Scholarship given by the Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

As a girl born and raised in New Braunfels, Texas, this small town holds a big place in my heart. I have watched the town grow and meanwhile, I have grown up with it. My roots stem from Landa Park, the public library, and Naegelin’s bakery. These are the places I have left small pieces of my heart at, and even as a go on to bigger adventures, I will always remember my roots.

The most infamous piece of my childhood is sitting outside of Naegelin’s bakery once a week underneath the blue umbrella tables eating a chocolate cupcake surrounded by my two sisters and our mom. We would play all morning long at home, and then head to the small rock bakery on the corner of the circle to make memories that, little did we know, would last forever. Every Tuesday was our day to sugar up on our choice of a special treat. My typical treat of choice was a cupcake topped with a plastic ring; I only chose it because being the fashionista I thought I was, I wanted to wear the ring. To this day, although my two sisters are in college and away from us, my mother and I continue to find ourselves grabbing a quick kolache after a doctor’s appointment down the road or satisfying our cravings with a half price donut in the middle of the afternoon. Naegelin’s will continue to be our favorite bakery. Now, as a senior about to graduate and pursue a degree in Fashion, I find myself reminiscing on these sweet moments of laughter, summer days, and stylish plastic rings more than I ever realized I would. With Naegelin’s 150th Anniversary quickly approaching in April, the Granzin Family is more than deserving of a heart felt thank you from myself and the rest of the town of New Braunfels who loves our small little bakery more than expressible.

A “Thank You,” particularly for helping upkeep the atmosphere of the small town I have always known despite the population growth and for letting me reminisce on my childhood memories each time I pass by or through. Beyond Naegelin’s, I am proud to be a frequent customer of Granzin’s BBQ and the Granzin’s Meat Market. Further than the quality of food that is made, the service I receive is always welcoming and worthy of praise. The Granzin family has continued the preservation of their three locations in New Braunfels and continues to spread joy whether it’s by making and serving breakfast tacos on Comal County Parade Day or a sweet tea on a summer day.

With the changes and growth that my beloved town is constantly experiencing I love attending these regular places with the same smells and memories that they have always held for me as the years go by. Whether I’m smiling because it’s a good day or because I’m treating myself to a legendary smiley face cookie, I always have a smile if I’m at one of the three places.”

Happy Birthday to Naegelin’s and Thank You to the Granzin family for maintaining the proud history. You can learn more about Naegelin’s Bakery on https://sophienburg.wpenginepowered.com/naegelins-bakery-still-baking/ or stop by Naegelin’s to feed your own sweet memories.

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