Goff Scholarship winner shares history
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Every child passing through the Texas Public Education System receives an introduction to history. I say an introduction, because they may not remember all of it, but they are definitely shown it. Elementary students begin learning about their own community history in third grade, eventually
Affordable housing in the 1850s
By Tara Voigt Kohlenberg — Judging by recent headlines, good, affordable housing in the Austin-San Antonio area is hard to come by, especially in New Braunfels. As is my usual, I was on a mission looking for something else when I ran across this excerpt from the Herald Zeitung. It
What is pannas?
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Many of us grew up eating “pannas.” My grandmother made it often, especially when the menfolk were butchering and making sausage. She would take the hog head into the kitchen and put it in a big pot of water. I would come into the kitchen
All that glitters …
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — It’s been reported that Texas has more buried treasure than any other state. There are 229 sites within our borders with an estimated total of $348 million in unclaimed treasure. Generations of Texans and starry-eyed treasure hunters have sought for the hidden loot of famed
A cycling trip
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — In 1975, Oscar Haas (known as the historian of New Braunfels) delivered a talk on things he remembered in his youth. Oscar was born in 1895, so by youth, he means somewhere between 1905-1915. One of the things he talked about was his cycling escapades.
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
The Friedrich brothers (Part 1)
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I should have known that receiving a scanned copy of a pencil sketch of “The Meusebach-Comanche Treaty” would send me down yet another historical “bunny trail.” The sketch was signed in block letters — “FRIEDRICH 1847” — and depicts hundreds of Commanche, horses, Meusebach, U.S. Indian
The stories behind our grottos
Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I mentioned in an article that I needed to look into the history and creation of the grottos at our city’s lovely Catholic churches. A grotto is a small mountain – El Cerrito or Die Grotte – which is created from concrete or stone and includes