The fall and failure of the Stock Market in 1929 was the beginning of an era in American history called the Great Depression. The statistics of this period are staggering. Almost half of the people in the United States had no jobs, homes or food.

Leading up to this period after WWI was a time of tremendous social change and all the turmoil that accompanies change. It was the 1920s. Women were demanding voting rights and ethnic groups were demanding equal rights.

Then the banks failed, the Stock Market fell and those who had saved or borrowed money, lost everything. Big cities seemed to be hit the hardest for that was where the factories were.

By 1931, the Great Depression was in full swing. Texas governor Ross Sterling declared a “Smile Day” in November of that year supporting the American Legion’s effort to alleviate the suffering that first winter. As if smiling could solve all the problems!

Records show that locally there were approximately 400 people affected known to be unemployed and in desperate condition. Jobs were mainly for men so there were many more people affected.

An organization calling itself the Associated Charities Group was organized to help those in need. This organization included a group of organizations that could easily be applied to today’s world, for these civic-minded groups have always been active: American Legion and Auxiliary, Concordia Singing Society, First Protestant Church and Sunday School, Jacob Schmidt Store, Women’s Civic Improvement Club, Comal County, Christian Science Church, Masonic Lodge A.F.A.M., St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Business and Professional Women’s Club, NB Fire Department, A.J. Rabe, Child Welfare Club, Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, Eastern Star, First Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Retail Merchants Association, and Lions Club. During that first year, 45 families were regularly helped.

Clothing drives were instigated by the Associated Christian Charities of America. Well known humorist Will Rogers performed in San Antonio and the proceeds were shared locally.

The local Lions Club was particularly busy. They distributed 1,400 pounds of beans that they had raised on their own experimental farm at the Comal County Fair Grounds. In addition, the club pledged a minimum of six full grown and fattened hogs a month. These hogs would be slaughtered and ready to be delivered to needy families.

Individuals and businesses had their own ways of helping out. For example, Kneuper Bros. Music Store next to the old Post Office did not repossess merchandise but allowed customers to pay what and when they could, sometimes as little as 25 cents a week. The brothers had added appliances to their merchandise so it was very important that customers could retain stoves, ice boxes and washers.

By the way, the Kneuper Bros. Store was the first business in town to have a television set in the early ‘50s. At night people would sit in front of the store window and watch the test pattern and a 5 minute film over and over.

Back to the 1930s. In my dad’s family there was a Depression story. Louis Adams, my grandfather, owned a butcher shop. During this terrible financial time, people would come in to buy meat without money. My grandfather told them that he would just write it on a slip of paper and they could pay when they could. I think he was able to do this because his source of meat was from his brother Bill Adams and the Adams Ranch. The Adams family helped a lot of people that way.

In 1931 Louis Adams died suddenly. My dad, who was left with the care of his mother plus his own family, was left penniless. Before Louis Adams died he had bought a three bedroom house on Comal St. which my grandmother then turned into a boarding house, mostly for her nieces. Their country school did not have a complete high school education, so they had to come to New Braunfels to finish school. The parents of these nieces brought ample produce from the farm to feed everyone at the house. Like my grandmother used to say, “You do what you have to do”. During this terrible time, President Herbert Hoover kept a message of resourcefulness as a way to solve problems. I think my family did that, but it wasn’t that easy for everyone.

One group of people that were affected were the farmers. Those who relied on crops and livestock were dealt another blow, the Dust Bowl and the boll weevil. The Dust Bowl was preceded by a long-lasting drought. Pictures of areas affected by this dust are hard to comprehend with clouds of dust moving across the land, pulling up plants by the roots leaving nothing but scorched earth.

Many of these farmers who had lost everything attempted to move towards the cities where they thought they had an opportunity to work and feed their families. When they got to the cities, there was no work and no transportation to return home. They survived on bread and soup lines supplied by various organizations, mainly the Red Cross. At the first opportunity they hopped on open train cars and moved from one place to another. These Hobos set up camps along the tracks, built fires to keep warm or cook whatever they were handed out in the cities.

Every big city had make-shift communities right outside of the city limits. They were called Hoovervilles because most Americans blamed the whole Great Depression on Pres. Herbert Hoover.

Here in New Braunfels, much of what we knew about the Depression came from newspapers and movies. Subtle little hints of the times can be found if you look hard enough at photographs of NB children at school during the 30s. No “store bought” clothes but dresses made of material from flour sacks. NB was fortunate to have the textile mill and Dittlinger Roller Mills. My generation even today sometimes suffer from what we call “Depression thinking”. We spent a long time appreciating handmade clothing articles. There’s a long way in between Homemade and Handmade.

Boys were lucky if they had cut-off pants from an older brother. None of the boys wore shoes and the girls went barefooted in the summer. I always wondered why, when we were constantly stepping on glass, sticker beds and rusty nails. We could have solved that problem by wearing shoes.

At the end of the 1930s the Great Depression was over, but taking its place in history was a period of much more magnitude when the US entered WWII.

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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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Dr. Carl Windwehen’s wedding gift to his bride, Lena Coreth, was a beautiful home on 257 E. Bridge St. now owned by Joel and Merry Saegert, and that home is being nominated for the prestigious designation as a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark.

In Comal County, there are presently 50 structures that have achieved this designation. Just to give you an idea about what this entails, here are six structures that you no doubt are familiar with: CC Courthouse, Faust Hotel, First Protestant Church, Gruene Hall, Henne Hardware and Old New Braunfels High School. Look at sophienburg.com for a list of all 50 structures. The designation is awarded to not only residences but also bridges, churches, commercial buildings and schoolhouses.

The Windwehens

Dr. Windwehen practiced dentistry in NB for 40 years. He married Charlotte Stocker in 1902. A daughter, Stella, was born in Lockhart. In 1905, his wife, Charlotte, died and Windwehen moved with his daughter and his mother, Ida, to New Braunfels. By this time, NB had emerged as one of central Texas’ significant market towns. There were lots of teeth to fill and pull. The 1906 telephone book lists Dr. Windwehen as the only dentist with a telephone, perhaps the only one in town.

In 1910 Dr. Windwehen married Lena Coreth, a granddaughter of Ernst von Coreth, an Austrian nobleman who came to NB and purchased land on Mission Hill. Lena grew up near Mission Hill and attended school in NB. Many of you will possibly remember her brother, Rochette Coreth, prominent rancher and business man.

After the Windwehens married, they moved into their new home where eventually two more daughters were born, Mabel (Faust) and Florence (Eikel). Dr. Windwehen died in 1946 and Lena lived in the home until her death at age 90. She was well known socially, known for her art work and her gardens. The Saegerts have kept up the tradition of outstanding gardens on the property

The house

Originally pioneer homes utilized readily available building materials, caliché and lumber. It was a very basic one-room shelter. After a while, a fachwerk half-timber folk tradition house using rough-hewn cedar for the structure, clay as infill and lime to seal the walls. It is thought the immigrants either learned this technique in Germany or from Prince Carl who had the idea that this form of construction should be used because he felt it was more “pure”. OK!

A Queen Anne style architecture used in homes really started locally after the railroads arrived in CC in 1885 for the IGN and 1900 for the MKT. Prefab buildings became available. Steeply pitched roofs with full width porches and decorative trim, they were often built of wood siding or shingles, brick or stone, or a combination.

Looking at the Windwehen house from the outside, you see many of these Queen Anne features. Going inside, however, reveals a very personal, livable home. I decided to describe the inside of the home to you by combining not only recollections of grandchildren (mostly from the 1950s) but also the architectural description done by Bob Warnecke for the CC Historical Commission. The grandchildren are Jerry Faust, Kay Faust Specht, Carol Faust Patton and Jon Eikel who all have memories of the Windwehens and their home.

A compilation

Built on one of NB’s original town lots, the house is of wood frame construction on pier and beam. From the front, one can see the attic, finished in 1968, and a large porch to the left. There are two brick chimneys visible, used for pot-bellied stoves that are no longer used. Originally the house was heated by a coal-burning stove in the basement and the coal chutes are still visible at the back of the house.

Walk into the central corridor through the original front door. The parlor and then dining room with a large table and kitchen beyond are on the right. On the left are a living room, solarium, master bedroom/bath combination and second bedroom.

Most of the doors and transoms are original. The entry hall contained bookshelves, a piano, table and chairs. Grandson Jerry Faust recalls sleeping on the porch. Everyone slept there because there were many beds and no air-conditioning anywhere. Granddaughter Kay Specht remembers four or more white wrought iron beds and as she slept, she could hear the bells of the Catholic Church. All of the Windwehen babies were born in the house. Daughters Stella and Florence both married in the parlor and daughter Mabel was married in the Methodist Church, but had the reception at the house.

Kay’s mother Mabel told her stories of the Christmases celebrated at the Windwehen house and how Dr. Windwehen had played Santa Claus and the children were not allowed to see the tree until Christmas Eve, a practice in NB. In the dining room, a large tiffany-type chandelier hung over the damask covered table laden with silver, crystal and china. Granddaughter Carol Patton remembers the traditional afternoon Kaffee Klatsch with her grandmother, drinking coffee out of demitasse cups.

As a child, grandson Jon Eikel was impressed with the basement. He recalls the coal stove and the ducts that brought the heat to each room. He would walk to Hollmig’s Drive-In to pick up hamburgers for dinner with his grandmother. When he married, he and his wife lived in the back of the house converted to an apartment. In her bedroom, his grandmother had a small table where the three would play dominoes.

The Windwehens were significant to NB and the home embodies distinctive characteristics of a type of construction during the change of the century. Joel and Merry Saegert have maintained this external and internal model of preservation. Thank you, Joel and Merry.

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The City of New Braunfels Parks and Recreation Dept. is living up to the city’s mission statement of adding value to the community by planning for the future and encouraging community involvement. Two public parks are in the planning stage, Fischer Park and Mission Hill Park.

If all goes well, an opening date of 2014 is anticipated for the 62 acre Fischer Park located at County Lind Road and McQueeney Rd. Mission Hill will be somewhat after this date.

Wade Tomlinson, Park Development Manager, in speaking of Fischer Park, said the historic character of the park was important and that the aim was for anyone who visited the park to be able to perceive that the property had been a working farm. The Fischer family brand will be used on park signage to help represent this. Two ponds already on the property will become potential fishing and boating ponds, one with a pier. New buildings will have a ranch-look to them.

A large event center designed in the central Texas ranch style, painted in earth tones, could be rented out for up to 300 people. It would have outdoor seating as well and could be used for weddings, family reunions and other gatherings.

Another potential building would be used for classrooms and offer nature courses. A ranch-like playground would contain a nature trail and splash pads. Austin parks have splash pads and children love them. This park will be free to the public but buildings will be available for a fee.

The 62 acres was at one time the homestead of Dewey and Milda Fischer. Their son, Maurice Fischer, and his brother and three sisters sold 55 acres to the City of NB and donated three acres to the NB Parks Foundation.

Back to the beginning of the Fischer family in Texas: Willie Fischer began his ranching business in Kendalia in the Twin Sisters area when he bought a large tract of land around the year 1900. Willie was the son of German immigrants Fritz and Caroline Klinger Fischer from Burgdorf, Hanover, Germany. Willie married his wife Meta Knibbe and in 1898, Meta died as a result of giving birth to their only child, Ottilie. The baby was raised by her grandparents, Charles and Pauline Knibbe of Spring Branch. Ottilie would marry Alfred Jonas and produce twin girls, Audrey (Dean) and Jacquelyn (Mayer).

Willie continued ranching in the Twin Sisters area. Then in 1904 he married again to Martha Bartels, the daughter of Henry and Marie Startz Bartels. They had three children, Linda, Nola, and Dewey.

Dewey Henry Fischer was born in 1911. At a dance at Smithsons Valley, he met his future wife Milda Sahm. Milda was born in the settlement of Comal in 1918 to Edwin and Hilda Sahm. Dewey and Milda were married in a formal wedding ceremony at First Protestant Church in New Braunfels in 1935 by Rev. Gottlob Mornhinweg. (Five generations of the Fischer family were married in this church.) Dewey and Milda lived at the family ranch house in Kendalia .

Willie Fischer in 1944 bought land in New Braunfels between Hwy. 725 and the Old McQueeney Road. Dewey bought land on the other side of his dad’s property in early 1946 and shortly thereafter he and Milda moved their family to this property. Their oldest child, Maurice, was getting ready to start to school and they wanted him and their future children to attend school in New Braunfels. Children Dean, Beverly, Faye Lynn, and Debra were born in New Braunfels. This is the property where the park is located.

Dewey Fischer was a successful farmer and businessman on the Kendalia ranch and later in New Braunfels. As a young man, he purchased a bulldozer, built a trailer, and then added a scraper, a grader, and two caterpillar crawler tractors. With this he began the Dewey Fischer Construction Company. He was active in soil conservation work and dug the pond that is on the park property.

He died suddenly in 1967. His wife Milda continued living in the NB property and several years later she married Helmuth Schlameus.

Over the years various family members lived in the farmhouse and Christmas 2006 was the last time that the family celebrated together in the old house. There are, however, 29 direct descendants of Dewey Fischer living within two miles of New Braunfels.

The Fischer family can be proud of the community use made of their land and the homestead will live on through the park.

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Recently I gave a speech about the history of First Protestant Church at the Texas German-American Society’s meeting. One of the stories in the history of this church is about the three large bells that are in the tower. These are not the ones that Prince Carl gave to the church and brought by the Schaefer family; those are installed on the front lawn. The tower bells symbolize change and you’ve heard over and over that “change” is inevitable. We all agree that it’s true, but we also know that change is extremely difficult.

Let’s look at how the First Protestant Church bells became the symbols of change and even of a changing society here in New Braunfels. Parishioner Christian Lange presented the three bells to the congregation in 1894 to be hung in the tower. The smallest bell has its name, “Germania”, engraved on its side. Germania represents the German heritage. It is three feet in diameter and thirty inches tall and rings a high tenor sound. The next bell is named “Columbia” and is forty-four inches in diameter and forty inches high. It signifies the loyalty toward the new country, America. The song, “Hail Columbia”, although it never mentions America, is a song whose words were written when America and France were at war with each other and was used to keep Americans united. The chorus goes:

“Firm, united, let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find”

“Concordia” is the largest of the bells and expresses the hope for harmony between the old and the new generations. It is almost six feet in diameter and four feet high. With its deep mellow voice, it forms the bass for the harmony of the blending of the three. If you look up the root of the word Concordia, you will find that it means “a peaceful coming together, not of one conquest over another”. Symbolically, the three bells represent a peaceful blending of the German and American cultures resulting in a new culture.

About two decades after those bells were singing in harmony, there was an opportunity for Concordia to show its strength. Here’s what happened:

Shortly after the end of the First World War, there arose an element of discontent in the church body. From the beginning, the church had been a German church – the German Protestant Church with everything in German- sermons, music, organizations, and confirmation classes. Now many parishioners wanted to make the transition to become truly American.

There was much strife during this time and the church split down the middle. There was an English service and a German service. There were two confirmation classes, two choirs, one in English and one in German. The English church service paid the utility bill for the English service and the German church service paid the utility bill for the German service. An attempt was made to solve this growing chasm by hiring an English-speaking pastor to join the German pastor, Rev. Gottlob Mornhinweg. He had been pastor at the church since 1899.

After many years, the problem was finally solved by hiring Rev. Edwin Berger who was proficient in both English and German and could give sermons in both. Rev. Mornhinweg was retained as an Emeritus Pastor. After this tumultuous time, the name of the church changed from German Protestant Church to First Protestant Church. After WWII, the German influence became smaller and gradually the speaking of German all but faded away. The same situation was happening in the town of New Braunfels.

First Protestant strives to hold on to some of its German traditions a little like the town holds on to its “Germania” with Wurstfest, Weihnachtsmarkt, the German singing societies, Kindertanzen and Kindermaskenball. We have our fests and vereins, burgs, and bergs. Occasionally at First Protestant the choir sings an anthem in German and the pastor, Darryl Higgins always adds a German blessing.

Don’t think for one moment that “ Germania” didn’t suffer during this transition. It was hard. No doubt, the struggle goes on in other cultures as well, whether it is Hispanic, Black or Asian. The changes aren’t over yet as we go from a little town to a big city, but here’s hoping “Concordia” is strong and big enough to help peaceful transitions.

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Step into the past this coming Saturday and Sunday at the Folkfest put on by the Heritage Society at the Heritage Village on Churchhill Drive. The whole event kicks off with the annual children’s masked parade, known as Kindermasken (children’s masks) or the old way, Kindermaskenball (children’s masked dance). Doesn’t New Braunfels just love parades?

Children like to dress up and parade around and they were doing this in Germany long before the settlers came here in 1845. The immigrants brought the tradition with them and supposedly Hermann Seele organized the local event here in 1857. The reason for children parading goes way back too. Children represent new life and Spring represents a new year. Although it has changed over the years, the tradition lives on.

“Kindermaskenball: Past and Present” written by Rosemarie Leissner Gregory and Myra Lee Adams Goff can be purchased at the Sophienburg. The book illustrates, through photographs, the changes in the tradition from the beginning to the 1920s, the war years and up to the present.

This year children are asked to line up at 9:15 Saturday around the Main Fire Station and march towards the Plaza then to First Protestant Church. Two NBISD middle school bands will march. (Parade participants are invited to Folkfest where judging of costumes will be held. Each will receive one pass and one adult pass)

This is the 27th Folkfest put on by the Heritage Society. The setting at the Village is perfect with its beautiful wildflowers and historic buildings. There is something for everyone and especially children.

Ladies, this is what you can experience: Imagine getting up early to feed and milk the goats and feed the chickens. You fix biscuits in a small cottage that could easily be 100 degrees inside. Why do they taste better than canned biscuits? Now you sit down and make lace for the one dressy dress that you own. Look how the handwork is piling up. Let the kids help you wash clothes in a wash tub using lye soap on an old wooden scrub board. By the way, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Ferdinand Lindheimer Chapter, will be there to help you with your genealogy. Were your ancestors in Texas during the Republic?

There is plenty for you men to do. First there is a chuck wagon cooking demonstration. That will come in handy when you make biscuits, cobbler and stew outside. Go by the Texian tents where the re-enactors are camping out. There are also Civil War re-enactors. What a show they put on with their canons that they really do fire. How about learning about native plants and you might as well learn how to make adobe bricks. The blacksmith demo is really interesting since I’ll bet not too many of you do that any more.

Now comes the real highlight of Folkfest, children’s activities. Kids, you can learn how to make a kite and then most important how to fly it. Of course there are the old favorites, candle dipping and the making of clay pots or whatever. You can learn how to make arrowheads and play games like sack races, hoops and graces, lassoing and stick pony races. There’s a bird feeding activity where you make a bird feeder using peanut butter. And for you little girls, you can dress up (clothes provided) and go to a real tea party.

On Sunday, Ravenstar will teach you how to identify birds and the Gorge Preservation Group of Canyon Lake will have an archeological dig and just maybe you will find a little dinosaur.

Both days there will be entertainment like Ballet Folklorico and Kindertanzen. There will be music and food of all sorts. You can see things like snakes. No, they won’t just be crawling around, they will be caged. You can shop for antiques and collectibles and tour the buildings on the grounds. What a great way to learn about the past and have fun at the same time.

All of our historical museums like Heritage, Sophienburg, Conservation, Railroad, plus the County and City Historical groups are doing such a good job of keeping our history alive. Hats off to them all!

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

When I was 6 years old, I remember proudly being able to finally count to 100 without messing up. I counted 100 pennies. I counted 100 M&M’s (though I rarely made it through that without eating some). Those were tangible. It is still very hard for me to wrap my head around counting 100 of anything intangible … like 100 years. What was it even like 100 years ago in 1926?

Well, World War I ended in 1918. The U.S. economy was humming along, and automobiles became common place. Queen Elizabeth II was born, and the magician Houdini died. The famed U.S. Route 66 was established, connecting Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. Closer to home, the towering Comal Power Plant (LCRA, now The Landmark Apartments) was built, and, believe it or not, the Women’s Civic Improvement Club funded the installation of a women’s restroom under the bandstand on Main Plaza.

As New Braunfels grew, the number of churches grew to serve the needs of people moving into the community. In August of 1925, an announcement appeared in the New Braunfels Herald touting Rev. H. Schliesser, a field missionary of the Lutheran Texas Synod, was in New Braunfels to organize a Lutheran congregation. The first services, conducted in German, were upstairs at Mergele Hall.

The Mergeles of Harry Mergele’s Hall are founding families from France. They were merchants. Their home is the little green building that sits behind the store at 166 Comal Avenue (now the chiropractor office). Mergele Hall may not ring a bell with you because the building has had so many other occupants. The two-story building, now the home of Water 2 Wine at 185 S. Seguin, has housed many entities over the years, including a place for the militia to drill, a dance studio, piano studio, and an assembly hall, part of Denson-Dedeke Gifts (downstairs) in the ‘80s and the original retail space for Celebrations Bridal (upstairs). St. Paul Lutheran was one of many churches that got their start upstairs at Mergele Hall.

The new Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul Congregation was established and officially recognized March 21, 1926. The church continued to grow under the guidance of the Rev. H Schliesser. The services were conducted in German in the morning and English in the afternoon with Sunday School in between.

By October 1926, the Lutheran Mission Board of the Iowa Synod voted to contribute to the St. Paul congregation, helping them purchase a house and lot on San Antonio Street for a parsonage, along with two adjacent lots to build a church on Santa Clara. They operated out of those few buildings for a while as they continued to grow their services.

Within a year, they added a St Paul Lutheran Ladies Aid and St. Paul Luther League (for teens), and the St. Paul Lutheran Brotherhood. 1928 saw more opportunities to participate in worship with the creation of the sanctuary and junior choirs. Then, the Great Depression hit.

In 1939, Rev. H.A. Heineke formed a building committee to begin planning a new church building. The church, designed by noted architect, Jeremiah Schmidt, and built by C. R. Roessler, was built of native fieldstone with beautiful dark wood interior beams/trim and stained-glass windows. The $6,000 ($110,000 today) note covered the building and furniture. The church, now known as the Chapel, was dedicated on April 14, 1940. The Chapel is one of the only Jeremiah Schmidt buildings in New Braunfels without a Texas State Historical marker.

St. Paul’s congregation continued to grow, much like churches across the U.S. in the 1960s. This growth prompted the congregation to expand their footprint. In 1962, a new, larger sanctuary was built. The new church building wrapped around the original Jeremiah Schmidt chapel, with its modern design incorporating similar stone, wood beams and colorful stained-glass windows.

With New Braunfels being 180 years old, you might wonder why it took 80 years for a Lutheran church congregation to be established. Well, there is a whole backstory to that. The Lutheran denominations began in Europe and arrived in Texas with German, Swedish, Czech immigrants. In 1850, Pastor Kleiss of Baden, Germany, arrived in Texas to check out the possibilities for new Lutheran congregations. He established himself in the Hortontown and Neighborsville communities across the river from New Braunfels.

In 1851, the German-speaking congregation erected St. Martin Church, the oldest Lutheran church in Texas. A school building was built in 1870 (still standing across from New Braunfels Conservation Society gate). The congregation grew until the turn of the century. St. Martin’s was part of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas. It became difficult to supply churches with German-speaking pastors who were of Evangelical or Reformed faith. When services were discontinued, the congregants attended nearby German-speaking churches, First Protestant Church in New Braunfels or Friedens Church in Geronimo.

St. Martin’s Church was taken over and restored by the St. Paul Lutheran Congregation in 1963. St. Martin’s Church was moved to its present place in the Hortontown Cemetery when Loop 337 was built and is marked by a Texas Historical Marker. St. Paul Lutheran Church still holds special services in St. Martins.

One hundred years ago, St. Paul Lutheran began a journey in Christ and extended itself to not only take care of future congregants, but to honor the history of Lutheranism in Texas. Here’s to counting 100 more years!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Of the many things that New Braunfels’ founders brought with them, one of the greatest is their love of music. Men’s choirs, singing societies and bands of all types, have been the focal point of entertainment and social gatherings in New Braunfels for more than 175 years.

Now that we have made it through the parades and polkas this year, it is time for Christmas music. I am not talking “jingle bells, deck them halls and ho, ho, ho” as Lucy told Schroeder. I am talking about the beautiful hymns and sacred music of Christmas as presented annually at the Advent Vespers program by the New Braunfels Music Study Club.

For those unfamiliar with Advent Vespers, “Advent” pertains to the four-week season in the Church calendar anticipating and preparing for the arrival, or “advent,” of Jesus of Nazareth at Christmas. “Vespers” generally refers to evening prayers, based on the Latin word vesper, meaning evening. The New Braunfels Music Study Club has presented the annual sacred music program since 1959.

The Music Study Club was organized on February 24, 1928. Fourteen ladies met at the home of Mrs. Irene Guinn to establish a club promoting the study of music, encouraging musical education and maintaining a high musical standard in the community. The first order of business was the election of officers, with Mrs. Guinn, a well-established piano teacher, elected President, Miss Roma Koepp elected Vice-President and Mrs. Galle elected Secretary-Treasurer. They studied the opera “Il Troubadore” and Italian composer, Giuseppe Verdi, with multiple selections performed by club members.

The charter members were Mrs. J.F. Johnson, Mrs. M.C. Hagler, Mrs. Irma Guinn, Mrs. R.H. Ransopher, Mrs. U.R. Hellmann, Mrs. O.C. Bassler, Mrs. Arthur Zipp, Mrs. Emil Heinen, Miss Etelka Lucas, Mrs. G. Mornhinweg, Mrs. Ernie Eikel, Mrs. Harold Adams, Mrs. John Fuchs, Mrs. Bob Herring, Mrs. George Baetge, Mrs. Harry Galle, Miss Allene Ashenhurst, Miss Roma Koepp, Miss Loraine Tolle, Miss Gertrude Dietel, Mrs. Howard McKenna, Mrs. Pete Faust, and Mrs. Rennie Wright.

By November 1929, the New Braunfels club had become a member of both the Texas and National Federation of Music Clubs. The national organization was founded in 1898. It was chartered by the Congress of the United States and is the only music organization member of the United Nations. The NFMC is composed of over 90.000 members that include professional and amateur musicians, vocalists, composers, dancers, performing artists, arts and music educators, music students, patrons and music lovers of all ages.

Courses of study for the New Braunfels club were selected from those offered by the national organization. The courses followed specified categories of fine music study including opera, international music, folk music, parade music, sacred music and composers. Members selected the biography of a music master/composer, taking turns in presenting the information at a meeting while the music of said master would be performed by others in the group.

The New Braunfels Music Study Club monthly meetings were held in private homes. In the first years, operas were studied with members and guests performing appropriate music. Later, a ladies’ chorus was formed as well as a ladies’ string ensemble. First Protestant Church invited them to perform a Christmas cantata in the church, followed by a benefit concert for the Church Auditorium Building Fund. When Seele Parish House was finished, the club was invited to hold their monthly meetings there. They bought a grand piano for the parish house to be used for rehearsals, programs and Sunday School meetings.

The New Braunfels Music Club negotiated with the NBISD School Board to improve the music programs in the schools. They established a rhythm band at Carl Schurz Elementary and a choral program at New Braunfels Junior High School.

In the 1930s, the club established juvenile and junior music clubs, giving students the opportunity to compete in Federation festivals which were held in different cities in the district/state. Local student Glenn Richter (who went on to become the University of Texas Band Director) won a prestigious state scholarship to the National Summer Camp in Michigan.

During the ‘50s and ‘60s, music teacher members presented their students in a weekly 30-minute program on KGNB radio station every Saturday morning. In addition, member Franz Coreth presented outstanding opera programming every Sunday afternoon.

Over the years, the club has been led by numerous presidents including Shirley Jochec, Dorothy Johnson, Ann Kleeman, Jo Ann Lemmon and Robbie Borchers to develop outstanding projects. Not only have they supported the Federation by holding district conventions, district junior festivals and conventions, they have also hosted concerts showcasing choral groups, bands, soloists, and orchestras. In 1981, to honor their commitment to music education, the club established two annual scholarships to high school students seeking to continue the study of music in college.

The club’s most well-known project is a wonderful Christmas gift to the community: the Advent Vespers. It was originally touted as a Sacred Music Festival in 1959 with music performed by several church choirs. In 1960, choirs from First Baptist, First Protestant, New Braunfels Presbyterian, St. John’s Episcopal and St. Paul’s Lutheran churches participated, in addition to the Mass City Church Chorus directed by Melitta Frueh.

Melitta, the daughter of a Lutheran minister, the wife of a Lutheran minister, and a retired public school music teacher, combined her love of sacred Christmas music and grew the choral event for nearly forty years. The name changed to Advent Vespers about 1964. The massed choir has grown to more than eighty voices representing more than fifteen churches and organizations and is directed by Jody Leifeste.

The New Braunfels Music Study Club cordially invites you to prepare your heart for Christmas by attending this year’s Advent Vespers, to be held Sunday, December, 1, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. at Cross Lutheran Church Sanctuary, 2171 E. Common St., New Braunfels. As always, a free will gift is accepted.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Jo Ann Lemmon.

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

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Last week I took on the challenge of finding out about City Lot 89. It is located on the corner of South Seguin Avenue and Coll Street, across from the First Protestant Church. We know it today as the location of Johnson Furniture Co and their lovely, landscaped corner.

This prime real estate was first drawn by lot from the Adelsverein’s land grant by Aloys Rosser in 1848. Rosser sold it to Jacob Winkler in 1850, who quickly flipped it to H. Bevenroth. By 1854, Bevenroth’s estate had sold Lot 89 to Charles Rossy and his wife, and they sold it to Carl Floege. Six owners in six years — I’m guessing that maybe they wanted farmland not city property or perhaps saw a quick way to make some cash.

Carl Floege, a cabinetmaker by trade, immigrated to Texas in 1849. After obtaining Lot 89 in 1854, he built a home and his first general store on the property. He built a much larger, two-story business on Main Plaza (location of Utilities building) and a larger home off Market Plaza. Impressive! More impressive, he used his carpentry skills and know-how to build the first low-water bridge over the Comal at West San Antonio Street (1856), the Torrey Mill bridge on the Comal at Bridge Street (1867) and a new high-water bridge over the Comal (1873) at the location of his former low-water bridge after it had washed away.

Mr. Floege also used his trade to work on the first Comal County Courthouse (1856), a new 66-foot river ferryboat (1859), add rooms to the New Braunfels Academy (1867), deal with city streets and drainage issues (1873-1874), and build numerous stores and homes. Carl could truthfully say he built a lot of old New Braunfels with his two hands.

Carl Floege sold Lot 89 to Rudolph DuMenil in 1858, after the completion of his larger store and home. DuMenil had emigrated from Germany in 1850, and first lived in Hortontown where he ran a meat market for about eight years. In 1858, he moved into the old Floege home and set up his own general merchandising business in the old Floege Store. DuMenil literally sold everything but the kitchen sink — Hungarian grass, bois d’arc saplings for living fence lines, whiskey and brandy, clothing, dry goods, lead and percussion caps, hardware, tobacco products, paint, stoves and kitchenware. Maybe he did sell the sink! Rudolph also sold an ambulance, pianos and did freighting as well as being involved in local education as a trustee at the New Braunfels Academy.

In 1875, DuMenil auctioned off his store inventory and rented the store building to Carl Floege’s son Herman to use as a wagon business. When Herman Floege moved his business elsewhere in 1881, the store was rented to Homans Saddlery/Leather shop.

Lot 89, with the old Floege home and store, was sold by the DuMenils to Cuno “C.J.” Ludewig in 1902. Mr. Ludewig and his brothers had started a furniture business in 1887 at the location of the old Krueger Chevrolet building (across from Granzin Bar-B-Q). C. J. Ludewig took over the business from his brothers and moved it to the Seguin Street property in 1905. The family lived in the old home and ran the furniture company out of the DuMenil store. In 1929, a new “modern” brick building was built next to the old DuMenil store. It had the first elevator in any building in New Braunfels. Almost 3,500 townspeople attended the new store opening event where souvenir ashtrays featuring Charles Lindbergh’s face were distributed. The building was just one of several “modern” buildings built just prior to the market crash of 1929: Travelers Hotel (Faust) 1927, Comal Power Plant (Landmark) 1926, Greyhound Bus Station (Celebrations) 1929, Booker T. Washington School 1929, and the old City Hall 1929, to name a few.

All three of Ludewig’s sons helped in the store. Local competitors included Jahn Furniture Co., Lack’s Furniture & Automotive, and Starke’s Furniture in Seguin. Ludewig’s sold all kinds of high-quality manufactured furniture that included kitchen, living and bedroom pieces. To promote their company, C.J.’s son, Monroe F. “Fatty” Ludewig, began giving out “little Lane cedar chests” to graduating senior girls in New Braunfels. I still have mine!

When the Ludewig fam­ily de­cided to get out of the busi­ness, they leased the 1929 fur­ni­ture build­ing and the old Du­Me­nil store to Wal­lace and Dorothy John­son in 1966, who con­tin­ued to run the busi­ness un­der the name John­son Fur­ni­ture Co. In 1972, the John­sons bought the prop­erty out­right. In 1984, the old Du­Me­nil Store was sold and moved to Gruene (Hunter Junc­tion) where it sur­vives.

Wal­lace and Dorothy’s daugh­ter Carol pur­chased the prop­erty from her par­ents in 1989 and runs the John­son Fur­ni­ture store to­day. She con­tin­ues the legacy of pro­vid­ing qual­ity fur­ni­ture and decor to New Braun­fels cit­i­zens that be­gan on Lot 89 over 120 years ago.

If you have never been in­side this his­toric fam­ily busi­ness, you have a chance to prac­tice yoga in it on Thurs­day, Oc­to­ber 10, 2024, from 5:30–7 p.m. The $15 fee ben­e­fits the So­phien­burg Mu­seum & Archives. Fol­low­ing prac­tice, a bev­er­age and his­tory talk will let you ex­plore the build­ing.

If you are not into yoga, drop by the store, say hello and check out all the good stuff. Carol’s got a chair, bed or table that is bound to have your name on it.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives: Ludewig, Floege and DuMenil family histories; Reflections program #918-Monroe C. Ludewig; New Braunfels Herald and Neu Braunfelser Herald newspaper collections.

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

I blink my eyes and the town is growing, changing, faster than ever before. That is why I’m drawn to write about the houses and downtown buildings that were old and classic when I was a child. These buildings have connections to people. I want others to know the importance of those connections and for the history to be recorded. Today, we also talk cars.

If you were to look around our ever-expanding New Braunfels today, one could count approximately seven car dealerships. Back in 1949, when the community was much, much smaller, there were actually thirteen dealerships. The Chrysler Dodge dealership was begun in New Braunfels by the Becker family ninety years ago.

August B. Becker, originally from Frelsburg, Texas, moved his family to Seguin in 1921 to run a dairy farm. While in Seguin, he worked for Seguin Motor Company. Becker Motor Company, known then as Becker Chevrolet, was founded on November 16, 1928, by August and his son-in-law, Louis Niemeyer. It was originally the holder of the Chevrolet dealership, which they bought from Jess Sippel. Becker Chevrolet was located in the Forshage Building at 474 W. San Antonio St. Earlier in the year, I told you about the historic Holz-Forshage-Krueger building on W. San Antonio St. and the long line of automobile dealerships that filled its spaces. Becker was there for five years.

August Becker did well with the Chevrolet brand, but he did not like that General Motors required all financing be done through them. He also took issue with GM’s practice of sending cars to the dealer whether they wanted them or not. In 1932, Chevrolet shipped sixty new cars just as the new 1933 model was coming out. The Becker sales staff went door to door in a thirty-mile radius of New Braunfels until all the units were sold. It was the last straw for August Becker and the Chevrolet franchise was sold to the Kruegers in September of 1933.

When the Beckers were trying to decide what franchise to seek out, the agent for the Dodge Division of Chrysler Corporation loaned them a demonstrator for a week, which sealed the decision for Dodge. Upon taking the Dodge franchise, Becker Motor Company moved to the Baetge Garage on South Seguin Avenue. It was located where the Wright Building now stands across from Naegelin’s Bakery.

In 1935, Becker Motor Company moved down the street to 300 South Seguin Avenue, which is now a parking lot for First Protestant Church. About this same time, Niemeyer was bought out by August Becker’s son, Walter. Sometime later, August’s other sons Leroy and George also joined the partnership. The building that they occupied on the corner of South Seguin and Coll Street was owned by Marvin Jarisch. At the end of World War II, Jarisch obtained the Kaiser/Frasier franchise (predecessor of Jeep) and wanted his building back.

Property was purchased at 547 South Seguin Ave. from Mr. Silvers. Being 1945 and the end of the war, building materials were hard to come by. They constructed the new Dodge dealership out of material salvaged from the demolition of two warehouses at the Landa Mill’s property adjacent to Landa Park. Concrete blocks were not available, so they were made at the building site. Who would ever suspect that sparkling white/gray stucco building was made from salvaged materials? The basic design of the building was sound and has served well for more than 75 years.

The dealership continued to change and grow. In 1946, returning veteran George E. Becker bought into the business. In 1957, August Becker, the founder, passed away. In 1959, they added the DeSoto franchise, but by 1961, it was out of production. In 1966, Walter and George E. Becker bought out their brother, Leroy.

Becker obtained the Chrysler/Plymouth franchise when Ruppel Auto Co. (just a couple of doors down from them) went out of business in 1972. In 1973, the partnership reorganized as a corporation with Walter Becker, brother George Becker and Walter’s son, Arno. After Walter retired, his daughter Cora Jane Becker Welsch and her husband Fritz Welsch became stockholders.

Becker Motor Company has grown, survived a couple of fuel crises and the near bankruptcy of Chrysler Corporation. Yet, it was still consistently a recipient of the Five Star Achievement Award for 34 years. On October 22, 2001, after 73 years, Becker Motor Company signed a Buy-Sell Contract with Kahlig Enterprises.

On March 4, 2002, Bluebonnet Chrysler Dodge opened their doors in the Becker building. They embraced the community, the history, and even the iconic blue and white neon sign greeting customers. They have continued to grow, taking over the old dental office next door and filling the showroom floor with office cubicles. Bluebonnet has even continued the tradition of super achievements, ranking number one in RAM truck sales nationally. Now it is their turn to move. Bluebonnet Chrysler Dodge RAM has purchased ten acres between I-35 and Old 81 to continue what the Becker family began.

I hope the old WWII era building and its iconic blue and white sign will still be loved after they leave.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Wes Studdard, Bluebonnet Motors.

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