Tale of two markers
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — This is the story of two markers. One was put up at Comal Springs in 1968, and the other was placed outside the yard of Franz and Mary Joyce Coreth on Hwy 46 (it now stands in front of Chick-fil-A). They both mark the location of Mission Nuestra Señora de […]
History is everywhere
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — This past March I was in Macedonia, Greece with my eldest daughter. No matter where we walked the ground was literally littered with history — bits of marble, colored tesserae from mosaics, tiny pieces of bronze and always, always pieces of pottery. History was everywhere. I remember going to elementary […]
Arriving Germans found native tribes in area they settled
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Prince Carl in the diary of his sojourn to Texas writes about sleeping on the ground, using a pistol case as a pillow. Even before the emigrants arrived, he feared an Indian attack. He recalled a patriotic drinking song called “Deutschland Hoch.” Rewriting his own words to this song, […]
New Braunfels forty-eighters
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — The forty-eighters were refugees of the failed German Revolution of 1848. They were idealists. They fought to establish a liberal and unified Germany using liberty, democracy and unity as their main tenets. The designation “forty-eighter” excludes the hundreds of thousands who emigrated from 1848-1852 for mostly economic reasons. It also […]
Mom’s cousin was an Indian captive
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — In May I traveled to Mason, Texas, with my mom and dad and met with some aunts, uncles and cousins to watch a 45-minute documentary: “Herman, der Apache: Ein Deutscher unter Indianen” (“Herman the Apache: A German among Indians”). The film, made by a German film crew for TV viewing […]
“Tenax propositi” or “finish what you begin”
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach (later John O. Meusebach) and Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels represented two philosophies and cultures of Germany in the early 1800s. Prince Carl was a feudalistic, aristocratic, ultraconservative wanting no change in the politics of Germany. It was a collection of feudal kingdoms. Prince Carl was […]
80th anniversary of Landa Park, a real celebration
By Myra Lee Adams Goff The book, “Landa Park, Its Springs and Its People” by Rosemarie Leissner Gregory and Arlene Krueger Seales, is now available to pre-order. The New Braunfels Parks & Recreation Department and the Friends for the Preservation of Historic Landa Park, a non-profit organization, honor the 80th anniversary of the acquisition of […]
Emil Kriewitz plays role in Comanche-German treaty
By Myra Lee Adams Goff You, no doubt, have heard of Baron John O. Meusebach’s treaty with the Comanche Indians to promote peace between the Comanches and the German settlers. There was one person, Baron Emil Kriewitz, who played an important part in the success of this treaty. Here is his story: Kriewitz was a […]
Go downtown to celebrate the 4th of July
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Come celebrate our Declaration of Independence once again with the Sophienburg’s July 4th celebration and parade. The parade will begin at 9:15 so be at the Plaza early. I have invited a ghost from the past to be there. John Torrey will surely be at his old stomping grounds in […]
