“Tante Emmie”
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Emmie was not just any little girl. Born Sept 15, 1867, she was the daughter of civic and cultural leader Hermann Seele and his wife Mathilde nee Blum. Much was expected of Emmie. Hermann Seele was known as “The Soul of New Braunfels”, a name
One heck of a House story
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Okay, time for another House story. This House is not a stately manor made of brick, (or straw or wood, nor is it coveted by a wolf). This House is of flesh and blood. Umm, no, not horror movie style. Today’s story is about George
Connecting the dots of history
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Remember dot-to dot coloring books? The fun of dragging your pencil around the page to connect each black dot in order to get an image to color? I find that working at the Sophienburg often entails finding and connecting dots. Recently, Wendy Zunker Coleman donated
True crime series: The Irene Hitzfelder murder
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman Some stories seem to write themselves. Not this one. I have struggled with this story for over 2 years. On the morning of Thursday, Sept. 13, 1923, nine-year-old Irene Hitzfelder was brutally killed by sixteen year-old Clarke Coffield. Irene, the daughter of Herman and Wanda nee
Dressing Little Miss America
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Remember the wonderful Sears or JC Penney Christmas catalogues that used to arrive in the mail each September? School had barely begun, the weather still hot enough to wear shorts, but I spent hours looking at the beautiful Christmas dresses. However, my Christmas dresses never
One of the first milestones in our history
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Are you confused about which historical anniversary to celebrate or that you have celebrated? Is it for New Braunfels? Is it for Texas? Is it for the United States? Did we celebrate one year, 25 years, 50 years, 75 years, 100 years (centennial), 150 years
We owe a lot of what we know to Oscar Haas
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Almost 70 years ago (1947), local historian Oscar Haas was asked by the Texas State Historical Association to compile the origin and history of all name-places in Comal County. Haas’ histories and thousands of others are what make up the Handbook of Texas that can
Lindheimer, Father of Texas Botany
By Myra Lee Adams Goff How many times have you said or thought, “I wish I could remember what my grandmother told me about that.” If you have letters or a diary from your family, you are one of the fortunate ones. Our history of New Braunfels is almost totally
Morales Funeral Home early business in Comaltown
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Dr. Ferdinand Roemer in his book “Roemer’s Texas,” when he arrived in the village of New Braunfels in 1846, wrote that a speculative American had laid out a new city in between the fork of the Comal and the Guadalupe within view of the city