By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Recently I gave a speech about the history of First Protestant Church at the Texas German-American Society’s meeting. One of the stories in the history of this church is about the three large bells that are in the tower. These are not the ones that Prince Carl gave to the church and brought by the Schaefer family; those are installed on the front lawn. The tower bells symbolize change and you’ve heard over and over that “change” is inevitable. We all agree that it’s true, but we also know that change is extremely difficult.

Let’s look at how the First Protestant Church bells became the symbols of change and even of a changing society here in New Braunfels. Parishioner Christian Lange presented the three bells to the congregation in 1894 to be hung in the tower. The smallest bell has its name, “Germania”, engraved on its side. Germania represents the German heritage. It is three feet in diameter and thirty inches tall and rings a high tenor sound. The next bell is named “Columbia” and is forty-four inches in diameter and forty inches high. It signifies the loyalty toward the new country, America. The song, “Hail Columbia”, although it never mentions America, is a song whose words were written when America and France were at war with each other and was used to keep Americans united. The chorus goes:

“Firm, united, let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find”

“Concordia” is the largest of the bells and expresses the hope for harmony between the old and the new generations. It is almost six feet in diameter and four feet high. With its deep mellow voice, it forms the bass for the harmony of the blending of the three. If you look up the root of the word Concordia, you will find that it means “a peaceful coming together, not of one conquest over another”. Symbolically, the three bells represent a peaceful blending of the German and American cultures resulting in a new culture.

About two decades after those bells were singing in harmony, there was an opportunity for Concordia to show its strength. Here’s what happened:

Shortly after the end of the First World War, there arose an element of discontent in the church body. From the beginning, the church had been a German church – the German Protestant Church with everything in German- sermons, music, organizations, and confirmation classes. Now many parishioners wanted to make the transition to become truly American.

There was much strife during this time and the church split down the middle. There was an English service and a German service. There were two confirmation classes, two choirs, one in English and one in German. The English church service paid the utility bill for the English service and the German church service paid the utility bill for the German service. An attempt was made to solve this growing chasm by hiring an English-speaking pastor to join the German pastor, Rev. Gottlob Mornhinweg. He had been pastor at the church since 1899.

After many years, the problem was finally solved by hiring Rev. Edwin Berger who was proficient in both English and German and could give sermons in both. Rev. Mornhinweg was retained as an Emeritus Pastor. After this tumultuous time, the name of the church changed from German Protestant Church to First Protestant Church. After WWII, the German influence became smaller and gradually the speaking of German all but faded away. The same situation was happening in the town of New Braunfels.

First Protestant strives to hold on to some of its German traditions a little like the town holds on to its “Germania” with Wurstfest, Weihnachtsmarkt, the German singing societies, Kindertanzen and Kindermaskenball. We have our fests and vereins, burgs, and bergs. Occasionally at First Protestant the choir sings an anthem in German and the pastor, Darryl Higgins always adds a German blessing.

Don’t think for one moment that “ Germania” didn’t suffer during this transition. It was hard. No doubt, the struggle goes on in other cultures as well, whether it is Hispanic, Black or Asian. The changes aren’t over yet as we go from a little town to a big city, but here’s hoping “Concordia” is strong and big enough to help peaceful transitions.

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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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