Recollections of early New Braunfels
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — German immigrants crossed the Guadalupe River on March 21, 1845, setting foot in the next long-term waystation. When spring rolls through Central Texas, it is easy to see why the founding families sought to stay here, in New Braunfels, rather than move further along to the promised land of the […]
Albert Kirchner wins Cremo contest
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Last week, David Hartmann, the present-day unofficial historian of New Braunfels, brought some old telegrams to the Sophienburg Museum. In case some of you don’t know what that is, a telegram is a written message transmitted by using an electric device called a telegraph. The message was carried from its […]
1881 bird’s-eye view of New Braunfels
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Created by Augustus Koch in 1881, the “Birds Eye View of New Braunfels” is so much more than just an etching of early New Braunfels. An aerial view of the city lying nestled between the rise of the Balcones Escarpment and the black dirt farmlands, it is almost photographic […]
Joske’s of Texas and the Guadalupe River
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Joske’s of Texas. For many of us, hearing the name “Joske’s” conjures up memories of trips to downtown San Antonio for a day of shopping at the well-respected department store. My favorites were the trips during the Christmas holidays to visit the Fantasyland exhibit on the 4th floor and ride […]
Highways, motels and diving ladies
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Have you ever thought about what travel was like before superhighways and chain hotels? It was definitely a much simpler time. Early travel meant dirt roads, complete with ruts and mud holes. Not until after World War I did road improvements became a priority. The Federal Highway Act of 1921 […]
Cold War fears in New Braunfels
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — In recent days, we have all watched heart-breaking images flash across our screens as Russia exerts its power over Ukraine. News of such events has stirred up childhood memories of my classmates and I scrambling under our metal school desks during bomb drills of the Cold War Era in the […]
Millett family
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — There are times, during the course of researching a topic, that we come across a story that just says it all. The following, a reprint of a story written by Susan Flynt England, is exactly that. It appeared in the Herald-Zeitung on Sunday, January 7, 1996. Local family traces heritage […]
Outlaws, cowboys and armadillos
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — How do we pick topics for Around the Sophienburg? you might ask. Well, a myriad of mysteries and ideas come across our desks, but this one came simply from the question, “Whatever happened to that armadillo guy?” First off, let me tell you how we got “armadillo guy”. In the […]
True crime series: Break-in of First National Bank
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman It’s just a little snapshot of three old guys in a back yard. The story that goes with it, however, is a humdinger and you’re gonna love it. It was uncomfortably cold and wet that midnight hour of January 20, 1922. Deputy Marshal W. Nance Meredith had walked his section and […]
For the love of antlers
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — This is the story of a boy born in Erbach, Hessen, Germany. It is about a boy who was fascinated with antlers. It is about that boy growing up and emigrating to Texas and creating his own future. Ernst Dosch was born in 1822. He grew up hunting in the […]
