Depot sign returns to New Braunfels
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman – Imagine it’s 1920. You’re making your way north on Seguin Street and you can just see the roofs of Landa’s flour mill and cottonseed oil gin over the tree line. You get to the “Y’ where Landa Street and N. Seguin split and you stay
Early jails in New Braunfels
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — According to stories of the Old West, suspected criminals were shot or hung. No jail was necessary. Then as people became more civilized, there arose a doubt as to whether the person accused was actually guilty. Could we possibly say that “those were the
The cold facts of New Braunfels
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — New Braunfelsers were giddy with joy when snowflake clusters fell on December 7th. Waking up that next morning was a “blessed event” of sorts for us locals. Some newcomers amongst us wondered at our ecstasy over snow, and in trying to explain, I realized that
New Braunfels calling
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — The multitude of seasonal well wishes received over the past month got me to thinking. Christmas cards and actual phone calls seem to be dwindling while texts, Instagram and Facebook posts (at least at my house) are on the rise. It’s amazing to consider just how
The Greatest Show on Earth
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Well before the Civil War, circus troupes had made their way to Texas. The earliest mention of a circus in our local newspaper was on Jan. 7, 1859. My interest in the NB circus scene began with an early 1900s photograph featuring a circus parade of
The rest of the story …
By Tara Kohlenberg, Sophienburg Executive Director — You might remember the article written a couple of weeks back about Karl Klinger and Sophienburg Hill, where I mentioned that the old Sophienburg Verein Headquarters was destroyed by a storm. It wasn’t just any storm and now you get to hear the
Karl Klinger: the first tour guide of NB
By Tara Kohlenberg, Sophienburg Executive Director — Tourism has been an important economic facet in New Braunfels for many years. All can agree that the beauty of natural springs bubbling out of a rocky hillside to form the crystal clear Comal River, Landa Park, historic homes and businesses, music venues in
Fish Tales
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman, Sophienburg Curator I recently found photos of Alfred Selke in the Oscar Haas collection. In August 1926, Selke and several coworkers were walking around the grounds of the new Comal Power Supply Co. (LCRA). They caught what he described as a “lobster” in the millrace pond.
Birds of War
Keva Hoffmann Boardman, Sophienburg Curator Whether winging their way through barrages of shells, dodging shrapnel, maneuvering through clouds of gas, or flying through torrential downpours of machine gun and anti-aircraft gun bullets, pigeons were feathered aviators that played an essential role in the Great War. Both the Greek and the