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 officially become the 28th state of the Union. A large American flag was raised and flown at the Sophienburg. The two cannons were fired to announce the beginning of festivities.

The first mention of a local celebration with fireworks was in 1859 at the Schillerfest. This was a festival honoring the German poet, Friedrich Schiller’s 100th birthday. The festival included poetry readings, a performance of a Schiller play, songs by the singing society and also a dance — with a fireworks finale. The first recorded use of fireworks in New Braunfels on July 4th was in 1866, after the end of the Civil War.

Fireworks became increasingly incorporated into all kinds of local observances throughout the late 19th century. Many of the large gathering halls (Halle) in New Braunfels and Comal County advertised firework displays for all kinds of festivities. Some of them were Germania Halle, Breustedt’s Halle, Matzdorff’s Halle and Saengerhalle. Lots of the shows also featured cannonades.

So where did they get the fireworks? The local pharmacist was the man in town whose profession was rooted in the alchemy and compounding of chemical ingredients. Most of the elements needed for fireworks doubled as medicinal components as well. The pharmacist, or druggist as he was then known, had shelves full of the necessary ingredients and the knowledge to put them together in the right amounts.

Fireworks require saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal, which are the basic ingredients found in gunpowder. The addition of potassium chlorate to the mixture allowed chemical colors to be enhanced and brightened. Red was the first color made by adding strontium nitrate. Green came next with the addition of barium nitrate.

New Braunfels’ 25th Anniversary in 1870 had a midnight fireworks show at the old Saengerhalle; the fireworks committee was led by Mr. Loep, Mr. Rohde and Mr. Brandt. In 1877, Friedrich Heidemeyer was in charge of firing the cannons and the fireworks on the 4th of July celebration; July 4th always included firework displays. Harvest festivals and Maifest (May Day Festivals) were commemorated at local schools with fireworks and dances. In May 1886, Mr. H. Fischer of Churchill, “a well-known authority in pyrotechnics”, was in charge of the city’s Maifest fireworks. Schuetzenfests (shooting club competitions) included fireworks at the end of shooting competitions. New Year’s Eve and Easter celebrations were observed with night parades using lit torches, lanterns, cannon fire and fireworks. Early New Braunfels did everything in a big way.

For America250, the Sophienburg Museum & Archives will have several exhibits reflecting New Braunfels’ pride in being American. The Pharmacy exhibit will display Mr. Rudolph Richter’s pharmaceutical “Recipe Book.” Along with hundreds of medicinal recipes, he had directions for making gunpowder, blasting powder and flash powder, There are many recipes for each color of fireworks which allowed him to use whichever chemicals he had on hand.

Stories and newspaper accounts link many early local pharmacists to gunpowder and fireworks manufactured for local festivals and celebrations: A. Forcke, H.V. Schumann, Rudolph Richter, and H. Fischer. Making fireworks was an exciting, albeit dangerous, job. August Forcke was badly burned in an explosion on July 2, 1876, while making fireworks for the U.S. Centennial celebration. He was mixing chemicals for “Bengal lights.” Bengal lights were hand-held sparklers that emitted colored flames and sparks; these were named for the Bengal region of India which was a major source of saltpeter.

Like today, businesses sometimes sponsored the making of fireworks and the firework shows. S.V. Pfeuffer, Ernst Gruene Jr., J.D. Guinn, Paul Engelhardt, Richard Gerlich, M.C. Church, Emil Galle and Dr. Garwood are often mentioned as sponsors and committee members for many city displays.

This year, as you enjoy the fireworks shot off in Landa Park, remember that they have been a major part of our country and our city’s celebration of our place in the United States of America. Remember with pride all the freedoms that come with being an American.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Neu Braunfelser Zeitung; New Braunfels Herald; KERA News: The Explosive Science Behind Fireworks.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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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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By Myra Lee Adams Goff

We are celebrating the 175th Anniversary of New Braunfels and its unique culture in which music played a large part. Music creates sounds that evoke different emotions. Sounds representing joy, sadness, patriotism, history and love and can be produced through many different instruments and particularly through the voice. “Music has charms to soothe the savage breast, to soften and bend the knotted oak.” (William Congreve, an English playwright and poet).

German immigrants brought their music with them when they made their way across the ocean to the shores of the Republic of Texas. One might say that the Germans brought their culture with them by singing. Vocal music can be easily produced and consequently shared by everyone.

The sounds of music are universal. Add words to the tunes and an even clearer picture of the culture emerges. Listen to the rousing Wurstfest song, “Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemutlichkeit” and immediately words added to the tune convey a toast, (“Ein Prosit”) and (“Gemutlichkeit “) meaning good wishes or happiness. Now you know something about the culture. The poet Longfellow said “…the soul of man is revealed through his voice.”

A humorous story first told by Hermann Seele, and repeated many times, was this: The immigrants had strung a table across the flooding Guadalupe River and made a boat out of the bed of an oxen wagon to bring provisions over across the river. One day a barrel of white wine was being hauled across the river and ended up on a stone embankment. The barrel sprung a leak and the men used hats or pots and pans to catch and drink the wine until their jubilation rose above the rush of the waters, singing the song put to verse by Prince Carl and set to music by Captain Alexis Bauer. The song was “Durch des Weltmeers Wogen,” meaning “Through the Ocean Waves.” This story has a lot of “Reallys?” to it but what good story doesn’t?

From the beginning of New Braunfels, music, particularly singing, was a part of family and community life. Germans love to gather together with people of similar interests. It is understandable that singing groups organized early on. I remember that as a child, I would go with my mother to be with her family and they would sit around talking and suddenly burst into song. I thought everyone’s family did that.

In 1850, a singing society named Germania was organized. Under the direction of Gottfried Petmecky, the group sang at their first event July 4th, celebration on the banks of the Comal River. Two cannons were fired to open the celebration. The cannons were brought to New Braunfels in the early years by Prince Carl. July 4th continued to be celebrated in the same manner for the next two years.

In 1853, the July 4th celebration was held on Hermann Seele’s property. A parade through town was led by the Rifle Company and the Singing Society. They were singing what they called “jolly songs.” The Singing Society kept good records of this first event. They (the Society) stomped the clay ground and covered it with tarps topped with branches. Tables were placed inside, and the celebration lasted until dawn the next day. Quite a celebration in true German fashion. Ein Prosit!

It was on this same property that the Society (Saengerbund) built a dance hall called the Saengerhalle. They decided that they would host a festival. Invitations were sent out to nearby groups. Seventy-three singers risked their lives crossing the flooded Guadalupe River to attend. After the event, an informal dance was held.

By 1876, many other singing societies had formed. During World War I and II, German singing society memberships declined due to the unpopularity of German singing. Texas Germans endured anti-German sentiments. They were forbidden to speak German and fewer were willing to openly celebrate their heritage. After WWII, several societies experienced a rebirth. Eventually larger singing leagues were formed and organized. These leagues sponsored Saengerfests or singing festivals.

Several local organizations formed over the years. In 1937, the Gemischter Chor Harmonie was established as a men’s singing club. By 1952, the Gemischter Chor Harmonie had grown to become a mixed choir with both men and women members. However, membership slowly began to decline by the late 1950s due to the aging of the original singers who had been with the group since its founding. Television by this time was competing on the entertainment scene. Then in 1959, the singing groups, Gesangverein Echo, Gemischter Chor Frohsinn and Gemischter Chor Harmonie, decided to build a new hall on property that was donated by Gilbert Becker. This second Saengerhalle was built to continue cultural traditions like Seele’s hall built in 1850. The new Saengerhalle hosted many concerts and family events. In 1996, that hall was sold due to the inability to keep up the expenses.

The Gemischter Chor Harmonie is the only singing group that’s still in existence in Comal County after eighty-two years. They show resilience and dedication and they continue to promote the German heritage and culture through their music.

Research for this article was done by John and Cindy Coers for the purpose of applying for a Texas Historical Marker to be placed in Landa Park.

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