Eleven years ago Rosemarie Gregory and I wrote a book called “Kindermaskenball, Past and Present”. It’s about an event here in New Braunfels that goes back to the early days of the settlement. At the beginning of the book we made this statement: “Kindermaskenball is about tradition and make-believe. Children particularly flourish in this world of make-believe and adults create the tradition by recreating what they themselves enjoyed in childhood.” Isn’t that what tradition is?

Next weekend on Saturday, April 12, and Sunday, April 13, Heritage Society’s annual Folkfest will be held on their grounds on Churchill Drive. The Kindermaskenball parade downtown NB will be part of this celebration on Saturday.

The Kindermaskenball is believed to be a celebration of spring, as in Germany it dates back to the Teutonic custom of the coming of this season. Another theory claims it was a pre-Lenten observance in Germany called Fasching. According to German teacher, Benno Engel, Fasching began on the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the month lasting until Ash Wednesday. Parades and masked dances prevailed.

The event used to be called Kindermaskenball. Yes, Kinder is “children”, Masken is “masks”, and Ball is “dance”. For several years the term Kindermasken has applied. That’s possible because there is no dance connected to it now. Hermann Seele is given credit for starting Kindermaskenball in 1846 but some written accounts say 1856. Which is a type 0? The Neu Braunfelser Zeitung says that children assembled at the New Braunfels Academy (on Mill St.) dressed in costumes, led by their leaders (probably teachers), and a brass band. They frolicked through the streets, engaged in plays and sang at the Saengerhalle. At a time, when the norm was for children to be seen and not heard, this must have been quite a show.

Nevertheless, after parading through the streets they moved out to Seele’s Saengerhalle. Hermann Seele in 1855 had built a large hall next to his home on the Guadalupe River. There is no building standing now but if you drive to the foot of Seele Street, you can pick out the location. Another street in that area is Saenger. That makes sense because the first state-wide Saengerfest (Festival of Singers) was held at Seele’s Hall. All his life he was active on the music scene. Oscar Haas stated that the Kindermaskenball parade ended up at the hall for 20 or more years.

The next location for Kindermaskenball was the Lenzen Halle located where the Courthouse Annex stands on Seguin Ave. This hall burned in 1895 and after that the children paraded to Matzdorf Halle (formerly Rheinlaender Halle, and later named Echo Hall and now Eagle’s Hall.)

In 1901 the Seekatz Opera House opened on San Antonio St. In reference to this location, a 1917 news article tells of “merry dancing and romping by children until 10 o’clock when the hall was turned over to grownups to “render homage to Terpsichore”. I love that statement. Not only did I not know who Terpsichore was, but I didn’t know how to pronounce it. It’s pronounced “terp-sick-o ree” just in case you want to use it in your every-day conversation. Terpsichore was the Greek muse of dancing.

It is believed that the custom of the Grand March began about this time. The Grand March is hard to describe in words and certainly didn’t begin in New Braunfels, but during the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s it was a big part of the dance.

Elaborate costumes became popular in the early 1900s and by the 1920s, Landa Park was a favorite destination after the parade. Serious costume making began by mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and seamstresses. Thousands watched the parade according to the newspaper. Ballerinas, dancers, Indians, soldiers, cowboys and clowns marched down the street. The 1920s brought in the innovation of lipstick and eye makeup. Little girls and big girls were allowed this luxury during the Kindermaskentall but it was a “no-no” on ordinary days.

Eventually the parade culminated about where the old City Hall is on Seguin Ave. and then families got together in Landa Park. In Landa Park, there was a wooden hall that was located between the Pioneer Statue and the Outdoor Dance Slab. Children through Jr. High age would play and dance “Put Your Little Foot”, “Herr Schmidt” and “The Bunny Hop” inside the wooden pavilion that has been torn down.

In the evening, the crowd would move over to the open-air dance slab. Christmas tree lights adorned the big tree in the center of the floor. On this tree-house pavilion the orchestra sat and played. Dancing on the slab would take place until 9 o’clock when an announcement was made that the Grand March would begin. Two by two, children followed the leaders by grade level. “Under the Double Eagle” was the favorite march. The custom was for boys to ask girls to be their Grand March partner, usually at school.

The NBISD sponsored the event for years, then the Beta Sigma Phi sorority and finally it became a part of Folkfest in 1992.

In the past, costumes were very elaborate. There were some women in town that were very handy with needle, thread, ribbon, sequins and net. Photos reflect these costumes. The Sophienburg has a large collection of some of these costumes on mannequins inside the museum. Joline Erben, Marie Jarisch and Antoinette Malmstead designed costumes that are still in the collections.

Gone are the days when thousands participated. I have my own theory. In the 1920s, 30s and 40s all the elementary schools had an end of school event. These were programs in April and parents were asked to furnish costumes. Then World War II came along, and everything was scarce, especially for such frivolous things. Programs turned to “non-costumed” events.

Folkfest, which is all about tradition, is keeping the tradition alive. Tina Lindeman, chairman, asks all participants to line up at 10 a.m. at the Central Fire Station in downtown New Braunfels and then, along with parents, make their way to Folkfest after the parade.

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Seldom do individuals have clubs or anything named after them. A person becomes famous because of something outstanding that they have done for the advancement of society. All you historians out there and those that have a passing interest in history know the name Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer. This extremely interesting person has been the object of my curiosity for quite a while.

Lindheimer, known as the “Father of Texas Botany”, has 38 plants containing his name. Several organizations in New Braunfels have his name as their chapter names, and his picture is larger than life on a downtown mural. He is buried in the Comal Cemetery and his Texas Centennial headstone was given by the State of Texas. What did he actually do for the community? Let’s look first at his background:

Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer was born the 21^st of May, 1801, in Frankfurt am Maine in Germany. He came from a wealthy family and was educated at the Prussian University at Bonn. At age 25 he left the university to teach at a boys’ school. At this school in 1832, a student riot occurred. At that time there was much dissatisfaction in the way German states were governed, especially among the young people. In this case, the government just closed down the school and the teachers were asked to leave the area. Lindheimer and other educated men decided to emigrate to the United States.

Eight men of high intellect and high education level migrated to a farm called Belleview Farm in Illinois. These men, including Lindheimer, soon tired of the life of idleness and headed south, bound for New Orleans with the idea of coming to Texas . He then boarded a ship and eventually landed on the Mexican coast at Vera Cruz where he started botanizing (collecting plants) in a big way. He stayed there for 18 months.

Lindheimer then involved himself in the Texas War of independence. He enlisted in April, 1836, and was discharged December 1837. His certificate of discharge describes him as a teacher, 5’8” tall, with dark hair and blue eyes. After this military stint, he bought a small farm outside of Houston, but in his own words, ‘was a failure at farming”. Farming and botanizing are two different things and he preferred botanizing.

In 1841 Lindheimer began his correspondence with well-known Illinois botanist Dr. George Englemann. This acquaintance became a lifetime of selling plants to Englemann, who as a professor and doctor, had the means to publish the information that Lindheimer sent to him. Lindheimer showed from the start that he had a keen ability to collect, describe in words and even illustrate plants. A letter to Englemann mentions a woman in Lindheimer’s life. She is not named. He calls a person named Ann his child. No evidence of a child has been found in records. There are no birth records. Could Ann be the woman?

Lindheimer met Prince Carl at Industry not far from Houston. He decided to join the Adelsverein. In that group was Rev. Louis Ervendberg and their friendship and interest in botany lasted their lifetimes.

The Adelsverein granted Lindheimer a large section of land for the services performed for that organization. Now he could botanize full time. The Lindheimer house that you see on Comal St. is on the site of the original log cabin. Maps show a large area around this area called the Botanical Garden. He married Eleanore Reinarz who according to writer Minetta Altgelt Goyne in her book “A Life among the Texas Flora”, was “sometimes difficult”. He was becoming a valuable member of the community “despite what seems to have been some eccentricities”.

In early fall of 1845 famed botanists Asa Gray and George Engelmann published results of Lindheimer’s 1843 and 1844 collections. There are 38 plants named after him and the one that we know best is “Lindheimeria texana” (or Lindheiumeria texensis), the Texas yellow star. It’s not difficult to see why this flower is so popular.

In 1850, Lindheimer became editor and eventually owner of Neu Braunfelser Zeitung. The first issue was on Nov. 12, 1852. The newspaper had difficult financial times the whole time he was editor. During the Civil War, he was influential in the secessionist movement. Although against slavery, he was an adamant “states righter” and did not want the federal government making decisions for the state. Comal County was the only predominantly German community that joined the Confederacy. The decision to secede from the union was a controversial one.

He retired from the newspaper in 1872. He is remembered for more than being the “Father of Texas Botany”. Always on the side of freedom, he was an advocate of education for all. He was on the committee pushing for the establishment of the NB Academy and for the Texas Legislature to levy taxes for the financial support of public schools.

When Ferdinand Lindheimer died in 1879, he was buried in the Comal Cemetery surrounded by family members and the flowers that he loved. Most of the information in this article came from Goyne’s book, “The Life among the Texas Flora” available in Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg. Goyne’s footnote explanations read almost like “the rest of the story”.

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Do you know where the Klappenbach House is located? From Landa St., turn onto Fredericksburg Rd. and go straight until you get to a hill, Klappenbach Hill. The house on the left is the Klappenbach property. The story of the Klappenbach family is indeed interesting.

The story begins in Sorenbohm, Germany, where in the 1820’s, Johann Heinrich Voelcker was called to be an evangelical Lutheran preacher. He was married to Caroline Wilhelmine Wirth and they had four children, Friedrich, Julius, Franciska, and Eugen Voelcker. In1834 their oldest son, Friedrich, died and then two years later Rev. Voelcker died, possibly of smallpox from parishioners he was tending. The young mother was left alone with three children. She moved to Anklam, a seaport town in far North Germany near the Baltic Sea. Here she eventually married Georg Jochim Jacob Friedrich A. Klappenbach.

Klappenbach, born in 1810 in Lenzen, had studied “Legal Science” at the University of Griefswald. While there he joined a radical reform protest movement, was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. A year passed and his sentence was commuted. Friends who were in this movement said that Georg was nicknamed “Rebell” and the group was a democratic reform group that met at a pub to drink beer and make speeches. This movement eventually led to the later revolution of 1848 in Germany.

After his arrest, Georg moved to Anklam. He took several municipal jobs. Apparently the political situation was in chaos because the mayor’s position was perpetually vacant. Klappenbach ran for mayor and won, but that didn’t end the discord.

Now here’s a familiar name: John O. Meusebach (as he was later called in Texas) was called on to help sort out the reforms in Anklam and a bond grew between the two men. This friendship ultimately led to Klappenbach’s coming to Texas.

In Anklam Klappenbach married the widow Voelcker, and together they produced a child, Rosa, born in 1840 who died in 1842. Another child, Bruno, was born in 1845.

The Klappenbachs were familiar with the fact that Meusebach emigrated to Texas and Julius Voelcker, Caroline’s oldest living son, emigrated first. Meanwhile the Adelsverein contacted Georg offering him free passage and land in New Braunfels if he would come as an assistant to John Meusebach. He accepted the offer in 1846 and the family pulled up stakes and moved to Texas.

Although Klappenbach received the traditional half acre lot in town (on the corner of Seguin Ave. and Garden St.) he also claimed 50 more acres. This property was bounded by Landa St., which was then called County Road, up Fredericksburg Rd., adjacent to the Balcones Escarpment, and down Parkview Blvd.

On this property in 1846 the Klappenbachs buried Caroline’s child, Franciska Voelcker, 22 years of age. Dr. Ferdinand Roemer describes the funeral in this manner: “According to a North American custom in the rural districts, all people in the funeral procession were mounted (on horses) which appeared unusual ….” The burial was on the property of the stepfather, beside the springs of the Comal, in view of the river and shaded by forest trees.

Stepson Eugen Voelcker constructed the dog-trot style homestead for the Klappenbachs near the springs. He had been trained in carpentry and home building in Anklam. Three feet thick walls of native fieldstone rubble with mortar made of caliche and straw were then covered with stucco. The roof is supported by two unjointed cypress beams the length of the house. The floors are cedar.

Klappenbach farmed and ranched on this property. He used the “GK” brand. He didn’t give up his interest in politics, being elected mayor in 1851 and then on the school board of the NB Academy. He was elected chief justice of Comal County in 1861.

Carl and Augusta Buehler bought the property from Klappenbach in 1881. It was Buehler that terraced the property next to the hill below the house. Buehler was known for his horticulture and the soil was so rich, and the area so perfect for growing fruits and vegetables, that even today many plants spring forth on their own – herbs such as horehound and mustang grapevines.

The most unusual trees are the anaqua trees. They are an old variety that grow close to water (aqua is water). There are many in Landa Park. About this time of year these trees are covered with tiny fragrant flowers that soon turn into berries. Indians concocted a dried food call pemmican. The berries of the anaqua were mixed with dried venison and made into paste for easy carriage.

Buehler’s grandson, Edward Penshorn, took ownership of the farm and then Melvin and Juanita Johnson bought it in the 1930’s. Finally the present owners, Tim and Elisabet Barker, bought the remaining 3 1/2 acres in 1984. Barker is a Master Gardener who grows magnificent flowers on the five terraces. Two small historic buildings have been moved on to the property blending in with the historic dog-trot house still in existence.

Much of the information for this article column has been collected from the Sophienburg Archives. There is a collection of about 450 family books, one of which is “Fink, Voelcker, and Klappenbach Families” by Albert Henry Fink. These family books are a real plus for researchers!

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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 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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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 his impact on the newly founded town. In German, Seele means soul – his name was quite prophetic. He was the first school teacher in NB, holding classes in an elm grove on Coll Street just three months after the emigrants’ arrival to the banks of the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers. Seele organized traditional German societies to protect and keep the cultures of the “Old Country” alive. Vereins (Clubs) and parades like the Gesangverein (singing club), the Drama Club, the Türnverein (gymnastic club), Maifest (May Day) and Kindermaskenball and Parade (children’s masked) promoted both health and culture and kept the German language and literature alive.

Hermann Seele petitioned and got one of the State’s earliest school charters from the Texas Legislature for the formation of the New Braunfels Academy, the first public school in NB. He also helped win the lawsuit of the Veramendi heirs vs the citizens of NB, giving townfolks peace of mind and continued ownership of their property.

Seele was mayor and alderman, preacher and teacher and statesman — a tough act to follow, but Emmie did just that.

Emmie grew up amongst the second generation of the families who had immigrated to Texas. Her father’s stature in town assured her place in town society. She learned, played and worked with members of leading families such as Clemens, Faust, Moreau, Lindheimer, Voelcker, Forcke, Klappenbach and many more. Emmie attended the New Braunfels Academy, however, her father was no longer teaching. She was taught to sew, play several instruments and speak and perform in public (Declamation was a subject in school). Emmie participated in parades, played bridge and performed in plays.

In 1893, she married John Faust, one of the sons of Joseph Faust. Joseph, along with Mr. Clemens and Mr. Tipps, founded The First National Bank in 1881. Son John was also in banking, as well as merchandising, cotton buying and other lucrative endeavors. Throughout their marriage, John and Emmie travelled extensively, taking ocean liners to Europe, and trains to Mexico and parts of the US. Local newspapers record a 1904 trip to Mardi Gras in NOLA and to the St. Louis World’s Fair. They had one of the first automobiles in town and drove to San Antonio to watch “motion pictures”.

Emmie gave birth to twins within their first year of marriage; sadly, one child died at birth leaving them with only their daughter Stella. Stella contracted malaria and the Fausts took her to several health resorts including San Antonio and Mineral Wells and to doctors in San Antonio and Houston.

In 1905, the Fausts moved into their grand new home built on the 300 block of W. San Antonio Street. Still standing, this lovely, ornate, Queen Anne-style home cost $6,700 to build. The contractor/builder, Adolph Moeller, reportedly fell off a 20’ scaffolding while working on the home and ended up with “a slight head injury”.

Emmie and John doted on little Stella. She had tea parties with friends and her Seele cousins. They bought Stella wonderful life-size plaster statues in Germany of Rotkãppchen und der Wolf. These graced the landing of the ornate main staircase of the Faust Home. They were later given to the Sophienburg Museum where they still delight children and adults alike.

Stella Faust died in 1908 at the age of 14 years. It was not unexpected but hit the parents hard. John died in 1926 at the age of 65. Emmie dove head-first into philanthropic works, many benefitting the children of New Braunfels. Her tireless good works and generosity soon earned her the name of “Tante Emmie” (Aunt Emmie) from the many real and “adopted” nieces and nephews in the community.

Tante Emmie was a founding member of the Sophienburg Memorial Association in 1925, and a major contributor and donor to the building of the Sophienburg Museum in 1933. Through her time, efforts, planning and money, she built the city’s first public library in 1938. The cost of $7,500 was paid by her alone as a gift to the children and citizens of New Braunfels. No wonder they named it the Emmie Seele Faust Library in her honor.

Tante Emmie then bought and had installed the first traffic light in New Braunfels. Placed at the intersection of W. San Antonio and Academy Streets, it provided safe crossing for the schoolchildren who had to walk from the Academy to the new library on Coll Street.

Tante Emmie served on city anniversary and various parade committees including Maifest, the May Day celebration begun by her father. She was a major organizer of the 1946 Texas German Pioneer celebration, which included the unveiling of the bronze and granite German Pioneer Monument created by the sculptor Hugo Villa. It stands in Landa Park.

Tante Emmie was a longtime member the NB Bridge Club, the NB Garden Club and the Concordia Gesangverein (singing club). She was instrumental in the formation of the NB Parent-Teachers Association and a member of the NB Music Club.

Tante Emmie was one of the tireless ladies of the Womens Civic Improvement Club and a donor to their projects, some of which were a shelter out at the cemetery and building a women’s bathroom under the Bandstand on Main Plaza. As a woman, having a bathroom on the Plaza was/is a stroke of genius!

Tante Emmie was also generous to New Braunfels hospitals. She donated “a new electrical suction and ether apparatus” for use in the old Krankenhaus which made it easier to remove the tonsils and adenoids of children. She later made the largest single donation towards the building of the new New Braunfels Hospital.

Tante Emmie was a member of the German Protestant (First Protestant) Church. She was active in the adult choir, the Frauenverein (womens club) and served as church organist for 14 years. She attended services regularly until a few weeks prior to her death; on cold Sundays she could be seen sitting at the back with a mink stole around her shoulders. She also contributed to the construction of the Seele Parish Hall which was named in honor of her father.

Emmie Seele Faust died quietly at her home in New Braunfels on Sept 28, 1957 — just two weeks after her 90th Birthday.

An Oscar Haas article in a 1950 edition of The Austin American newspaper contained this quote from Tante Emmie:

“All my life, my heart’s desires have been centered in the civic interests of my home city, the city my father helped to establish in 1845. Here, he married. Here, he reared his family. Our family grew up with this community.”

In German we have a saying, “Die Apfel fãllt nicht weit vom Stamm.” (The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.) Tante Emmie, like her father Hermann Seele, gave to her community in ways we still enjoy today. As one of a later generation of adopted “nieces and nephews” of Tante Emmie, I am thankful for her energetic generosity and truly proud of her amazing legacy in New Braunfels.

Well done, Emmie.

Sources: Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, New Braunfels Herald, New Braunfels Zeitung-Chronicle, The Austin-American; Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Now in our 90th year of existence, the Sophienburg Museum and Archives has maintained artifacts and archival documents to keep the history of New Braunfels alive. Part of our mission is to not only preserve the history, but to share the stories with the generations that follow. I am beyond thrilled when the next generation can come back and share it with you, too.

The Sophienburg Memorial Association is proud to bestow the Sophienburg History Award, established in 2013, honoring Myra Lee Adams Goff for her dedication to the community and her steadfast love of history. The award recognizes a student who demonstrates a love and passion for New Braunfels history. The 2023 recipient chosen by the Sophienburg Memorial Association to receive the award is Logan Summerville. She is a senior at New Braunfels High School and will be attending Texas A&M University in the fall. The following is an essay about a historically significant event or person in Comal County submitted as a requirement of the scholarship application.

By Logan Summerville

New Braunfels, Texas, founded in 1845 by Prince Carl, values its rich German culture. The town was built by German emigrants who spent days at sea to eventually settle in their new home — New Braunfels. Much of New Braunfels’ heritage can be seen by simply taking a walk downtown. The Plaza, Naegelin’s Bakery, and First Protestant Church are just a few historic structures in Comal County that depict life in the town’s early days. Preserving New Braunfels’ historic buildings, sites, and artifacts have kept the town’s heritage alive for generations.

I am a 7th generation New Braunfels resident, and as a descendant of German immigrants, I have always been intrigued by its history. I am a descendant of the Scheel and Altwein family who left Germany in the 1800s and started a new life in New Braunfels. I have recently been researching my family’s heritage and learning more about my German roots. My family’s roots run deep in Comal County and the Scheel and Altwein family name continues to live on in New Braunfels, Texas.

As someone who has attended all 12 years of school through NBISD, I have learned that many of the schools are an important piece to New Braunfels’ history. Hermann Seele was the first school-teacher in New Braunfels and held the first class beneath elm trees. It can be said that the first class held by Seele laid the foundation for NBISD. Seele Elementary was named after Hermann, and elm trees can be seen on the front of the school, a nod to the history of the New Braunfels education system. Many of the schools in NBISD are rich in character, including New Braunfels High School’s history. New Braunfels Academy was established around 1856 and still stands as a tax office for the school district. The old New Braunfels High school, located on West Mill Street, was built in 1913 to replace New Braunfels Academy. The building also still stands and is owned by the district. I have been inside the building multiple times when I was younger, as my mom frequently had meetings there since she works as a teacher for the district. While my mom was in her meetings, I remember wandering around the building and being deeply intrigued by the old architecture and historical elements. The old high school served the district for over fifty years until New Braunfels High School moved to its current facility on Loop 337. Our unique mascot, the unicorn, has ignited a culture of school spirit that’s unlike any other. The blue unicorn was initially taken from the coat of arms of Prince Carl, a nod to the town’s German roots, but it was later discovered that the coat of arms was a lion instead. Despite the misunderstanding, the mighty unicorn continues to be the mascot that is just as unique as New Braunfels.

Living in New Braunfels and being a proud unicorn for the past twelve years has allowed me to learn about New Braunfels’ roots that are firmly planted in German heritage. Even as the population explodes, the city’s history will continue to live on through the town’s historical buildings and value for preserving its German heritage. New Braunfels’ education system also has a long-standing history, and I am proud to be a third-generation New Braunfels high school graduate who has gotten to experience the pride of being a unicorn.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Oscar Haas was well known as the historian and record-keeper of New Braunfels and Comal County. He documented a hundred years of our community’s progress through twenty years of newspaper articles and a published book. Now in its fourth printing, The History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas 1844-1946, a book by Oscar Haas, set the standard for historical documentation about German immigration. It has been the “go-to” for generations of researchers, but there is nothing like hearing his voice as he tells his own story.

“I was born on October 12, 1885, on land which is now at the bottom of Canyon Lake…. We moved to Twin Sisters. My parents decided to move to New Braunfels so that their children could have more education than they would have gotten (in Twin Sisters).” He attended the New Braunfels Academy but dropped out in sixth grade. “I could get a job selling groceries and delivering groceries at $12 a month. That was a lot of money. They taught me to ride a bicycle and go out once a week and ride around town and take up orders from the housewives, then come back and fill those orders and put ’em in baskets and then hitch up a horse and deliver the groceries around town.”

He clerked in another general merchandise store for several years. “We had to have conversations in English and Spanish, and of course, German. They wanted the clerk to speak their language or they wouldn’t buy from you.” Haas opened his own store in the 1920s. “We handled ready-to-wear, men’s and boy’s and children’s ready-to-wears and shoes and hats, millinery, and dress materials, by the yard and all kinds of trinkets. It was in the Richter Building. I had a partner, Walter Wiedner, so we called it Oscar Haas and Company. When the Depression hit, then we lost. It was loss, loss, loss, and finally you lost everything, ja.”

That loss prompted him to run for Comal County Treasurer in the 1934 election. He served as Treasurer for 28 years, unopposed. That is when the history bug bit him. “Yes, I just got stung in 1934, and fortunately, men like Herman Seele, the first schoolteacher” were still around. “He was a tall, pleasant faced, full-bearded man and always interested in greeting the people as he came walking down the street, particularly children. He always stooped down to shake hands with the children.”

“One day, I was in Otto Rohde’s — who was then County Clerk of Comal County’s Office — I saw on the shelf where the first book of the minutes of the Comal County Commissioners Court. I asked Otto, could I look at it? As I opened it up, I saw the recording of the very first session of the Comal County Commissioners Court in 1846. I found it so interesting that I took it down to the editors of the New Braunfels Zeitung, the German-language newspaper, and to the New Braunfels Herald, the English-language newspaper.” They both told him that if he wrote weekly installments from the minutes, they would print it. It took about three years. “After that was finished, I went through the minutes of the first church in New Braunfels, which also took about three years. And then after that, went through the City Council minutes.” All of them were in German and required translation to English to be published in the New Braunfels Herald. In 1961, he and his wife wrote a history series in 144 weekly installments, “Comal County in the Civil War”, translated from Ferdinand Lindheimer’s German-language newspaper articles of the 1860s.

Haas retired from his job of county treasurer in 1962 to devote time to compiling his vast collection of historic materials into the definitive History of New Braunfels and Comal County, 1845-1946 first published in 1968. The knowledge and information gained from all the years of going through official city, county and church minutes was a tremendous foundation for his book. He did further research into translated writings of Carl, Prince of Solms-Braunfels, Dr. Ferdinand Roemer, and others to fill in the earliest parts of New Braunfels’ history.

Other published works include Chronological History of the Singers of German Songs in Texas (1948); The First Protestant Church, Its History and Its People:1845-1855 (1955); and a translation of the Civil War diary of Capt. Julius Giesecke of New Braunfels. He contributed multiple articles to the Handbook of Texas History and received numerous honors for his devotion to history. Not bad for a sixth-grade dropout.

While going about my research for this story, I looked for something different than what others had written about him. I looked for his voice. Among the treasures that are held by the Sophienburg Museum and Archives is a stash of oral histories, the “Reflections” program, professionally recorded since 1976. Oscar Haas was number three. He was 90 at the time of the recording. I pulled the recording from the studio and played it for Don Cooper, the volunteer that has faithfully been cataloging the Oscar Haas Collection for at least two years. It was entrancing. Don’s face lit up as he actually heard the voice of the man that created boxes and boxes of notes written on scraps of paper and backs of old ballots. I could hear the impish demeanor and twinkle in the eye of a man I only saw in photos. His voice took me back to childhood, when my grandparents and many of the store clerks spoke with a little German accent and a “ja” on the end.

“Reflections” is still recorded and airs 9 a.m. Sundays on KGNB. Copies are available for purchase. Is your parent or grandparent recorded as they talk about New Braunfels? Wouldn’t it be great if you could hear their voice again? We also want to record your stories about growing up and living in New Braunfels. Call us at the Sophienburg, 830-629-1572.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Handbook of Texas Online.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Day two of the 25th Jubilee of the founding of New Braunfels turned out to be just as wonderful as the day before. As it neared 10 am on Monday, May 16, 1870, citizens once again assembled at the school on Academy and Mill streets. The front of the building was gaily decorated with wreaths and garlands of evergreens and the old Academy flag. Today was not just a procession of citizens and guests, but an honest-to-goodness, full-blown extravaganza of a parade. It was to be a day showcasing the history and development of the town but also one of joyful fun.

While the parade was forming up, a sixty-gallon barrel of beer was tapped and glasses served to the participants and spectators. A sixty-gallon barrel of beer? Yeah, let’s try this today!

A group of young men, dressed as Native Americans, rode on horseback at the front of the parade. The grand marshal and the US flag led the group of First Founders and their descendants. They were followed by a plethora of floats and societies

The Turnverein float, drawn by six white horses, carried the 37 young ladies who had presented the banner to the men the day before. Dressed in white with blue scarfs, they represented the 37 states of the Union. At the top of the float stood a tall young lady in white with a golden belt and crown holding a flag emblazoned with “USA” and “Liberty”.

The groups of children from all the local schools walked in the same order as before. They were followed by an immigrant wagon pulled by four mules. The driver smoked a pipe and wore a Staubkittel (blue duster). The recently arrived Börner family joined 70-year-old Mr. Riedel, Mrs. Sacherer, Mrs. Merz and Mrs. Pfannstiel in the wagon already full of immigrant trunks and a spinning wheel.

The next float entered was the New Braunfels Woolen factory which portrayed industry in New Braunfels. Examples of lovely colored fabrics, green wreaths and a sign created with flowers decorated the float. A large working loom was being used causing spectators to cheer as it passed by.

Marching and singing, the members of the Neu Braunfelser Gesangverein and the Turnverein came next. They were followed by a float drawn by four oxen with gilded horns. This float carried Mr. Schuster dressed as Gambrinus in “a costly cloak of real red satin trimmed with ermine” and wearing a crown (Gambrinus is the legendary “King of Beer”). The float carried the sixty-gallon barrel of beer that was tapped at the beginning of the parade; the barrel was marked “From the First German Brewery in West Texas”. It had been donated to the festivities by W. A. Menger of San Antonio. Two smaller 15-gallon barrels from Rennert’s brewery were hitched to the back. King Gambrinus reigned over four boys dressed as pages who served beer to the thirsty parade members.

Various other businesses and groups participated in the parade that took the same route as the procession the day before. Each new section of the parade was separated with horse-back riders carrying US standards. The parade participants played “tin music” and cheered as they walked along. The shout of “Hoch!” (High! Raise up!) was sounded each time the parade passed through the arches on Main Plaza. A very loud cheer arose from both participants and spectators when the parade paused to take on new barrels of beer from Rennert’s Brewery.

Cheers from the spectators greeted groups and floats. Float riders sang German songs as they travelled along. The agent who worked for The Union and Bulletin in Galveston was hailed. Parade participants shouted, “Prost!” as they passed the homes of the mayor, Jubilee committee members and Dr. Koester. The “Indians” on horseback randomly attacked and tried to raid the floats. They were successfully fended off with guns, smoking pipes, a crutch and yes, one woman used a sausage! The “Indians” managed to steal a boot and a bottle of whiskey, but these were soon confiscated by the sheriff.

Even with all the unbridled levity, the boisterous crowd became silent and bared their heads in honor as they passed the home of Dr. Remer on Seguin Street. He “who had worked so diligently for the success of the Jubilee, who had labored so faithfully with the founders for the town’s development” was very ill. (The day before, he had been in a chair on his porch and received loud cheers and the well-wishes of friends as they passed by.)

The parade continued and finally passed over the Comal Bridge. When Joseph Landa’s coachman turned the oxen of the Gambrinus float to pass the triumphal arch, Mr. Landa seized the reins and guided the float smoothly under the arch to the applause and cheers of “Landa, the driver of oxen!”. The crowd dispersed and found one of the many bars scattered around that dispensed beer and both native and imported wines. There was also an all-day lunch room which served hot meals and “good coffee” for a nominal price. Just past the festival grounds were two shooting ranges where contests took place — – one for target shooting, the other for shooting flying targets and skeet.

Mr. Seele delivered another speech and read congratulatory letters from absent dignitaries. Gambrinus stepped onto the platform and gave Seele a glass of beer to drink to the health of these well-wishers. Later in the day, Seele addressed the American population, in English, emphasizing how they helped, encouraged and stood by the Germans. He ended with a “Lebenhoch” (Good luck cheer) for the town’s American friends.

In the evening, the grounds were again lit up with colored lanterns and large kerosene torches. The triumphal arch was lit in a manner that made it seem transparent with changing red, blue and white lights. Music and dancing lasted late into the night only to be finished by another dramatic firework display.

Over 200 cannon shots were fired during the two-day festival!

On Tuesday, several citizens and Jubilee committee members “held a cozy post-celebration on the festival grounds and at Mrs. Josts, and so the Jubilee which will always be dear to the memory of all came to a close.”

Did these guys know how to party or what!?!

Sources: Faust Collection, Heilig album, Seele collection, Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung: Sophienburg Museum & Archives

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

New Braunfels, founded on March 21, 1845, traditionally celebrated the city’s anniversaries in May, because of agricultural and weather issues. The 25th Anniversary was held Sunday and Monday, May 15-16, 1870. Jubilee committees worked from March through May to plan the event. At 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, the committee handed over the festival grounds to the Jubilee president. A cannon shot, fired by first founder Fr. Heidemeyer from the Sophienburg, was answered by cannon shot, fired by first founder Hugo Loep, from the festival grounds. First founders Seele, Rennert, Wetzel, Lindheimer and Moreau signed a telegram to J. von Wrede in Wiesbaden: “Send the following dispatch to Prince Carl Solms Braunfels: All hail from the Citizens of New Braunfels at their Jubilee!”

Sunday hadn’t even dawned when at 4 a.m. twenty-five cannon shots were fired from the Verein cannons on Sophienburg Hill. People were stirring bright and early on that partly cloudy, breezy day. The Catholic and Protestant churches held shortened services with sermons based on Deut.28: 3-4: “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field…”. After services, 37 young ladies presented an embroidered white silk banner to the Türnverein in front of the old courthouse (Chase Bank corner of Main Plaza).

Mrs. Edna Faust (first director of the Sophienburg Museum) translated Lindheimer’s musings on that day.

As Lindheimer went through the streets that Sunday morning he saw many decorated residences and business houses. There was a triumphal arch at the entrance and exit of each main street [4 at Main Plaza]. There were many inscriptions and symbols. A few of the houses were decorated only with American and German flags, but most of them were decorated with garlands, wreaths, and festoons. The dates 1845 and 1870 could be seen on many of the houses and on the triumphal arches. At the entrance to San Antonio street the arch showed a view of a log hut with an Indian nearby and a wilderness out of which the tents of the immigrants were showing. On the arch reverse, a woolen factory was painted with its high chimney. A farmer was returning from his field, and from the blue sky a cornucopia was blessing the land with its gifts.

Hermann Seele’s home on San Antonio Street was richly decorated and on its front was the coat of arms of his native city Hildesheim. It bore an inscription in Latin: “Give peace, O Lord, in our days!” A rope was strung from Pfeuffer’s Store diagonally across to Gruene’s Store with garlands, wreaths, and streamers and a United States flag right over the middle of the street. A large US flag thirty feet long was fastened to a cable strung from the courthouse to the two-story house of Halm and Mueller. The stores of Wetzel, Scherff, and Simon were tastefully decorated. Over the entrance to Bernhard’s Store was a scene depicting an immigrant under the figure 1845 who was grinding his corn into meal on a mill fastened to a tree. Moreau’s Store was decorated with columns and festoons to resemble a Greek temple. It reminded Lindheimer of “Die Götter Griechenlands,” a poem by Schiller.

A verse from a church hymn was lettered [in German on a slate] above the door of the Protestant Church. The front of the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung building was decorated with foliage and festoons, and in a large wreath of roses and foliage appeared a verse. On the front of the New Braunfels Academy the following verse in German could be seen: “Long live New Braunfels! May future generations find here a site for morals and right!”

There were triumphal arches at the east end of Seguin Street between Brun’s house and Forke’s Store, on Comal Street between the residences of Julius Rennert and H. Lister, between the homes of Ziegenhals and Boerner, between the homes of Lawler and Mergele, on Market Square between the residences of Floege and Landa, and on Mill Street between the homes of G. Weber and Goldenbagen and those of W. Ludwig and Dr. Lehde [7 crossing over the streets].

Sunday’s procession formed at 10 a.m. in front of the school at Academy and Mill streets. Turning left on San Antonio, it was led by Grand Marshall Friedrich Hoffmann, the US flag and a 12-member City Band. Citizens followed in specific order:

1. Eight white-dressed girls strewing flowers
2. First Founders and their descendants
3. County officials (Governor Davis and legislators declined invite)
4. Mayor and city council members
5. Principal, teachers and pupils of the NB Academy with a blue silk banner
6. Teachers and students of the Catholic School, Wipprecht’s School, and Union School of Comaltown
7. NB Gesangverein with two banners
8. Schuetzenverein men marching with their rifles
9. Guests from Fredericksburg, Boerne, Comfort, San Antonio, Bastrop, Austin, Seguin and San Marcos
10. Citizens of New Braunfels and their families
11. Group of men on horseback made up of sons of Comal County farmers
12. Decorated coaches and carriages of rural families from Comal County

The procession passed through three arches on the Plaza before turning right on Comal Street. Proceeding south through four more arches it turned right again to Seguin Street and headed north to Mill Street passing under another three arches. Turning right at Mill, the procession crossed the bridge over the Comal to the festival grounds. Another arch had been constructed over the bridge upon which bore the words, “Vivat Neu Braunfels!”.

The festival grounds (Prince Solms Park area) were entered through a large triumphal arch. Further back was a smaller arch painted with 1845 and a vase of wild flowers and 1870 and a vase of cultivated flowers. To its right was a tall flagpole flying an American flag with the cannon furnished by General Reynolds of San Antonio at its foot and to its left were wooden scaffoldings for fireworks. A sixty-foot dance floor had been laid, with railings and a platform for the speakers and musicians. The gymnastic equipment of the Türnverein was set up behind it.

Passing through the triumphal arch, the individual groups placed their flags, banners and standards at designated spots around the dance pavilion. The City Band played “Hail Columbia!” and Hermann Seele gave a welcome address to the 6000 people on the grounds! After the band played “Yankee Doodle”, lunch was served from tables piled with platters of barbecue, knives and forks and “new” plates.

The New Braunfels Gesangverein and other singing groups serenaded the crowds with “The Shepherd’s Sunday Song”, “The German Fatherland”, “The Rhine”, “Hunters”, and “Farewell and Homecoming from France”. At 3 p.m., Hermann Seele delivered the Julbilee speech which was followed by a shooting contest won by William Habermann. Later, Türnverein members wowed the crowds with horizontal bar routines and there were games for the children.

A Bürgerball (Citizens’ Dance) began at 7 p.m. and included a grand march. The first day ended with a fireworks display of red and white Bengal’s Fire, Roman candles, fire wheels and firecrackers.

Next time: 25th Birthday, Day 2

Sources: Faust Collection, Heilig album, Seele collection, Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung: Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

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