Oscar Haas, the Battleship Texas and the “Spirit of the Spanish-American War”

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

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Look and Learn! Part 2

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — In the last article, I let you know about some of the wonderful and informative markers and memorials located downtown. There are so many more. If you really want to get into this, check out the Comal County Historical Commission’s website, http://www.co.comal.tx.us/CCHC.htm. But, until you do

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Original Seekatz Opera House built for traveling shows, local entertainment

By Myra Lee Adams Goff 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

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Finally, after all these years, the book will be published

By Myra Lee Adams Goff — I was born in New Braunfels in 1932 on Camp Street in a home built by my grandfather. My parents were Marcus and Cola Moeller Adams. I am a fifth-generation New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas, and American citizen and proud of it. It is 2006

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80th anniversary of Landa Park, a real celebration

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The book, “Landa Park, Its Springs and Its People” by Rosemarie Leissner Gregory and Arlene Krueger Seales, is now available to pre-order. The New Braunfels Parks & Recreation Department and the Friends for the Preservation of Historic Landa Park, a non-profit organization, honor the 80th

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The year 1898 was a news-filled year for the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung

By Myra Lee Adams Goff In 1998, the late Dr. Robert Govier, native New Braunfelser and volunteer at the Sophienburg, translated the 1898 Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, one hundred years later. The weekly newspaper is on microfilm at the Archives and had to be translated from German script to English. Govier

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Downtown renovations important

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Ron Snider has been awarded the Dr. Frederick Frueholz Comal County Historical Commission Award for his work in the restoration and preservation of downtown New Braunfels buildings. In the 1960s a trend of tearing down old buildings, remodeling them into modern buildings or using the

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Children’s programs sometimes unpredictable

By Myra Lee Adams Goff As the last article of the year 2013, I would like to tell you a story that is factually true but of little historic significance. I remember the programs put on by school children for their parents before Christmas vacation, in the Spring, and at

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Bells become symbols of change

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

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Kindermaskenball leads crowd to Folkfest

By Myra Lee Adams Goff 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,

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