Decorative history
By Tara V. Kohlenberg – With Wurstfest in our rear-view mirror, the calendar and Hallmark Channels tell us that Christmas is but a short six weeks away. In the movies, it always looks cold and snowy with brightly lit decorations everywhere. I have only ever experienced a few white Christmases,
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
The story of the orphan photo album
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — This past weekend I attended a reunion of my husband’s family. I don’t know everyone and I don’t know the family history, so I found myself gravitating to “the old ones.” They are the ones who know the names of the faces in photos from
All that glitters …
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — It’s been reported that Texas has more buried treasure than any other state. There are 229 sites within our borders with an estimated total of $348 million in unclaimed treasure. Generations of Texans and starry-eyed treasure hunters have sought for the hidden loot of famed
When cotton was king
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — The fall of the worldwide stock market, known as the Great Depression in 1929, was not of major concern to New Braunfelsers. Being an agrarian area, the county was more affected by a serious drought that had occurred in the early 1920s up to
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
Four phases of education in rural Comal County
By Alton J. Rahe — Education was of paramount importance to the German immigrants. Basic education classes were started for their youth in the more populated areas soon after their arrival to Texas. However, this was not the case for rural settlers where more formal education was slower in coming. There