By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

With the Comal County Fair over and done, we look forward to the other fall community events. Dia de los Muertos comes next and will be followed by the granddaddy of them all, Wurstfest!

For me, a first founder descendant, Wurstfest is my favorite. It is much more than beer and sausage. It’s the time families and friends, old and new, gather to have Gemütlichkeit. Translated loosely, that means a time of warmth, friendliness and good cheer amongst people. Wurstfest is also a time we get to dance to the music and songs that have always been a special part of our lives.

The polka music that our grandparents taught us to dance to at weddings and dances have a nearly 200-year-old history. Mystery surrounds the true beginnings of the polka. Some say the name comes from the Bohemian word pulka, which is the half-step dance movement one uses. Others claim that the dance was invented by a young Polish servant girl and named “polka” in reference to the word for Polish woman.

History only knows that around 1830, in villages around Prague, the polka rhythm and steps were noticed and became a sensation in Prague itself. The upbeat tempo, catchy tunes and often humorous lyrics then took Paris by storm in the 1840s. Well, all of that and the added bonus that a man could hold his lady friend deliciously close when spinning her around the dance floor. The polka was a far cry from the formal and staid minuets, quadrilles and waltzes of the 19th century.

The major emigration of Europeans in the 1840s brought the sound, beat and steps of the polka to North America. Texas, with its high concentration of Germans, Czechs and Poles, became a hotbed and haven of the polka. As Germanic immigrants settled throughout east and central Texas, they tended to band together for their common good. They formed vereins. These associations or clubs promoted their members’ general welfare as well as preserving their culture. Music — and the polka — always played an integral part.

Dance halls were basically mandatory in these communities and bands were readily available since there were many men who knew how to play at least one instrument. Stringed and brass instruments came with the immigrants. Woodwinds like flutes, clarinets and saxophones were also prevalent. But the most distinctive instrument was the accordion.

The accordion is a wind instrument comprised of two reed organs connected by folding bellows. Sound is made by expanding and compressing the bellows forcing air through the reed organs. A keyboard of keys or buttons is used to play the melody.

The earliest accordion was invented by Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin, Germany in 1822; Buschmann called his instrument the Handäoline. In 1828, Armenian organ and piano maker Cyrill Demian created the Akkerdeon and chose that name based on the German word Akkord, which means chord.

The Germans, Czechs and Poles loved their accordions and the polka, and the music was heard often. In a wonderful turn of events, Texas-born Tejanos in the San Antonio area took the accordion, the polka sound and dance steps they heard and saw and invented the unique musical genre of conjunto. Conjunto blended the sound and rhythms from both German and Hispanic communities and remains popular in Texas music today.

The same beat, similar dance steps and the all-important sound of the accordion still echos in dance halls and street festivals. Even if you are new to the polka or conjunto sound, I guarantee that if you listen to the beat your foot will start tapping. If you listen closely to the words, you will often find yourself giggling. If you really listen to the music, I’m going to bet that you will get off your chair, grab yourself a partner and dance deliciously close in circles around and around the dance floor.

Sources: PBS Western Reserve: The History of Polka: From Europe to Northeast Ohio; Appalachian Freunde Polka Band; Handbook of Texas.

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

This year, the New Braunfels Hermann Sons Lodge #21 is celebrating 135 years. What sounded like a simple “Happy Birthday” article soon became a rabbit hole that I could not ignore. Hold on!

First of all, who is Hermann and why do his sons have a lodge? I learned that the answer is somewhat complex. The Order of the Sons of Hermann fraternal (men only) organization was founded in 1840 by German immigrants in New York. Originally established under the German name “Der Orden der Hermann Soehne”, sometimes shortened to ODHS, it was created to provide mutual aid to members while promoting and preserving the German language and traditions in their new homeland.

Hermann is a hero. The Hermann Sons organization was named after a first century Germanic hero, Hermann the Cherusker (Defender) who destroyed three Roman legions at the Battle of Teutoberg Wald (Teutonia Forest) in 9 A.D. Hermann was revered for helping prevent Roman rule over the Germanic tribes. The Sons of Hermann organization protects its members and their German traditions just like Hermann did centuries before.

It took more than twenty years for The Order of the Sons of Hermann to make it down to Texas. There, several German-speaking San Antonio residents gathered and voted to organize a lodge, mainly to be of assistance to one another. The Harmonia Lodge #1 of San Antonio was created in 1861. Upon the death of one of their members three months later, several in the brotherhood paid for his coffin and grave, as well as provided financial assistance to the widow for several months afterwards.

Strong feelings about assisting and supporting their members in times of need became the driving force behind Harmonia Lodge’s request to National Grand Lodge for an obligatory life insurance program for members. In 1876, The National Grand Lodge adopted the recommendation, mandating a life insurance purchase with each membership so that each brother would receive $300 life insurance and $60 if his wife preceded him.

By March 1890, Texas Germans had organized ODHS Lodges in seven other cities for a total of eight, granting Texas the right to establish a State Grand Lodge of the Order of the Sons of Hermann. Ninety-two more lodges were established that same year, including Teutonia Lodge #21 of Hortontown in Comal County. Teutonia was in deference to the Teutonia Forest region of Germany.

Hortontown, is also sometimes written as Horton Town in documents. It was named for the owner of land where it was located, across the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels/Comaltown, A.C. Horton. Albert Clinton Horton, originally from Alabama, fought in the Texas Revolution and served as the first Lt. Governor of the State of Texas. He was extremely wealthy before the Civil War. According to records, he owned at least three tracts of land in Comal County, including a league (4428.2 acres) that stretched from the Guadalupe River to FM 306, then Nacogdoches-Austin Road (Broadway and Post Roads) to Gruene. Hortontown, by my best calculations, is thought to have been situated at the old Goodwin school grounds and then along Broadway Street (Loop 337 cuts through it) toward the backside of the old textile mill. In Comal County property records, older properties (not subdivisions) located on the Horton league will bear the name Foster, since he surveyed the land.

The Teutonia Lodge was the first one in Comal County. At one time, there were actually 24 separate Brother lodges located in Comal County. Comal Lodge #45 was established in 1892, followed by York Creek #63 and Steuben #73 in 1893. Casper Real #104 was chartered in 1894. Johann Sahm #116, Marbach #125 and Prinz Carl #127 were all chartered in 1895 and then Prinz Solms #136, Hunter #145, Ullrich von Hutten #146 and Thornhill #149 (Gruene) chartered in 1896. There were only four more lodges organized over the next thirteen years: Lone Star #91, Schuchard #181 (Comaltown), Fischer Store #219 and Marienthal #248.

The ladies were not to be left out. In 1896, the National Grand Lodge allowed for Sister (all women) lodges, but it was not until 1900 that the first Sister lodge was organized in Comal County, Prinzessen Heinrich #12. The other seven lodges organized between 1907 and 1911, included Freiheit Sister #45, Fruhling #48, Marie #91, Gludaus #101, Gloeckenbluemen (Bluebell) #104, Gartenlaube (Gazebo) #105, and finally, Heimat #99.

By 1920, the Order of the Sons of Hermann in Texas had more members and greater financial stability than all of the lodges in the rest of the United States combined. The Texas Grand Lodge broke away from the National Order of the Sons of Hermann and became independent and autonomous. They eventually transitioned from the German language to the English language by the late 1930s, although Teutonia meeting minutes were still recorded in German through 1942. Since Hermann Sons was organized for German immigrants, all of the members were of German descent, but by 1965 only about half were. By 1994 membership was open to all ethnic groups.

At the height of its popularity, there were more than 250 Hermann Sons lodges in Texas, with at least 100,000 members. Now the lodges number approximately 125 with less than 65,000 members. Comal County lodges have dwindled to three. Many of them dissolved after trying to survive by merging with others: Casper Real consolidated with Gludaus Sister Lodge, but dissolved in 1943. Johann Sahm, Marbach, Fruhling all merged together and then consolidated with Carl Rompel #268 before dissolving. Fischer Store and Marienthal merged before dissolving in 1954.

The three remaining are Prinz Solms #136, Spring Branch #127 and New Braunfels #21. Prinz Solms (who merged with Heimat Sister Lodge #99) is the only one to retain its original name. Spring Branch (originally Prinz Carl #127) joined with Gloeckenbluemen #104 and took on the name of Spring Branch #127. All of the other lodges, through various moves and mergers finally consolidated with Teutonia #21, which changed its name to New Braunfels #21 in 1962.

Since 1957, the New Braunfels Hermann Sons Hall has been located on Union Street, where the local lodge holds meetings and operates a dance school. Hundreds of girls have taken dancing in that hall, including all three of mine. They have also attended Hermann Sons summer camp along with their friends in Comfort, Texas, which has operated since 1954. True to their mission of lifelong support, the local lodge also offers scholarships to the youth, insurance for every level of life and has a retirement home in Comfort.

In 2017, The Order of Hermann Sons in Texas changed its name and rebranded their organization. Originally founded in 1890 as a fraternal benefit society for German immigrants in Texas, the name became Hermann Sons Life to better reflect its broader mission and inclusivity.

Alles Gut zum Geburtstag, Der Orden der Hermann Soehne, Neu Braunfels #21!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives, New Braunfels Hermann Sons Lodge #21.

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

By the time I sat down to write this story, we were several weeks into back-to-school ad campaigns for clothing, athletic gear, and school supplies. The term “back-to-school” made me think of popcorn, parakeets and Big Chief tablets.

Maybe your brain doesn’t track like this, but there is something oddly comforting about the smell of freshly made popcorn, the sound of tweeting parakeets, and a new Big Chief tablet. In New Braunfels, it meant shopping at Winn’s.

Winn’s was my favorite back-to-school shopping place. They had everything we needed and then some. Winn’s was what they called a variety store, a five-and-dime or simply dimestore. It was downtown across from the post office on Castell Avenue (now 2tarts Bakery and River Rose Boutique). I loved Winn’s. I can still smell the fresh popcorn and hear the parakeets twittering in the back of the store.

Winn’s, founded in 1926 by San Antonio businessman Murray Winn, opened its 55th store in New Braunfels in 1959. Winn’s Stores Inc. bought the North Castell Avenue property from Norman J. Henne in March of ’59. An 8500-square-foot building was built after they razed buildings previously housing Schumann’s Battery Service, real estate office of Hilmar Doehne, and the burned out remains of Fred D’s Sporting Goods Store.

Before that, school supplies were purchased at drug stores or places like Vollmer’s or National’s Five & Dime (now Antique Mall). It must have been somewhat competitive since the stores tried to entice school shoppers by offering coupons for ice cream sodas or a free pass to the movies. I am not sure that Winn’s ever had that type of promotion.
A typical list from my childhood mirrored that of the 1959 New Braunfels Independent School District first-grade supply list. On it were nine items: #2 pencils with erasers, box of eight crayons, pointy scissors, spiral composition books, mixed construction paper, tissues, jar of paste, a pencil tablet and a cigar box.

This year’s NBISD supply list for first grade has at least 20 items. The basic items are still the same today, including crayons, construction paper, spiral notebooks, tissues and scissors (but scissors are no longer pointy). Gone is the paste that came in glass jars and tasted like mint (so I have been told). Teachers today want glue sticks.

They have replaced pencil tablets with primary notebooks. The pencil tablets were 8 x 12 pads of wide lined newsprint writing paper with Big Chief being the favored brand. Easily recognizable from anywhere, it had a red cover with an image of a Native American chief on it. It was my very own new pad of writing paper for a fresh start.

Cigar boxes were the predecessors of today’s plastic pencil box. Everyone used what was available. Back when people smoked cigars, the pharmacies and stores would save the boxes to sell with school supplies. I loved the smell of tobacco when I opened the lid of my new cardboard King Edward cigar box. Later, as people smoked less, cardboard boxes were specifically made for school supplies in bright colors, but it just wasn’t the same.

As we grew out of the Big Chief phase, we got filler paper to put in our zippered 3-ring binders which we carried in our satchels (a dorkier, more cumbersome book bag). There were no Trapper Keepers or backpacks, but we did have lunch boxes. Mine was a shiny, black-patent-look Barbie lunch kit with matching thermos. Unlike today’s Yeti insulated cups and mugs, a thermos in those days was lined with glass. Yep! A thermos in the hands of a second grader was risky business. Just one bounce when dropped and you had instant crystal maracas (which every mother loved to hear).

As for school clothing choices, there was not a lot available in downtown New Braunfels. Some people ordered through catalog stores like JCPenney or Montgomery Ward. There was no Amazon or overnight delivery so it took weeks to receive it. We got one pair of school shoes that had to last until summer: saddle oxfords or P.F. Flyers or Keds. New Braunfels had B&B Poll Parrot (left side of the New Braunfels Art League next to Scores sports bar) for shoes but they were probably a little pricier than Winn’s.
Winn’s had blue jeans, shirts, socks and tennis shoes in stock for boys. For girls, they had petticoats and slips and socks. They also had a healthy stock of bobby pins, hair bands, clips, and Aqua Net. I really do not remember the dresses at Winn’s because my mom made dresses for my sister and me. But the fabric — there were tons of fabric and patterns and buttons and zippers. I would spend time looking at pattern books while my mom shopped for fabric until I got sent on a mission to find my brother.

My brother, and most of the boys, could usually be found in the back of the store looking at all the things my mother said no to: bubbling aquariums full of fish or the dozen blue-and-green parakeets in a cage or the turtles. He did talk her into a turtle once.

Beyond school supplies, Winn’s had a wonderful supply of anything found in a variety store including lamps, curtains, laundry baskets, toilet paper, garbage cans, kitchen gadgets, costume jewelry, candy, and the list goes on.

In May of 1968, a second location of Winn’s Variety Store was opened in the new Landa Plaza Shopping Center (Das Rec) that was designed to look like faux fachwerk. It was the 87th store. It was closer to our house, but we still liked to go to the downtown Winn’s.

Winn’s Stores continued to expand in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico under other ownership, reaching 230 stores in 1987. Then things went south. Walmart and other major national retailers began moving into cities with their discount department store model. Then the dollar stores began popping up.

Winn’s sold off stores, closed others, and filed bankruptcy before finally dissolving in 1995. It was a great ride that made a ton of memories! Especially the popcorn, parakeets and Big Chief tablets — and I almost forgot, the ICEEs!

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Have you ever tugged at a loose thread only to find that the thread was not really loose, resulting in an irritating unraveling of sorts? I recently pulled at said “loose thread,” but the odd “thread” that I pulled exposed a beautiful tapestry with a surprising outcome. Last month, I wrote about the beautiful cut limestone house in Comaltown built by Johann Georg Moeller (spelled with an OE) that was finished in 1866. The home was purchased in 1881 by Johannes Mueller (spelled with a UE). When I checked it out to make sure that it wasn’t just a mix up of vowels, I found a whole lot more.

Who was Johannes Mueller spelled with a “UE”? Johann or Johannes, the German form of John, was a common name. There are a ton of Johns in the world, and so it was with Johannes. This particular Johannes Mueller was born November 22, 1823, in Welsch-Neudorf, Nassau (Germany). He, along with who may have been his maternal uncle and family (Stendebach), set sail for a new life in September 1845 aboard the Ship Auguste Meline. At the ripe old age of 22, he arrived in Galveston on December 9, 1845, and made his way to New Braunfels, in what were the waning days of the Republic of Texas.

About that same time, a young woman by the name of Maria Magdelena Rheinlander arrived in Galveston on the Barque B. Bohen, December 22, 1845, with a man destined to become her husband. She wed Gottlieb Heldberg in New Braunfels in May of 1846, but her “happily-ever-after” was short-lived. Gottlieb was killed by Indians in August 1847 when Magdelena was pregnant with their daughter, Anna. Johannes and Magdelena met in 1847 and married in December 1848.

Johannes appeared to be an ambitious soul. In his first years in Texas, Johannes engaged in the freight hauling business. Freight by wagon was the only way to get goods into and out of New Braunfels for a number of years since the railroads did not arrive until 1880. Johannes was in business with Mr. John Halm until 1869 before dissolving the partnership. Besides the freight business, Johannes had opened a store, which was known as the Hannes Mueller Store selling dry goods, groceries, shoes, boots, and cutlery to name a few things.

The store, located on the corner of Main Plaza and San Antonio Street, was a two-story structure which later became the Streuer Brothers. When I was young, it was the site of the United Gas Company (now Entex) and eventually a bank building (Guaranty State Bank, Mbank and Moody Bank). Like many store owners in 19th-century New Braunfels, the Hannes Mueller family lived on the second floor above the Hannes Mueller Store (and there were a lot of people in that family).

Hannes really had his fingers in a bit of everything. While still involved with the freight company, he also served as both town Marshall and County Treasurer from September 1863 to July of 1865. In his later years, he was elected city Alderman (precursor to our city council members) from April 1881 to October 1883.

He somehow earned the nickname “MuellerHannes”. Literally translated it would be “MuellerJohnny”. MuellerHannes was said to be a very humorous man. His friends told many anecdotes about him. One of his friends was Anselm Eiband, editor and publisher of the New-Braunfelser Zeitung. He printed his anecdotes about MuellerHannes in the newspaper. Nice friends.

Johannes had developed quite the business acumen and accrued quite a bit of land in their lifetimes. In 1881, they bought the beautiful rock home in Comaltown and six adjacent lots. In 1882, their son, Henry, joined the family business. They also sold two acres of land west of town to the trustees of Three Mile School. It later became Lone Star School in 1901.

Johannes and Magdelena shared 62 anniversaries (62!) together. He died in 1908 at the age of 85 and she, the following year at 82. Their lives and the lives of their thirteen children, 59 grandchildren, and 26 great-grandchildren played out in the newspapers: births, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, deaths, funerals. It was the long listing of their family members at each gathering that caught my eye. I know those names. I know those people. In the story about the Moeller House, I told how the youngest Mueller daughter, Emma, married a grandson of Georg Moeller. What I did not tell you was that Johannes and Magdelena’s third child, daughter Marie, born 1853, who married Theodor Meckel, is my great, great grandmother. Little did I know I was writing my own family history when I first started the Moeller House story. Pulling the thread that leads to another branch of your family tree is pretty cool. And very addicting.

The Sophienburg Archives is an absolute gold mine for finding things like this. Even if you use Ancestry.com, there are things found in the Red Family Surname Books and the hanging files that most people don’t know about. And if you are working on a family history, I would strongly recommend giving a copy to the Archives, both for safe-keeping and as a resource for others. Digital records/photos may be great, but paper documents are priceless.

Sources: Sophienburg Archives: Red Family Surname Books; Rural Schools and Teachers of Comal County, Texas, 1854-1956; Alton J. Rahe.

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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 in its detailed rendering of buildings and streets. It is also a phenomenal piece of late 19th Century city marketing.

Augustus Koch was one of a handful of skilled artists/draftsmen who walked the American landscape after the Civil War. These men drew at least 1,800 town and city maps by the 1920s. Augustus, born in 1834 in Birnbaum, Prussia, was well-educated when he arrived in America. He enlisted in the Wisconsin Infantry in 1861, was commissioned in 1863, and became an engineering officer to an African-American regiment. While in the army, he produced maps of Vicksburg and other places which were used for battle planning.

By 1868, Augustus had begun his career as a panoramic map maker. Koch had been mentored by Albert Ruger, another German immigrant in Wisconsin, who was one of the earliest panoramic map makers in America. Augustus produced views of Cedar Falls, Iowa (1869), 8 views of towns in California (1870-71), and views of cities in Tennessee, Illinois, Texas, New York, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota and Maine (1872-1875). In the 1890s, Koch made views for cities in Virginia, Washington, Georgia, Florida, Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota. By the end of his career, Augustus had drawn 110 birds eye views of cities and towns in 23 different states. He had crisscrossed his way across America several times. Can you imagine the changes and growth he saw?

To produce a birds eye view was an intensely painstaking process. Koch first sent an agent, or went himself, to a prospective town to drum up business. He would talk with local businessmen and civic groups and get them interested in a map of their community and commit to buy subscriptions for the finished map. Augustus began with a large basic sketch set on a street grid. He often looked at photographs and other maps of the town if they were available. He and his assistants then walked every street making sketches of each building and noting details in field notes that included compass directions and the relationships of blocks to one another. Simple figures of people, wagons and trees were added to the grid map to make up a conceptual drawing to show new would-be customers and sell more subscriptions. To insure better accuracy in placement, smaller houses were rendered rather alike — accuracy was more critical than aesthetics. Important buildings were drawn in much more detail.

Augustus then worked with a lithographer to produce a final drawing which was transferred and etched into a limestone slab that was inked and used to print the highly detailed image. It took at least two weeks to sketch out the map before it went to the lithographer. The finished prints were delivered directly to the subscribers. Koch had to work quickly so folks would stay excited. Time was indeed money.

Most birds eye views show the town center and street grid. The street grid was always drawn at an angle to allow a better view of the buildings. The more details of buildings captured in the drawing, the more folks would buy it to see their home or business. The most important feature of the town was usually front-and-center in the drawing. Civic and personal pride was leveraged at every turn to encourage more buyers.

The 1881 Birds Eye View of New Braunfels is drawn from an elevation of about 2000 feet. It has a high horizon line so that more detail can be placed in the body of the print. Important buildings or businesses who paid for a subscription are emphasized. In the New Braunfels view, Koch highlights both the history and the progressive nature of the town. Center front above the title label, Augustus drew the old Sophienburg building, the original site of the city’s government by the Adelsverein; it was destroyed by wind in 1886. Koch conveyed the city’s growth and prosperity by adding the railroad tracks; steam engines belching smoke come in from two sides, one train carrying passengers and the other carrying goods. The rail line had been completed in 1880.

Koch drew many important buildings in meticulous detail and highlighted them in a numbered legend. These were specifically chosen to show off the town. The inclusion of the County Courthouse and prison proclaimed law and order. The tall-steepled churches and the cemetery depicted a town of morals and decency (note that the First Protestant church has a bell tower which was not completed until 1889). Factories, mills and cotton gins emit plumes of smoke indicating that industry is booming. Train stations and hotels showed that New Braunfels was big enough to encourage tourism and business trips. The inclusion of the New Braunfels Academy expressed the citizens’ passion for education. Amenities such as good bridges, wide plazas and orchards lent an air of comfortable living and prosperity.

These specifics are not random. Koch intentionally illustrated New Braunfels at its best. People were proud to hang the view in their homes or businesses and be able to point out their buildings. The city leaders used the panorama to sell the city to new businesses to promote growth. New Braunfels now stood out from other towns; Koch had drawn birds eye views of San Antonio and Austin and now New Braunfels was among the big guys.

The Sophienburg Museum sells prints of the 1881 Birds Eye View of New Braunfels in Sophie’s Shop. You can purchase your own sepia-toned or colored print. Be it Landa’s Rolling Mill, Rennert’s Brewery or the Turnverein’s equipment fields, you will have fun recognizing buildings and places and finding out more about New Braunfels history from Augustus Koch’s unique incredible view.

Sources: “Patterns of Progress: Birds Eye Views of Texas”, Amon Carter Museum, 2006; View and Viewmakers of Urban America: Lithographs of Towns and Cities in America, by John William Reps, p 184-186; Brenham Daily Banner May 29, 1881; Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, Koch, Augustus (October 15, 1834-1901); News+Media, “Cover Artist: Augustus Koch”, Saturday Oct. 1, 2016; Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc., “Antique Maps by Augustus Koch”; https://texasartisans.mfah.org/digital/collection/p15939coll5/search/searchterm/WM-TA-KochAugustus; https://www.Geologywriter.com; https://preservingperkasie.com; https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/a-matter-of-perspective/Content?oid=11439594; https://www.boisestate.edu/sps-cihp/atlas-2/idyllic-settlement/

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

The best part of the local newspaper, for me, has always been the “society pages”. Since the Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung’s first issue back in 1852, there was always a section for local news called Lokales (German for local). This section described events, weddings, the births of babies and funerals. It told you who visited town and of people’s visits to other towns, states and countries. Lokales touched on everything from fishing stories and new building projects to accidents and criminal activities — – in short, all the noteworthy incidents which happened during the week preceding publication.

Lokales carried longer articles by a part-time employee of the paper named Bohemian John. Bohemian John travelled extensively around Comal and neighboring counties riding horseback or with a horse and buggy. He represented and sold subscriptions to “Die Tante” or “the aunt” which folks back then fondly and regularly called the Zeitung; I’m not sure why. Bohemian John wrote weekly reports of his travels which included publishing of the names of new subscribers but more importantly just what the heck was happening out in the County. He knew everything that was going on. Over the years, I have read many of Bohemian John’s contributions and for some reason or other, I never thought about who the man behind the pseudonym was. Now, suddenly, I am curious.

I did a little scatter-plotting research. Bohemian John was John Mickesch or Mikesch. With a name, I could now learn about the man and so onward and upwards or perhaps sideways….

In 1854, John, a newborn infant, accompanied his father Jacob, mother Marie nee Weselic and his two older sisters on a three-month voyage which took him from Sobeslav, Budweis, Bohemia (in today’s Czech Republic) to Texas. The family left behind five dead children. His father Jacob became a farmer but added to the family coffers by also freighting; basically, he was a truckdriver only he used a wagon and team of 10 oxen. By the time John was 13, he was periodically joining his father in the freight business. He wrote about those times in some of his newspaper articles. On one particular trip in 1869, his father had taken ill in Victoria and he went to help.

What we experienced was no joking matter. We had ridden several miles in rain and came to a creek. When I said “Say, John (Nowotny), I believe that is a deep creek!” he laughed and urged his horse into the water. Plump! His horse disappeared from under him. Luckily, he was a good swimmer and his horse also got out again. But our provisions and bedding were gone. What to do now? A Negro on horseback came to us and told us that the water was 25 to 30 feet deep and we needed to go several miles upstream to a new bridge. Walking on the sleepers for this new bridge, we carried our saddles and what little effects we had across to the other side and pulled our horses after us. We caught up with Valentine Schumann, Ed Schertz and Oswald Jung and camped on this side of the Guadalupe (near where Cuero would be established).

The next day we rode through rain until we came to Victoria. My father still lay very sick. Mr. Schumann had recuperated and could drive his own team again. My father did not recognize us. John rode back to drive my father’s team. Some of the 10-oxen team had died. I stayed until Thursday. The next morning, I found my father sitting up in bed. It was, I believe, the happiest moment of my young life.

I now drove father’s team and John Nowotny rode on home. He soon came back with Adam Daum of Mission Valley whose brother John had also become ill down in the Indianola Prairie. John had already been buried. Several other waggoners died that year down there. It took a month to get back to New Braunfels. To list all misery and hardships endured on that one trip would take up all the space in the “Tante” and I believe that the youth of today (1903) cannot have any conception of the hardships that were endured on those trips.

The youth of 1903? Pshaw! John, the youth of today might not even listen to your story.

For a taste of Bohemian John’s basic style, I give you a bit of his folksy banter from his report published January 26, 1903.

Everyone knows that a sort of rheumatism has had me by the “Schlaffitcher” (collar?). However, my Bohemianess has quickly subdued the evil, and I now again feel good so that I want to tear trees out by the roots. If only trees weren’t so big and deep-rooted. Readers, you can admire me this week as [I am] the bailiff for the Grand Jury.

Met Rudolph Gloff of Clear Springs last week in New Braunfels. He is moving to Brenham and instructed me to have the “Tante” sent to him. Also saw Mr. Alfred Klein in town. He is the son of our “Rittergutsbesitzer” (Lord of the Manor) Carl Klein, and who, on the 17th of January was married to Miss Frieda Link. That the “Tante” will go weekly to visit the young couple from now on is “eine alte Sache” (“an old thing” or self-evident).

John Mickesch married Karoline nee Fenske in 1881, and they had five children. He lived most of his life in the Bracken and in the Schönthal area where he farmed. He died in New Braunfels in 1934. This staunchly Catholic man had served the community as a school trustee and county commissioner as well as newspaper reporter and was held in high esteem. He is buried in New Braunfels Cemetery near his father and mother.

In 1899, Bohemian John was heralded as the first Zeitung correspondent. His articles on the state of the county continued almost weekly well into 1907. They create a vivid picture of everyday people in the rural hill country landscape of the time. Bohemian John’s style and passion make this early social/gossip columnist’s reports on life’s myriad details fascinating and a joy to read.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives collections; Oscar Haas collections; Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung collection.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg

St. Nikolaus is thought to be the forerunner of our modern Santa Claus. Like other old legends, there are many variations of the St. Nikolaus story. He was from Turkey and in the 4th century entered the seminary. He soon became the Bishop of Myra, Asia Minor, and won many converts. Because of his popularity, the Romans imprisoned him. Finally, the new emperor, Constantine, released him from prison and even made him a church council member. He was known for selling off his own items and then giving the money to the poor. He would commonly leave coins in peoples’ shoes and dedicated his entire life to serving people who were sick and suffering. This is how he gained his saint status, and is what inspired St. Nikolaus Day celebrated on December 6.

One well-known story of St. Nikolaus involves a dowry for a father’s three daughters. In the third century, it was common for fathers to offer money to prospective husbands. However, one poor father with three daughters did not have money to do this. St. Nikolaus paid for all three daughters’ dowries by leaving gold in their shoes.

St. Nikolaus Day was celebrated in different ways. In Italy, this day was celebrated with feasts, gift-giving, and festivals. In Germany and the Netherlands, children would leave their shoes in front of the fireplace or front door the night of the 5th and find presents in them in the morning. Because of Nikolaus’ generosity, he became the patron saint of children in several countries.

During the Protestant Reformation, St. Nikolaus was banished from most European countries. The Dutch made him the protector of sailors and began the tradition of children filling wooden shoes with treats. Americans went from wooden shoes to leather shoes to long socks, even stretchable panty hose. In American New England, where the Dutch settled, they spelled St. Nikolaus “Sint Nikolass” which, with time, became “Sinterklass” and finally Santa Claus.

Clement Moore wrote the poem, “The Night Before Christmas” and he described St. Nikolaus as a little man in a red robe with a belly that “shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.” This description contradicted the vision of a tall, stately man in a red Bishop’s robe trimmed in fur with a long white beard as described before. It also smashed St. Nikolaus into Christmas Eve and away from his saint day.

Then cartoonist Thomas Nast drew a picture of what he thought Santa looked like for Harper’s Weekly in 1881. Nast’s picture definitely put on weight. He looked like the Santa of today. As with the Christmas tree, St. Nikolaus was brought to Texas by German immigrants. For the last fifteen years, our St. Nick at the Sophienburg has been a combination of several versions from those stories. He wore a hooded red robe trimmed with animal fur and had a long beard. Nikolaus speaks only German and hollers out to the children, “Kannst du beten?” or “Can you pray”? and without even understanding what he said, the wide-eyed children say, “Yes, I can pray”.

The Sophienburg Museum & Archives has hosted St. Nikolaus for forty-plus years, with several versions of the Saint. We wish to pay tribute to one of them — the quiet, unassuming man who brought life to St. Nikolaus here for the past fifteen years, Michael Gene Krause.

Michael was born in New Braunfels, Texas, and raised on the family ranch about 15 miles outside of town. A descendant of several German families who helped found New Braunfels, he learned to speak German first and learned English in elementary school. He grew up on the ranch as an only child and only grandchild on both family sides. He was an inquisitive child and as a teen became interested in herpetology. He actually had a functioning snake stick. Michael chose to wear a white shirt and tie every day of high school to honor his father who was in a management position at City Public Service in San Antonio. His father held a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UT-Austin and was involved with the planning of the South Texas Nuclear Plants.

Michael was a 1974 graduate of Canyon High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with specializations in Nuclear and Heat Transfer from the University of Texas at Austin — with highest honors. Michael finished his Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering with the same nuclear specialization at UT in 1984 and then went on to work for 36 years at the University of Texas at Austin at the UT TRIGA Nuclear Research Reactor. Michael was very good at his job managing and maintenance of the UT TRIGA Nuclear Reactor. He often gave training demonstrations and lectures to nuclear operators in other countries, including Egypt, Malaysia, Morocco, Thailand, and Algeria. During his work at UT, and after retirement from there, he continued operation of the family ranch, eventually becoming its owner.

Michael and his wife Connie, were active in New Braunfels’ historical community. He was a member of several local organizations including the Sophienburg Museum and Archives, the Comal County Genealogy Society, the German-American Society, the New Braunfels Conservation Society, and the German-Texan Heritage Society where Michael was president for several years. Michael was also well-known in helping folks locate ancestors’ graves using divining rods. He was a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and along with his appearances as a German-Texan Saint Nikolaus at the Sophienburg, he played the part for many other Central Texas groups since 1995. Michael Krause passed away in July after a short illness, leaving his wife Connie and many, many friends to miss his sense of humor and wry smile.

St. Nikolaus will be at the Sophienburg Museum & Archives again on Sunday, Dec. 5. Call the museum to RSVP for either the 5pm or 6:30pm session. $5 per family.

Sources: Around the Sophienburg, Myra Lee Goff; Michael Gene Krause by Connie Krause; Sophienburg Museum personal recollection.

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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 forests of Odenwald, the property of the Count of Erbach. The Count’s father had spent a lifetime collecting antiquities and antlers; the palace has one of the largest and oldest deer and roebuck antler collections in Europe. Young Ernst often walked through the Hirschgalerie at the palace, drawn to the variety and strangeness of the many abnormal antlers — antlers that displayed unusual arrangements and number of prongs.

Dosch graduated from the University of Giesen in Forestry and in 1848, he followed other students to the fabled land of “Texas”. He met young men on board the vessel “Louis” who became lifelong friends and business partners: Julius Dressel, Ludwig von Lichtenberg, G. Theissen, the Dittmar brothers and Ulrich Rische.

Ernst’s Texas story began when he settled with his new friends and some of the Vierziger at the Darmstaedter Farm (present day Danville area in Comal County). The Vierziger or “The Forty” or the Darmstaedters, were a group of about 40 young men from the Darmstadt area who were recruited by Prince Carl and the Adelsverein to set up a utopian socialistic colony in Texas (see https://sophienburg.wpenginepowered.com/?s=Darmstadt for more information). Almost immediately, the marvelous hunting possibilities in Texas took hold of him and he began to collect his own antler specimens.

Socialism was not for Ernst, and he joined up with the local Texas Rangers for a brief stint. He is later often referred to as Capt. Dosch because of this. In 1851, Dosch and his shipmate von Lichtenberg bought Lot #55 (202 S. Seguin) in New Braunfels. After Dosch constructed a building on it, he, with partner Rudolph Nauendorf, opened a store/saloon. This little building became the Star Exchange Saloon and now sits at Old Town at Conservation Plaza.

The newspaper says that times were tough and Dosch moved his business to San Antonio. His friend Ulrich Rische took over the saloon. Buying a lot on Commerce Street, Dosch and a Mr. Wiener opened a saloon and soon built up a nice clientele. In 1861, the outbreak of the Civil War sent Dosch off to Mexico where he lived in Piedras Negras and Monterrey where it seems he made a great deal of money. Dosch then travelled back to Germany in 1863.

On his return to San Antonio in 1866, Dosch got Ulrich Rische to sell the New Braunfels saloon and join him on Commerce Street. Their saloon was advertised as Dosch and Rische in the newspapers, but was commonly known as “The Deer Horn Bar”. Décor of the bar was an eclectic mix of German gingerbread woodwork and the ever-increasing collection of Dosch’s abnormal antlers. Folks visiting the city made a point of stopping to gawk at the more than 600 antler specimens on view. They had to pay attention to the unusual closing times though: 8 pm on weekdays and closed all day Sunday.

Dosch was respected by both the Anglo and German communities in San Antonio. He worked on the elections of friends, petitioned the city council for changes in statutes and advocated for new state laws to change deer season to August thru December (for some reason, the law said you could shoot deer from January to July!). Dosch was a charter member of the San Antonio Texanische Schuetzenverein and its president in 1857. He was a frequent prize winner at shooting meets and festivals across the Texas Hill Country. He presented an old rifle to the New Braunfels Schuetzenverein that he had used in the very first German-Texan Shooting festival on July 4, 1849, in New Braunfels.

Ernst was 81 years old when the Deer Horn Bar closed its doors in 1905. The saloon had had a good run, 36 years, and was known as the oldest, continuously owned and open bar in San Antonio at that time. His fantastic antler collection was moved to storage.

Ernst Dosch died in 1906, but his legacy does not end then. In a wonderful quirk of history, Albert and Emile Friederich open a bar in 1896. They, too, love antlers; Emile even makes furniture out of the horns. Their “Buckhorn Saloon” acquired the Dosch antler collection prior to 1920 and added it to its own. The Buckhorn Saloon (and I hope some of Ernst Dosch’s abnormal antlers) lives on and amazes and entertains San Antonio visitors today.

There is one more memorial to Ernst Dosch. When Carl J. Iwonski drew his view of New Braunfels in 1856, he included the figures of Dosch, Dr. Wilhelm Remer and Viktor Bracht. Ernst Dosch is on horseback, looking over the new town of New Braunfels, with his trusty rifle casually laying across his right shoulder. Don’t you just know he is thinking of his next set of antlers?

By the way, you can purchase a great reproduction of Iwonski’s 1856 view of New Braunfels at Sophie’s Shop in the Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

Sources: Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung Collection; Freie Presse für Texas, San Antonio 1880-1906; Galveston Daily News, 1870-1890; “German Businesses of San Antonio”, Dana Pomykal; Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas, p495; Archives collections: 0009 Haas and 1020 Dressel; Old Town at Conservation Plaza; https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/archives-1892-shooting-fishing-abnormalantlers/; https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook.

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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 does not include political refugees from previous periods of political unrest.

There were as many as 4,000 forty-eighters who came to America. Many of the Forty-eighters were young men in their twenties and thirties willing to risk their future. Many of them came from the southwestern Germanic states, from towns like Baden, Hesse, Wurtemburg, the Palatinate, and the Rhineland. Many were highly educated professionals: journalists, soldiers, physicians, pastors, bankers, engineers, lawyers, innkeepers and merchants. And many were “free-thinkers” or even atheistic in their views.

In the book, The Forty-eighters, edited by A.E. Zucker (1950), eleven professors put together a list of several hundred of these men who fled to America. The list includes six who emigrated to Texas — and interestingly enough, five of them have ties to New Braunfels. Let’s take a look at these guys.

Eduard Degener (1809-1890) was the son of a wealthy banker in Braunschweig. He was privately tutored and studied in England. He ran in aristocratic circles even though he favored liberal, democratic ideals. In his elected government positions, he voted for proposals pushing a German republic. He was a member of the first German National Assembly at Frankfurt in 1848. When the revolution failed, Degener emigrated to Maine and in 1850 he made it to Texas. He lived near New Braunfels, and then in Sisterdale, as a gentleman farmer. Degener was a German Unionist and vocal abolitionist. Two of his sons were in the group of young men who tried to get to the North via ship from Mexico in 1862. Overtaken at the Nueces River by a force of Confederate soldiers, many of the men, including the Degeners, were killed. Eduard was put in prison in San Antonio for several months. After the war, he was a wholesale grocer in San Antonio, elected to two constitutional assemblies in Texas and also served in the Forty-first Congress for two terms. In 1865, Degener, with William Steves and William Heuermann, bought land in Comfort. There, they buried the remains of those massacred at the Nueces and put up the “Treue der Union Monument” in their honor.

Carl Daniel Adolf Douai (1819-1888) was born in Altenburg. He studied at the University of Leipzig, got his doctorate and then travelled to Russia where he became a private tutor. He also married a baroness. From 1846 to 1850, Douai was in and out of prison five times! His revolutionary writings and his experimental school made him a target. Leaving Germany in 1852, he settled in New Braunfels and founded his own school. By 1853, he had become editor of the San Antonio Zeitung in which he advocated the gradual abolishment of slavery. Public outcry against his editorials necessitated the help of the Sam Antonio Turnverein (Athletic Club) to protect his offices. He moved to Boston in 1856. He founded a kindergarten and school but after several years this closed due to his atheistic articles. Moving to New York in 1866, he opened another school and edited a socialist newspaper. Through it he became one of the first to popularize Marxist philosophy in the US. Douai wrote articles on philosophy, German grammar, world history and education, as well as short stories and a novel. He was “a brilliant and courageous writer, unafraid of offending his readers’ opinion.” He was also a musician who composed over 60 songs.

Julius Dressel (1816-1891), born in Geisenheim, Rhineland, was the son of a prosperous wine merchant. He studied history, literature and law in Heidelberg. Julius joined his father’s wine business and promoted Rhenish wines around Europe. The Dresel home welcomed guests with radical political ideologies; Julius soon joined the ranks of these revolutionaries and was present at their major meetings. At the failure of the 1848 Revolution, Julius was exiled and he emigrated to Texas where his brother Gustav was employed by the Adelsverein (The Society for the Protection of German Immigrants) as general agent. He was good friends with Lindheimer and many of the early New Braunfelsers. He bought land in Sisterdale but he first worked the New Braunfels farm of John O. Meusebach. Several years later, he moved out to the Sisterdale property. During the Civil War, his abolitionist leanings caused the Confederates to place him in prison in San Antonio. After release, Julius did business in the city until his brother Emil died in California. He became heir to the estate and moved his family to the Sonoma Valley where he took over his brother’s vineyard until his own death. Dressel wrote and published essays and poems in various journals and newspapers, many dealing with the subject of homesickness for his Vaterland.

Gustav Wilhelm Eisenlohr (1811-1881) was born in Loerrach, Baden. He studied theology in Karlsruhe, Halle and Heidelberg. He became the vicar in Emmendingen. Eisenlohr was very outspoken in his support of the 1848 Revolution. Accused of high treason and imprisoned, Gustav was given the choice of being sentenced or to leave Germany. Fleeing to Switzerland, he then emigrated to America in 1850 with his young son. He first took a pastorate in Richmond, Ohio. Eisenlohr then answered an advertisement for the pastorate of the German Protestant Church in New Braunfels. He was installed by Hermann Seele in 1851. After six years, he accepted a pastorate in Cincinnati. He edited and wrote many poems for the Protestantische Zeitlaetter (newsletter) for 20 years. It was “for the instruction and edification of thinking Christians.” Educated in Greek and Latin, this liberal theologian also translated the poems of Petrarch! Pastor Eisenlohr and his second wife returned to New Braunfels 22 years later to retire. Both he and his wife are buried in Comal Cemetery.

Oskar von Roggenbucke (1811-1883), born in Suhl, Thuringia, was a career soldier who attained the rank of major in the Prussian army. Like many other soldiers, he resigned his commission and joined the forty-eighters. A political refugee, he emigrated and came to Texas in 1854. He and his family stayed six months in New Braunfels before settling on a farm in Comfort. He was also an abolitionist. His two sons refused to become soldiers for the Confederacy. They joined the group of Germans headed for Mexico and were among those slaughtered on the Nueces River. Von Roggenbucke lived in Comfort until his death.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives: Oscar Haas Collection; Dresel Family History; The First Protestant Church Its History and Its People, O. Haas; The Forty-Eighters, A.E. Zucker; A Hundred Years of Comfort in Texas, G. E. Ransleben.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Some fifty years ago, New Braunfels was still a small town. You know, very Mayberry, where they pulled up the fire hydrants, rolled up the sidewalks and locked them in the bank every day at 6 p.m. At least they did from my child-eye view. One of the few things that I remember about drives through town on a summer Saturday evening, was stopping in front of Seidel’s Studio and Camera Shop to look at all of the beautiful portraits — brides, babies, families. The images captured the essence of the subjects in that one moment in time. Without knowing it, the Seidels became some of the greatest historians of New Braunfels. The Seidel story begins post WWI.

Otto Seidel and Johanna Schmidt met and married in Germany in 1921. Johanna’s mother and stepfather, Mary and Frank Bluemel, had emigrated to Texas in 1913 before the war. Mary wrote letter after letter to the Seidels, telling them wonderful things about New Braunfels and inviting them to come. The young couple took a chance and moved to New Braunfels early in 1922. Otto had a little photography experience from WWI, so it seemed only natural that he would want to buy a photography studio, which he did. The Seidels bought Bluemel’s Studio from Frank Bluemel.

Unlike today, a professional photographer was required to take pictures of things, everything from weddings to new buildings to accidents. Professional cameras in that day and age were big and bulky and absolutely nothing was automated. The photographer stood under a big black cover to look through the viewfinder at an upside-down image while holding a trough of black powder on a stick. A cotton string was lit and the photographer manually opened the shutter when the flame ignited the powder in the trough, creating a flash. In the best of conditions, say, standing in a room with said camera taking a picture of a single person, it could be very tough to get consistently good photos. Otto Seidel had a knack for it. Can you imagine having to travel with that giant thing? Travel they did. In the mid-20s, the Seidels were asked to take construction photographs of the McQueeny and Clear Springs Dams, with their huge, bulky camera complete with black powder flash, down inside the dam structures. They also were asked to take photos during construction of the Comal Power Supply /LCRA building. There were no aerial photos, no drones back then, so when asked to photograph all the tin roofs in New Braunfels, Otto climbed the tallest structure he knew of. He set up his huge camera and tripod on top of the Coll Street water tower. Yikes! In later years, the cameras were smaller, but the electric flash required an eighteen-pound battery pack slung over one’s shoulder to make it work.

Originally, the studio was located on Castell Avenue between the back of what is now The Phoenix Saloon and the Hinman House/Communities in Schools. By the early 30’s, Seidel’s Studio moved to the Hinman Building on W. San Antonio above Peerless Pharmacy (where Dancing Pony is now).

In 1939, the business relocated to a very modern art deco building at 453 W. San Antonio Street (now Keller Williams Realtors). The family home was right next door. The Seidels had two boys, Edmound and Rudy (born 1922 & 1924) who were involved in the business even as children. In his spare time, Otto would shoot pictures of Landa’s Park and surrounding New Braunfels. Seidel’s Studio printed hundreds of scenic post cards to sell in the drug stores for ¼ cent each. The children helped lay the cards out all over the floor of the studio to have room to dry.

In 1941, the Seidels became a direct dealer for Eastman Kodak Company. They processed customer’s film promising same day service. With the help of their son Rudy, they gradually broadened their services to include cameras and camera equipment sales, becoming Seidel Studio and Camera Shop. More services meant the need for more space. They enlarged the building in 1951. Rudy took over the business in 1955. They doubled their footprint again with an expansion in 1957. The building was remodeled in 1970, as were many other buildings at that time, to give it a Bavarian fachwerk look. The Seidel building finally was sold by the Seidel family in 2006. The building has been remodeled again in recent years to the ultra-modern stucco and glass version we see today.

The Seidels were very devoted to their work. Otto, Johanna, and Rudy worked all day and well into the evening six days a week, shooting studio portraits or business/industrial locations during the week followed by weddings on Saturdays. In the meantime, they had to process the film and print photos. Before color film, everything was shot in black and white. Color photographs were produced by “hand tinting” the black and white images with shear paints. On bridal pictures, the color of each gown was documented so that it could be tinted the proper shade. It was very time consuming. The Seidels were also called upon to shoot photos of accidents for the police or sheriff departments, many times in the middle of the night. Rudy and Otto saw some pretty gruesome sights. The year before the Studio sold, the Seidels calculated that they worked every day but 4 Sundays.

In 1970, the photography studio was sold to Vera Shaw, an eighteen-year employee, also from Germany. The studio operated as Braunfels Studio until 1989. Rudy continued with the camera shop. They sold state of the art cameras and equipment. The Herald-Zeitung bought many a camera there. After Otto Seidel died in 1976, the camera business was sold to Pat and Connie Miller in 1978. Shortly afterward, Herb Skoog learned that 48 years of negatives held in storage were about to be thrown out. Skoog encouraged the Millers to donate all of the Seidel Studio’s negatives to the Sophienburg Museum and Archives. The Seidel Collection at the Sophienburg contains approximately 25,000 photos and negatives.

The Seidel family of photographers chronicled the history of New Braunfels from 1922 to 1970. After that, their legacy was continued by those under their tutelage. Generations of New Braunfels residents have been captured on film by the Seidels. Were you one of the photos in the portrait window.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Reflections; Seidel Collection.

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