Fireworks and pharmacists

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — The first ever 4th of July celebration was held in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777; it included an exhibition which began and ended with 13 rockets — one for each state of the new United States of America. New Braunfels’ first July 4th celebration was in 1846, after Texas had […]

Wo in Himmel ist Anhalt?

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The third weekend in May I realized how hard it was to preserve historic customs. We can remodel, renovate and preserve buildings, bridges and artifacts. Even history is preserved when we write it down. But the arbitrary laws of custom are transient. In other words,” at random” customs are changeable. […]

“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 given him in honor of […]