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 about tradition and make-believe. Children […]
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet for auld lang syne
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Have you heard of Sylvester’s Abend? Have you heard of New Year’s Eve? Two names for the same event. To arrive at the Gregorian calendar that we and most European countries use was not an easy process. Many changes took place before the final calendar set up by Pope Gregory […]
Haelbig made lasting music impression
By Myra Lee Adams Goff An outstanding early citizen of New Braunfels and one who contributed much to the culture of the community was a man named Stefan Haelbig. Haelbig organized many of the early musical groups and was the music instructor of hundreds of children and adults alike in voice as well as musical […]
West San Antonio Street — Now and then
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — While scouring an old Herald-Zeitung for some trivial unrelated detail, I came across a photo of an early 20th century view of downtown New Braunfels. It was taken from a postcard of West San Antonio Street. The corresponding article described the names and locations of the businesses that would have […]
Oscar Haas, the Battleship Texas and the “Spirit of the Spanish-American War”
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — How great is this photo of New Braunfels boys! The image was copied for Oscar Haas by Mr. Seidel in 1960, but it dates way back to March 17, 1900. The young men, dressed up for the Kindermaskenzug (Children’s Masquerade Parade), are standing in front of the New Braunfels Academy. […]
Haelbig made lasting music impression
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — An outstanding early citizen of New Braunfels and one who contributed much to the culture of the community was a man named Stefan Haelbig. Haelbig organized many of the early musical groups and was the music instructor of hundreds of children and adults alike in voice as well as […]
Movie memories
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — We go see the latest movie and think nothing about it. It is an easy and common thing to do. I don’t even remember the first film I saw, though I’m fairly certain it was a Disney movie. Not so in the early 1900s. I recently found several articles in […]
New Year’s traditions around the world
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Have you heard of Sylvester’s Abend? Have you heard of New Year’s Eve? Two names for the same event. To arrive at the Gregorian calendar that we and most European countries use was not an easy process. Many changes took place before the final calendar set up by Pope […]
Remembering when Wurstfest was at a hole in the ground
Encore of November 1, 2006 By Myra Lee Adams Goff Get ready to celebrate New Braunfels’ heritage. Long before the Chicken Dance entered the city limits, the Wurstfest was held in a hole in the ground next to Main Plaza. Of course, this wasn’t the first location. The brainchild of veterinarian and city meat inspector […]
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 just like people in ancient […]
