Karbach family responsible for Methodism in New Braunfels

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Methodism is a Protestant religion whose roots can be traced way back to a preacher named John Wesley in England. John Wesley and his brother Charles, while at Oxford University in 1739, began a movement devoted to helping the underprivileged. Fellow students called them “Methodists”

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Depression years affected everyone

By Myra Lee Adams Goff 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.

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Controversial letters to Germany

By Myra Lee Adams Goff A letter written on May 2, 1845, two months after the first settlers arrived in New Braunfels, gives us details of those first two months in NB. The letter was written by Lt. Oscar von Claren to his sister in Germany. The end of von

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Statues on plaza honor soldiers

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The first July 4 celebration in New Braunfels took place in 1845, just four months after the first emigrants crossed the Guadalupe into what would be the “Neu Heimat” (New home). A lot has happened historically since that first Independence celebration. For one thing, two

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Slumber Falls on the Guadalupe

By Myra Lee Adams Goff We know a lot about our Comal River but not so much about the Guadalupe. Did you know that the Guadalupe is 226 miles longer than the Comal? It’s a tumultuous and erratic river. The Comal, on a flooding rampage, affects New Braunfels; the Guadalupe,

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From distillery to woolen mill to laundry

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Two sisters, Debbie Elliott and Lynn Norvell, have built homes on the property that has been in their family over 100 years. The property is on the corner of Garden and Comal Sts. on the Comal River, next to the Garden Street Bridge. They are

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Hermann Spiess follows Meusebach as commissioner general

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Hermann Spiess became the third Commissioner General of the Adelsverein, following Prince Carl and John Meusebach. Spiess had a more exciting life than the other two. Why don’t we know a lot about him? Why don’t we have a Spiess Street? For certain, he was

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Historic Kindermaskenball Parade This Coming Saturday

By Myra Lee Adams Goff 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

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Roemer’s insight in Texas, 1846

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Much has been written about the Indians of Texas, especially the Comanches. No one has given us more information than Dr. Ferdinand Roemer. In the field of research, Dr. Roemer becomes a primary source in which a person is actually present at the event being

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Post office has evolved in 100 years

By Myra Lee Adams Goff An extremely important building in downtown New Braunfels has been saved and renovated by Pat and Becky Wiggins. It is the old Post Office building on the corner of Castell and Mill. It now serves a new purpose, being McAdoo’s Restaurant. The owners are applying

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