Another downtown building, the Phoenix Saloon owners Ross and Debbie Fortune, are applying for a Texas Historical Marker. The Phoenix Saloon history really does live up to the story of the Phoenix, a legendary bird that builds its own funeral pyre, throws itself into the fire, lays an egg in the ashes and hatches a new Phoenix bird. This legend has been used often as a metaphor for rebirth or resurrection. The metaphor fits the local Phoenix Saloon.

The property at the corner of east Castell and west San Antonio Sts., according to the late Roberta Mueller, was owned by Valentine Sippel, her great grandfather. Valentine married Anna Ossman and they had three children: Kaytrina, who was crippled, Henry, who was killed in the Civil War, and finally son John, who lived to be 50 years old by his own choice, when he committed suicide.

John Sippel married into the successful Gruene family by marrying Johanna Gruene. After six children, the marriage ended in a bitter divorce, according to family members. Sippel had built the Phoenix Saloon in 1871 and moved into the second floor. Christian Hohmann and Henry Meier operated a bar and billiard room on the first floor of the two-story building. H.R. Schumacker operated a brewery in the basement from 1872 to 1875, selling a keg of beer for $2.25 and a glass for 5 cents, the going rate at the time.

About 40 different persons are associated with the proprietorship, bartending of the saloon, and sometimes restaurant, too many names to put in this column. The building was also called by several names until 1895 when it was finally called the Phoenix Saloon and Restaurant.

Trouble

An unfortunate incident occurred in 1885 when proprietor Walter Krause fought with a customer named James Alexander. Testimonies of two men in the saloon that day (Harry Mergele and Emil Schertz), stated that Alexander asked Krause how much he owed and Krause told him a quarter. Alexander said that he would pay him after pay day. Krause took exception to this and called him ugly names. Alexander left the building to go to Naegelin’s Bakery (apparently he worked there) and returned with one dollar, put it on the bar and retaliated with more ugly names. Krause jumped him from behind the bar and they exchanged blows. Alexander then left the bar as Krause was bleeding near the eye. Twelve days later Krause died as a result of the wounds.

Beer garden and chili

One of the attractions of the Phoenix was its beer garden facing San Antonio St. Women were welcome out there, but not inside. Women never went inside a saloon. The beer garden was between the saloon and the old Comal County Courthouse facing San Antonio St. The garden was also accessible from Castell St. at the back of the building next to the Ludwig Hotel which was located in what is now the parking lot of Chase Bank. Sippel had built a small pool with a fountain in the garden containing gold fish, a large catfish, and even a baby alligator. It was a popular gathering place downtown. Bells hanging from the trees summoned waiters from inside.

Another big attraction was William Gebhardt’s cafe at the back of the saloon. Gebhardt developed a sort of stew using ground up ancho peppers that he called Tampico Dust. This extremely popular concoction caused Gebhardt in 1892 to move to San Antonio where his brother-in-law, Albert Kronkosky, Sr. helped him organize the Gebhardt Chili Powder Co. Gebhardt’s wife was Rosa Kronkosky, sister of Albert. Incidentally Albert Kronkosky, Jr. was a very successful businessman who eventually owned the San Antonio Drug Co. as well as being a major stockholder in Merck & Co. Thus the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation was founded.

Prohibition

In 1895 a fire caused damage to the saloon as well as Fritz Maier’s “German Advocate” newspaper on the second floor, but the Phoenix rose again. After the reopening of the saloon there were many proprietors and “when everything was going right, up popped the devil – PROHIBITION”. The advent of prohibition dealt a blow to the saloon world. In NB as early as 1887 the second floor of the Phoenix had become the headquarters of the Anti-Prohibition movement for Comal County. Prohibition was a national issue so each state was to vote either for or against. New Braunfels held rallies around the Plaza and when the vote came up, Comal County voted 100% against prohibition. ”Gambrinus”, the legendary inventor of beer, had many followers in Comal County. At that time there were four breweries in New Braunfels: Rennert Brewery, Dampmann Brewery, Guenther Brewery and New Braunfels Brewing Co. This last one managed to stay open by producing a “near beer” called Busto.

During WWI, prohibition had linked itself with patriotism. First saloons were closed to soldiers and then in a burst of wartime feeling in 1918 the state of Texas voted in favor of prohibition. Rumors of an illicit brewery have circulated in NB but there is no proof. In the basement of the Phoenix there is a hole in the wall that some have speculated was an underground tunnel, but it turns out that it was probably a storage place for coal for the heating system.

Prohibition went into effect January of 1920, but the Phoenix Saloon closed down from 1918 to 1922. Then came two financial blows to the country, especially the government – the Great Depression and the fall of the stock market. One solution to these problems for the government was to repeal Prohibition so that taxes could be collected from the sale of liquor. Prohibition was repealed by 1933.

Building expansion

In 1922 the building was bought by Albert Ludwig, who expanded the building and added a third floor for the Masonic Lodge #1109. Jacob Schmidt bought the building in 1927 and operated a clothing store for 60 years. Several other businesses followed from 1996.

The latest rise of the Phoenix occurred when the Fortunes bought the property and brought it back to its original purpose, a saloon that has music and even serves chili. The Phoenix has risen again and remains a historic site!

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The fall and failure of the Stock Market in 1929 was the beginning of an era in American history called the Great Depression. The statistics of this period are staggering. Almost half of the people in the United States had no jobs, homes or food.

Leading up to this period after WWI was a time of tremendous social change and all the turmoil that accompanies change. It was the 1920s. Women were demanding voting rights and ethnic groups were demanding equal rights.

Then the banks failed, the Stock Market fell and those who had saved or borrowed money, lost everything. Big cities seemed to be hit the hardest for that was where the factories were.

By 1931, the Great Depression was in full swing. Texas governor Ross Sterling declared a “Smile Day” in November of that year supporting the American Legion’s effort to alleviate the suffering that first winter. As if smiling could solve all the problems!

Records show that locally there were approximately 400 people affected known to be unemployed and in desperate condition. Jobs were mainly for men so there were many more people affected.

An organization calling itself the Associated Charities Group was organized to help those in need. This organization included a group of organizations that could easily be applied to today’s world, for these civic-minded groups have always been active: American Legion and Auxiliary, Concordia Singing Society, First Protestant Church and Sunday School, Jacob Schmidt Store, Women’s Civic Improvement Club, Comal County, Christian Science Church, Masonic Lodge A.F.A.M., St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Business and Professional Women’s Club, NB Fire Department, A.J. Rabe, Child Welfare Club, Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, Eastern Star, First Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Retail Merchants Association, and Lions Club. During that first year, 45 families were regularly helped.

Clothing drives were instigated by the Associated Christian Charities of America. Well known humorist Will Rogers performed in San Antonio and the proceeds were shared locally.

The local Lions Club was particularly busy. They distributed 1,400 pounds of beans that they had raised on their own experimental farm at the Comal County Fair Grounds. In addition, the club pledged a minimum of six full grown and fattened hogs a month. These hogs would be slaughtered and ready to be delivered to needy families.

Individuals and businesses had their own ways of helping out. For example, Kneuper Bros. Music Store next to the old Post Office did not repossess merchandise but allowed customers to pay what and when they could, sometimes as little as 25 cents a week. The brothers had added appliances to their merchandise so it was very important that customers could retain stoves, ice boxes and washers.

By the way, the Kneuper Bros. Store was the first business in town to have a television set in the early ‘50s. At night people would sit in front of the store window and watch the test pattern and a 5 minute film over and over.

Back to the 1930s. In my dad’s family there was a Depression story. Louis Adams, my grandfather, owned a butcher shop. During this terrible financial time, people would come in to buy meat without money. My grandfather told them that he would just write it on a slip of paper and they could pay when they could. I think he was able to do this because his source of meat was from his brother Bill Adams and the Adams Ranch. The Adams family helped a lot of people that way.

In 1931 Louis Adams died suddenly. My dad, who was left with the care of his mother plus his own family, was left penniless. Before Louis Adams died he had bought a three bedroom house on Comal St. which my grandmother then turned into a boarding house, mostly for her nieces. Their country school did not have a complete high school education, so they had to come to New Braunfels to finish school. The parents of these nieces brought ample produce from the farm to feed everyone at the house. Like my grandmother used to say, “You do what you have to do”. During this terrible time, President Herbert Hoover kept a message of resourcefulness as a way to solve problems. I think my family did that, but it wasn’t that easy for everyone.

One group of people that were affected were the farmers. Those who relied on crops and livestock were dealt another blow, the Dust Bowl and the boll weevil. The Dust Bowl was preceded by a long-lasting drought. Pictures of areas affected by this dust are hard to comprehend with clouds of dust moving across the land, pulling up plants by the roots leaving nothing but scorched earth.

Many of these farmers who had lost everything attempted to move towards the cities where they thought they had an opportunity to work and feed their families. When they got to the cities, there was no work and no transportation to return home. They survived on bread and soup lines supplied by various organizations, mainly the Red Cross. At the first opportunity they hopped on open train cars and moved from one place to another. These Hobos set up camps along the tracks, built fires to keep warm or cook whatever they were handed out in the cities.

Every big city had make-shift communities right outside of the city limits. They were called Hoovervilles because most Americans blamed the whole Great Depression on Pres. Herbert Hoover.

Here in New Braunfels, much of what we knew about the Depression came from newspapers and movies. Subtle little hints of the times can be found if you look hard enough at photographs of NB children at school during the 30s. No “store bought” clothes but dresses made of material from flour sacks. NB was fortunate to have the textile mill and Dittlinger Roller Mills. My generation even today sometimes suffer from what we call “Depression thinking”. We spent a long time appreciating handmade clothing articles. There’s a long way in between Homemade and Handmade.

Boys were lucky if they had cut-off pants from an older brother. None of the boys wore shoes and the girls went barefooted in the summer. I always wondered why, when we were constantly stepping on glass, sticker beds and rusty nails. We could have solved that problem by wearing shoes.

At the end of the 1930s the Great Depression was over, but taking its place in history was a period of much more magnitude when the US entered WWII.

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Cultural traditions around the world are alike in many ways. In other words, a common thread links us together as human beings. Take for example, the German tradition of the Kaffeeklatsch compared to the English tradition of Afternoon Tea. Although these traditions share a common purpose, they are vastly different in practice.

Broken down, the word Kaffeeklatsch means “coffee gossip”. The meaning of the word will tell you a lot about what goes on at this event. Naturally, coffee is served and “klatsch” means to gossip. The Kaffeeklatsch was a women’s activity. Now, that is assuming that only women gossip. I know that’s not true because women get lots of information from men.

The klatschen group, meeting in the afternoon, usually consisted of four to twelve women who had something in common, like family, interests, etc. The two groups that I remember as a child were both family groups, my mother’s Roessing relatives and my paternal grandmother’s Rose relatives. As a child, I didn’t have much to contribute but I learned a lot. This is where I picked up a lot of German. My mother’s family spoke mostly English, but my grandmother’s group spoke mostly German. Both groups would switch into German when they were saying something that they didn’t want the children to understand.

The best dishes were used. You honored your guests with the best that you had to offer – no paper products, fresh flowers picked from the yard and cloth tablecloths and napkins.

The food at the Kaffeeklatsch consisted of sandwiches of kochkäse, cucumber on crème cheese, sardine spread and the traditional open-faced sandwich with butter and thinly sliced venison sausage. In the early days, water cress gathered from the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers was spread on white bread and crème cheese. During WWII, Spam salad sandwiches made their appearance for the first time. There was always one special cake and cookies on the side. The old NB cookbooks are full of special cakes that every woman knew how to bake but that took a long time. My favorites were the Blitzkuchen (lightning cake because it did look a little like lightning struck it), the Potato Cake, (a chocolate cake with a whole cup of mashed potatoes), Sauerkraut Cake with a full cup of sauerkraut. The cookies and candies were loaded with pecans because they were so prevalent.

The English tradition of afternoon tea, on the other hand, was much more formal. Recently I had Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. Compare their menu with the Kaffeeklatsch menu:

Smoked salmon pinwheel sandwiches, Cucumber sandwiches with saffron loaf, Free range egg salad sandwiches in a croissant, Cognak Park Pate’ on sundried potato bread; then, Lemon curd tartlets, Chocolate tartlets, Rose Petal shortbread, Parisian macaroons, and their specialty–Scones with butter, clotted cream and raspberry preserves.

A delightful little book about tea by Muriel Moffat tells that at the Empress Hotel the drinking of tea, whether hot or cold, began more than 5,000 years ago in China. According to Moffat, the Chinese Emperor Sheen Nun in 2737 discovered tea by accident. The legend goes that Sheen Nun was resting in his garden sipping boiled water. A few dried leaves fell from a tree into the cauldron of water. The result was a delicate aroma and a change in the water color to brown. He tasted it and found it pleasant so he told his servants to cultivate the plant called “Camellia Sinensis” and tea was born.

The tea culture spread throughout China and for many centuries the purpose of tea was medicinal and spiritual. Legend says that the English started drinking tea in 1650 when King Charles II’s queen brought her tea habit with her from Portugal. Before tea was introduced, the British ate two meals a day – breakfast and dinner. The royals found that another meal was needed between the two meals.

In 1840 Ann Marie, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, after experiencing a sinking feeling late in the afternoon, began Afternoon Tea. Inviting her friends over, at about 4:00 o’clock, they were served small cakes, sandwiches and sweets and of course, Tea.

Afternoon Tea was a social event enjoyed by ladies who wanted to be seen at the right place at the right time and with the right company. That was not the case with the Kaffeeklatsch. This group was not interested in being seen by anyone else and the right place was in the home.

You have probably heard of “High Tea”, but have you heard of “Low Tea”? High Tea was served at the dining table or kitchen table and was less a social event but more of a meal for the manual laborer and farmer. Served at 7 or 8 p.m., it consisted of meat, cheese, thick sandwiches, coddled eggs, scones and pies, and was the main meal of the day. “Low Tea” on the other hand was generally served from a low table in the parlor and was more of a social gathering. Low Tea eventually evolved into Afternoon Tea.

The Sophienburg is working on an exhibit of Grimm Fairy Tales and one of the tales is “One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes”. The story has to do with tables of food and the exhibit shows this with its collection of miniature tables set with tea sets. Although this particular story is not directly about Kaffeeklatsch and Afternoon Tea, there is a social connection to food. Look for this big exhibit in September.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Have you ever experienced a Christmas where you thought you would get nothing from Santa?

I am sure that there are several good children that have worried about getting gifts due to their parents’ circumstances. During the Great Depression, it was the generosity of angels that helped out needy children in New Braunfels.

The U.S involvement in World War I lasted from 1917-1919. During that time, everything went to the war effort to support our soldiers, causing restrictions (read shortages) of meat, wheat, sugar, eggs and more. Once the war was over, with a short readjustment, the economy rebounded with gusto. Oil was flowing, business was booming, new construction was up and all was well again for nearly a decade. Texans were looking to the future, that is, until the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929.

Texans were not initially affected by the downturn. In fact, they were optimistic that it was a little recession, a short-lived blip on the radar. The cotton crop was already harvested and sold at very good prices. The population had grown by 25 percent. New Braunfels’ new building projects were still being built in 1931. Then reality hit. The battered economy caught up to New Braunfels.

Many people did not have money to spend. Business suffered. The one-year-old Montgomery Ward store closed along with others. Men were out of jobs. Some lost their farms. Some lost their homes. Women went to work doing what they could. Many people were hard pressed to survive. Some went to the poor house with their family. Others reached out to charities for help with food and clothing. In 1931, Christmas joy was a faraway memory for many.

To lessen the heartache of a Christmas without presents for the children, the Lions Club joined with New Braunfels firemen to collect toys. The Lions Club of New Braunfels (chartered April 1925) was founded on the basic tenets of loyalty and service to community, state and nation. The Lions jumped right in to make Christmas better for the children of the less fortunate with a city toy drive.

Unlike the toy drives of today, (think KENS-5 Bill’s Elves or Marines’ Toys for Tots), they were not asking for new toys or monetary donations. They wanted old, used, castaway toys. The idea was for the Lions to do the collecting and the firemen to repair and refurbish the toys.

The wheels may be turning in your head thinking, “my child would flip out if they got a broken toy.” Perhaps, but toys were made differently in the ‘20s and ‘30s and were not generally considered disposable. They were made to last. We are talking metal scooters, tricycles, pedal cars, velocipedes, kiddie-cars, doll buggies, mechanical toys and wagons (these are all of those wonderful things that catch your eye in the big antique stores). Replacing a wheel or putting on a new coat of paint made it all new again.

Calls went out for old toys beginning in November. The toys were collected by Lions Club members and dropped off at Central Fire Station (now the New Braunfels Fire Department Museum on Hill Avenue). Why partner with the fire department? At that time the New Braunfels Fire Department was made up of approximately seven to eight paid men located in three stations with 60 on-call volunteers. The paid men were basically confined to the fire station premises during their shift when not on a call. After daily chores were completed, they had some down time to work on repairing and painting the toys. Paint was furnished by Louis Henne Company and Jacob Schmidt & Son provided cloth for new doll dresses, which were made by Mrs. Walter Staats, wife of the fire chief. The campaign was deemed a success as there was an incredible number of toys turned over to Associated Charities for delivery to identified needy families.

As the Depression dragged on, the Lions and Fire Department continued their Christmas Toy Drive. In 1932, the Lions and Fire Department were already organized and ready for the toy campaign. They enlisted cloth donations from Eiband and Fischer and paint donations from Cameron Lumber Company.

By 1933, the firemen were not only repairing toys, they were also in on the delivery of the toys with Santa (the best part). That year, Santa named Chief Staats and his firemen as Special Agents to Santa Claus, meaning that the toys, along with apples and oranges provided by the American Legion Auxiliary, were loaded up on a big red firetruck for special delivery to each and every recipient.

In 1934, the firemen rode the big hook-and-ladder truck to make deliveries themselves to those children identified by the Comal County Relief Board. By 1935, the recipients were identified from relief rolls along with input from the elementary school principals. Each year, the Lions Club provided new toys to help meet the demand of needy children.

The toy drive continued through 1936. In 1937, the fireman’s and Lions Christmas toy program was postponed when an investigation determined that there was no longer a need. However, in late December of 1937, an urgent plea went out to the public from the Junior Chamber of Commerce for old toys.

So, here we are. It is December. The economy is rocky. Inflation is high. Food prices are high, and people are struggling. I hope that you will follow the lead of the Lions Club and New Braunfels Fire Department to do something good for your fellow man and for the community. If you have a little extra in your pocket, be an angel, pay it forward to a non-profit organization or something that warms your heart … and theirs.

I love that New Braunfels is a generous community. The number of people that volunteer their time, talents and money to non-profit organizations in New Braunfels proves it. We take care of each other. I wish you joy this Christmas season!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Handbook of Texas History Online.

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

When the Museum is quiet, like it has been for the past few weeks, I like being in the exhibit hall. In fact, my favorite thinking spot is sitting on a bench in there, just listening. In the silence, one can almost hear the sounds of New Braunfels’ past; the wheels of a carriage on unpaved streets or the voices of children responding to the old teacher’s bell. I seem to be drawn to the wall where our immigration story begins. As I stare at the whiskered faces of the town’s first leaders, I wonder about the women of the day. Do they only take honors for being strong pioneer women who love and birth children while tending the garden and the house? What of the first women leaders? The Archives hold their stories.

One of the first we hear about is Mrs. Margaret Ullrich. Her husband, George Ullrich was hired by the Adelsverein as the wagon master. Margaret and their 3-year-old child rode with him as he guided the first group of emigrants from the coast to their new home in New Braunfels. I’ve often thought about my Texas ancestors and I can tell you that riding and/or walking 150 miles up from the coast to New Braunfels is not my idea of fun, especially with a 3-year-old! Margaret and all the women that survived that trip get my vote as super-heroes.

Mrs. Louise Benner, wife of New Braunfels Postmaster Adolph Benner, became one of the first post-mistresses ever appointed in the United States (and first in New Braunfels) upon his death in 1857. Mrs. Benner served until after the Civil War, at which time she was promptly replaced by Christian Holtz. During Reconstruction, all public servants that had served in the Confederacy were replaced. Incidentally, there has only been one other woman to serve as postmistress in NB – Charlsie Witham in 1927.

Lina Chapa Delgado, born in 1906, was a nurse’s aide before becoming an LVN. She is thought to be the first Certified Midwife in New Braunfels. She delivered over 1600 babies in more than 40 years of service to the community. Her first delivery was Juanita Castro in 1931.

The roles held by women, mostly as nurses and teachers, slowly changed. The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, gave women equal rights to vote and serve on juries, but it took a while for that to make its way to New Braunfels. In 1951, Miss Etelka Lucas became the first City Corporation Court Judge (equivalent to our current Municipal Court Judge), a position she held until 1955. She was the first woman ever to serve in any judicial capacity in Comal County.

In January of 1955, Mrs. Robert (Gretchen) Uhr was the first woman juror ever seated in Comal County. In fact, the entire 6-person jury for which she was selected was all female, which was quite something for that time

Also in January 1955, Mrs. Frank Oprysnek became the first woman to serve on an official governing body of New Braunfels (before we had City Manager format). The 43-year-old widow of the late Commissioner Frank Oprysnek was appointed over nine other applicants to fill the unexpired term of her husband. The job paid $125 per month plus a $50 expense account. In today’s dollars, that would be approximately $1206 per month with a $482 expense account. Her duties as assigned by Mayor Schwandt included parks and plazas, cemeteries, city hall, library, hospital and sewage disposal plant.

In 1961, the first woman elected to the Comal County Board of School Trustees was Mrs. Robert (Bessie) Long, a former home demonstration agent and teacher.

There were plenty of women running in the most recent Texas primary, but it took a long time to get there. It was 118 years after the creation of Comal County that a woman was elected as Comal County Clerk. In 1964, Mr. Otto Rohde, the Clerk of twenty-five years, died. Mrs. A. D. (Irene Staats) Nuhn, long time county employee, was appointed to fill his position until the election. She subsequently ran and was elected, holding that position for 16 years.

1964 must have been a really good year for women because Mrs. Clinton (Margaret) Naegelin, retired schoolteacher, became the first woman elected to City Council. She also went on to become the first woman Mayor Pro Tem and Mayor, all within three years!

Women also began making their mark in the business world, in positions mostly occupied by men. Miss Angelina Morales succeeded her father, Charlie Morales, as manager of Morales Funeral Home in March 1969. She was the first woman mortician and funeral director in New Braunfels.

In 1970, accomplished artist and realtor, Mrs. Claudine Hovestadt, was elected first woman president of New Braunfels Board of Realtors. Women were not just moving up locally. Mrs. Harry (Clara) Heidemann, President & manager of Natural Bridge Caverns, which was dedicated August 5, 1964, was elected the first Woman President of National Caves Association in 1971.

The last on my list of firsts is Olivia Perez. She made her mark by becoming the first female patrol officer of New Braunfels Police Department in 1976 while proudly carrying on her family’s tradition of law enforcement (like her two older brothers). Perez was one of three females in the Police Academy, but she scored the highest marks of all 33 students in her class.

These first women paved the way for others. Their service to our beloved community really prepared the way for all of us as we strive to make New Braunfels the best it can be.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

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How easy we ladies have life today compared to the old days in the 1850s. “You’ve come a long way, baby” is the understatement of our time.

A woman’s role in society has changed dramatically due to not only modern technology but changes that occurred in society such as the equal rights to all humans, including women’s right to vote. Since World War II, a large percentage of women work outside the home. One hundred sixty years ago, women worked at home starting early in the morning until late at night.

Women in the old days were primarily in charge of the living quarters, food, clothing, and children. The typical woman would start her work day very early working all day to accomplish all that was necessary for survival. The one room log house she lived in with her family was cold in winter and hot in summer, but it was better than the tent the settlers lived in on the coast and while traveling to New Braunfels. Floors were added later to keep bugs from invading the house. Furniture legs were placed in dishes of water or kerosene, like a small moat. Bedbugs were kept out or in, using the same method on the legs of the bed.

As the family expanded, so did the house. A second room was added separated by a dogtrot, a covered, breezeway between the two rooms. Originally cooking was done outside but the two-room house allowed cooking to be indoors. The children typically slept in a loft above the dogtrot. The handmade furniture was made of oak, cypress, cedar or pine. Cedar was the choice wood because it repelled bugs. Trunks held the meager supplies that each immigrant was allowed to bring from Germany.

Electricity didn’t appear on the scene until the beginning of the 20^th century. Wood-burning stoves were not only used for cooking but also for heating. Most early houses had no window panes but had openings that were covered with animal hide. With no electricity, homemade candles and oil lamps took the place of lights but the “early to bed” philosophy made light unnecessary.

There is a reason that settlements sprang up around water sources. New Braunfels had two large rivers, the Guadalupe and the Comal. Drinking water was plentiful as a necessity for human survival. A very early water source in New Braunfels was the Comal River from which water was hauled by individuals in wooden buckets. At one time there was a path from Seguin Ave. crossing over to Comal Ave. and down the hill to the river. Piped water was a long time coming.

Clothes were washed outside in large iron pots heated on coals. Homemade soap was made by mixing ash and lard and then slicing it into chunks. The clothes cleaning process took up a lot of a woman’s time. People had very few clothes and tending to animals and the garden was dirty business.

At the Sophienburg Museum, there are many examples of clothing, some even brought over from Germany in the 1840s. Clothing was made of linen woven from flax. Cotton was available for making thread and yarn with a spinning wheel. Notice the picture of the thread or yarn measuring machine called the weasel. When the desired length was obtained, the machine made a popping noise, hence the children’s rhyme “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Sewing was a skill most women learned in Germany.

Growing and preparing food was the job of women. Gardens were mostly tended by women, using the very popular modern concept of growing food called “organic.” How? There were no chemicals and animals supplied the fertilizer.

Raising corn was a matter of life or death. Cornbread was made every day and took the place of the black bread that the Germans were used to. Nut trees, mulberry trees, blackberries and grapes were abundant. The Adelsverein provided coffee, salt, vinegar, and sugar.

Letters were sent home from Texas requesting that immigrants bring plows, axes, scythes, rakes, sewing needles and seeds of all kinds.

Most immigrants had small amounts of cattle. A small pen that was attached to the house held the milk cows and their calves. The calves were left in the pens and the cows were released to graze out on the open land since there was no fencing. At night the cows would come back to their calves and so it wasn’t necessary to round them up. Milk, butter and cheese of all kinds were made from cow’s milk. Another important food came from chickens mainly because of eggs but also meat. They scratched around the yard eating bugs not realizing that they were performing a service.

Spoilage of food was a big problem in the Texas weather. Meat had to be smoked or packed in lard for preservation. Crockery was important for this purpose but oak barrels were cheaper and larger than pottery. The barrels were constructed from large tree trunks and the crocks made from local clays.

Dr. Ferdinand Roemer told the story of the Shawnee Indians that would bring bear meat and bear oil for sale to New Braunfels. Supposedly bear meat was very tasty and contained a lot of fat right under the skin. The Indians brought the bear oil in skins and this oil was preferred in place of lard or other oil. Roemer said that when the Indians came to sell their bear oil they would each bring about 60 gallons. Bear oil needed no refrigeration.

Isn’t it interesting that the latest concept of food production is called “farm to table?”

Child bearing and care were primarily a woman’s job. In old New Braunfels, a sign of a woman’s worth had to do with how many children she had. There was another side effect of multiple children and that was that they helped men in the fields and women in the home.

At the Heritage Village with the Museum of Handmade Furniture there is an authentic kitchen from the 1800s. This free-standing rock kitchen was originally on the Breustedt house property. Most of the contents of this kitchen were donated to the museum by David Hartman. An icebox dates around the 1880s after the first railroad came to town and ice was available by rail. This kitchen and its contents can be viewed when the Heritage Society holds its annual Folkfest on April 9&10. Many of the old methods of survival and living are demonstrated at the festival like sausage making, open hearth cooking, sauerkraut making, quilt making, hand washing of clothes and many other exhibits.

Social changes involving women were a result of technological changes. Of one thing we can be certain: Technological advancements now will have a direct effect on the role of women in society in the future just as in the past. “How’re you going to keep them down on the farm, after they’ve seen Paree?” This song was written about men in WWI but I think the idea is appropriate for women as well.

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In 1998, the late Dr. Robert Govier, native New Braunfelser and volunteer at the Sophienburg, translated the 1898 Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, one hundred years later. The weekly newspaper is on microfilm at the Archives and had to be translated from German script to English.

Govier was looking for outstanding national and local events that might give clues as to how people lived in the very late 1800s. In additional other notable events, two events stood out, one being the Spanish-American War and the local big event which was the building of our present Comal County Courthouse. Stories about the shortest war in American history that began and ended in 1898 took up more space in the paper than all the other stories put together.

Spanish-American War

Here’s the Spanish-American War history in a nutshell:

Cuba was one of many colonies of Spain. Revolts broke out in 1895 in Cuba. Spain sent an army to crush the revolution. In the US, people were shocked by what was happening to the Cubans. This conflict in Cuba was a threat to American property owners who had invested vastly in Cuban sugar plantations. When the battleship, Maine, was blown up in Havana Harbor, the US Congress declared war against Spain on April 25, 1898. Spain ultimately lost the war plus all its other colonies in North America. The US took temporary control of Cuba as a protectorate.

New Braunfelsers were well aware of this war through the newspaper. The paper asked for volunteers to fight in the war and there was a list of items needed in Cuba. Most of the items I can understand, but not all of them. The list included summer dresses, quinine, lard, and various dried foods. Texas Gov. Hogg says he intended to enlist in the army. “One surmises he was rejected by being overweight” (Editor Kaiser). Hogg was known for his large size.

During this time, Lt. Col. Teddy Roosevelt trained his Rough Riders in San Antonio and the Zeitung congratulated him for their performance when they charged unswervingly toward the hidden enemy, forcing them into open combat and finally to flee. After training in San Antonio, the Rough Riders were sent to Florida and then taken to Cuba. Author James Adams from his book, “The March of Democracy” said: “The most noted minor engagement was at San Juan Hill where Roosevelt under C. Leonard Wood led the Rough Riders on foot (their horses were still in Florida) against the enemy.” Roosevelt made a name for himself as a rough and tumble leader with this battle which no doubt led to his being elected president later.

Roosevelt’s reputation was really enhanced in New Braunfels in 1905, five years after the end of the war, when he made a train stop here on his way from Austin to San Antonio. When State Senator Joseph Faust found out that Roosevelt was coming to San Antonio for a reunion of his former Rough Riders, he invited him to stop in NB to hear a song in his honor sung by 1,000 children. The president accepted the invitation and said he had always been interested in NB because of its unique history. The song by the children was written by Prof Baumann of the NB Academy. All Academy students plus students from Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School, plus all area school children were invited to sing to the president.

In addition, a group of young girls in Rough Rider costumes greeted the president. This was really a big thing because the girls had to sew their own costumes and history shows that these costumes showed up at many dances and parades at later times. For more information on this event, log on the Sophienburg.com and look for the column on June 30, 2009.

Comal County Courthouse

From beginning to end of the year, the war was covered in detail in the Zeitung. The other well-covered event was the building of our present courthouse. Every decision that was made about the contracts made headline news. The Commissioners Court had the responsibility of choosing an architect and a plan. This led to a spirited debate which was really big news. The conflict was finally settled but not until one of the commissioners refused to have his name on the cornerstone.

The cornerstone laying was May 19^th and the paper reported that the event was like a folk festival. Two bands, Schuz’s and Waldschmidt’s accompanied a long procession of flag-waving children to the old courthouse and then on to the new courthouse. The contractor was given all the items that were to be placed in a metal box and fitted into the cornerstone. This cornerstone was opened 100 years later. After this, all went to Gottleib Oberkamp’s Garden for lemonade and beer.

Recreation

As far as recreation was concerned, NB was a hopping place in 1898. Dances were held every weekend in dance halls all over town and in the country. A masked ball sponsored by the Fire Dept. #3 advertised an evening of “folly and tom foolery” at Matzdorf’s Hall, or how about a Children’s Masked Ball sponsored by the Women’s Support League, offering free coffee for children and adults paying 10 cents a cup. Possibly this dance, since it was on May 5, was the Kindermaskenball which in the past was traditionally held the first Saturday in May. Also at Matzdorf’s was a performance of all children, the purpose being to pay for starting a library. A surprise to me was the holding of at least six dances on Easter Sunday and two more on the Monday after Easter.

If dances were not your thing, you could take a train trip from NB to Austin to attend a Baseball game for $1.25 for the round trip.

If none of this entertainment appeals to you, I’ll bet the last one will. At the Gottlied Oberkamp’s Garden (Next to the Phoenix), a famous diver, Fenton, performed by diving from the roof of the high building into a basin of water only 3 ½ feet deep.

Then you could attend the Comal County Fair which organized this year.

Prejudice

Newspaper articles reflect the prejudice against minority groups, Native Americans, and particularly against women. All public offices were held by men, and women were not permitted to vote. That brought on some street demonstrations later on. Notice the subtle insult in this advertisement:

“B.E. Voelcker advertises Electric Bitters for the woman of the future who visits her clubs while her husband stays home taking care of the kiddies, as well as the woman who stays at home cooking and cleaning. A miraculous cure.” By the way, birth announcements were in the father’s name only.

Miscellaneous

Gold had been discovered in the Klondike and there were mentions of local farmers finding gold when they were digging water wells. Petrified mammoth were found in a gravel pit. “Circa Trova” or “Seek and you will find”.

These are just the highlights that stand out to me for the year 1898. If you want to read the rest of the story, the book, Neu Braunfelser Zeitung 1898 is for sale at Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg. You will definitely be entertained.

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Next Sunday the First Baptist Church will reach another milestone with the dedication of a Christian Life Center named the Bill and Gwen Arnold Ministry Center.

The first attempt to establish a Baptist Church in New Braunfels was in 1905 when the San Marcos Baptist Association purchased a lot on Seguin St. and built a small chapel for the fledgling group. The New Braunfels church was a mission; however, there wasn’t enough people, money or interest to keep the little church alive.

From 1905 to 1907 two pastors came and went and as a second attempt to interest an audience, a revival was held in a tent on the mission grounds. While the minister, Albert Ahrens was speaking, he was bombarded with eggs thrown from outside the tent directly at him. Nevertheless, the small group of about 12 Baptists gained eight new members through this tent revival.

Ahrens resigned followed by another preacher who resigned. Then the District Clerk of Comal County, C.W. Rice, a lay minister, became the pastor. Rice had six daughters and two sons, so that increased the number of members. Some of you may remember Rice’s children, especially teacher Esther Rice and Judge Clarence Rice. The Rice home on 191 N. Union St. in later years was used often as a church meeting place.

When the San Marcos Baptist Association ceased to provide money for the New Braunfels mission in 1912, and sold the lot on Seguin St., there was no place to meet, so the small mission folded. For ten years there was no organized Baptist church in town.

Reorganization

In 1922 the Baptist State Mission Board decided to reorganize the group even though there was no building. They arranged for Sunday School to be held in a small adobe building in the first block of S. Seguin Ave. and the Methodist Church allowed the Baptists to use their Church for services on Thursdays. Preaching was done by students from the San Marcos Academy. A missionary, J. Ernest Young, was sent to organize the group and he preached his first sermon on August 5, 1923. Once again the small group met in the home of Bro. Rice until they built a building.

After several pastors and several locations, Rev. H.A. Seymour convinced the group to purchase a lot on the northeast corner of Main and Union Sts. in Comaltown. This lot was on the northeast corner opposite the Rice home. In late 1927 a building was erected on this lot costing $2,500, built by my grandfather, A.C. Moeller. Until this building was complete, revivals were held “under canvas”. When complete, the building could house 100 people for a membership of 51 at that time.

Once again the pastor left at the end of the year. The women of the church came to the financial rescue by holding study groups and hosting the Association Annual Meeting at which they fed the delegates noon and evening meals “even though there was no running water or restrooms in the building”. These were tough times financially. The faithful friends of the German Baptist Association decided to appeal to the State Mission Board to help the New Braunfels Mission. The Board sent Bro. R. L. Wittner and for eight years he led the congregation through the Great Depression. In 1931 two Sunday School rooms were added by a church member at no cost and by 1933 membership had grown to 166.

Present lots purchased

In 1945 two lots were purchased at the corner of Cross and Guenther Sts. A rock church was built with a government surplus barracks building right behind it. Meanwhile the church building on Union St. was moved to W. San Antonio St. and eventually was used as the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The church continued to grow. Baptism by immersion is a central philosophy of the Baptist religion. Before 1948, all baptisms were in the Guadalupe River and some small children were baptized in a small fish pond. Most Baptist churches have indoor baptismal fonts.

Between the late 1940s and 1966, at least a dozen ministers were called. Then in May of 1966, Rev. Bill Arnold accepted a call to First Baptist in New Braunfels. He remained as minister until he retired in 1983.

Bill Arnold

Bill Arnold, a native of Corpus Christi, had been preaching since he was 19 years old at Jones Chapel outside Brownwood, Texas. Gwen Holleman and her parents attended a church in Brownwood and she was asked to sing a solo at a revival held at Jones Chapel. When Bill Arnold heard her sing, it was the proverbial “love at first sight”. They dated and married in 1950.

Soon after, he graduated from Howard Payne University and then on to the Southwestern Baptist Seminary. After completing this education in the seminary Bill spent three years in Mason for their first church, at which time two of their sons were born, Jim and David. The next church was at Ed Couch-Elsa for one year. After that he became the pastor in Aransas Pass from 1956 to 1966. Their youngest son, Billy, was born there. Arnold used to tell the story of his first funeral on the coast. Standing next to the coffin, the sand gave way and he slipped under the casket. What a beginning!

In 1966 Bill Arnold accepted a call to First Baptist Church in New Braunfels. It was here that he made a big impact not only on the congregation that he served, but on the whole town of New Braunfels. With his charismatic personality, he was a friend to all. It is estimated that he conducted the funerals of over 400 New Braunfelsers who were not members of his congregation. Bill Arnold was active in the Lions Club, Salvation Army, and served two terms on the New Braunfels City Council.

Perhaps what he was best known for was his association with a group of men who met at Krause’s Café every morning, rain or shine, at 7:00 a.m. There, Kermit Krause designated a tabled called a “Stammtisch”, meaning “a table reserved for regular customers”, for these men who were the “self- appointed problem solvers of every problem in New Braunfels”. That was their purpose. They enjoyed each other’s company and, no doubt, enjoyed the self-deprecating humor of Bill Arnold. Besides Krause and Arnold, others were S.D. David, Jack Ohlrich, George Goepf, Leonard Hitzfelder, John Doster, and Mitch Sacco. Incidentally, I don’t know how the Herald came up with the name Stammtisch for their calendar of events, but it sounds good.

Under the leadership of Bill and Gwen Arnold, much was accomplished at First Baptist Church in the area of missions, music, and buildings. That is why the new building is named the Bill and Gwen Arnold Ministry Center. Bill Arnold died in 2008 but Gwen Arnold will be there. Current pastor, Brad McLean, invites all to check it out at 3:00 p.m. Sunday.

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“Rip Van Winkle” is a short story written by Washington Irving. Rip lives in a village by the Catskill Mountains. He is an easygoing, henpecked husband. One day he wanders into the mountains to go hunting and he meets and drinks with Henry Hudson’s legendary sailing crew. They are bowling 9-Pin. Rip falls asleep and sleeps for 20 years. He wakes up to the sound of crashing 9-Pins. Everything has changed. Irving uses 9-Pin bowling as an example of change. Bowling was very popular in Europe, then Germany, and now small settlements in Central Texas, the Comal County community of Bracken being one of them.

Bracken goes back to 1850 when Kentuckian William Bracken came to Texas to buy land. He was successful at getting a patent for 11 labors of land (177.1 acres per labor) from Texas Governor Peter Bell. This land was located on the Cibolo Creek where the El Camino Real crosses the creek. Two years later Bracken died and his children inherited the land. Twenty years later, 1,114 acres were sold to George and Christopher Pfeuffer who, in turn, sold 300 acres of the property to William Davenport. Davenport sold 54.7 acres to the I&GN Railroad Company that built a railroad on 12 acres of his property. The railroad sold the rest of the land to John Barnes and Jacob Wetmore. These two developed their land into the town of Davenport consisting of seven blocks. They initially named their community Davenport, but the name was denied by the U.S. Post Office because another town in north Texas already had that name. Therefore, they named the town Bracken in honor of the man who first purchased this land.

Now we get to the Bracken 9-Pin Bowling Club that celebrated 100 years of Kegeln (bowling) this year. It’s a 9-Pin bowling club which is different from a 10-Pin club. Pins for 9-Pin are set up manually, whereas pins for 10-Pin are set mechanically. Many of the small communities around New Braunfels have 9-Pin bowling alleys because the German immigrants brought the practice with them.

Most historians believe that the sport of bowling has been around for thousands of years in one form or another. The act of knocking down pins or bottles, or anything that will stand up, with a round object, whether it be a rock or a ball, has been a sport enjoyed by all ages.

Bowling balls and pins have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. The Polynesians bowled on lanes 60 feet long, the same length as modern alleys. There is evidence that English kings bowled and also monks like Martin Luther.

The practice of throwing a ball to hit down 9-Pins instead of the traditional 10-Pins was brought to the U.S. by the Germans. In the 4^th century, bowling was part of a religious ceremony. The belief was that if you could knock down all the pins you were thought to be of good character. Those who missed the pins had to do some kind of penance. I wonder what happened when people kept on failing to knock the pins down.

Most ancient Germans carried what was known as a “Kegel” or club used for protection as well as sport. The Kegel would represent a heathen and if it could be knocked down with a stone ball the bowler would be cleansed of his sins. I suppose you could say that the more a person bowled, the more sins they had. Teddy Roosevelt, being of German heritage, probably said “Trust everyone but always carry a big Kegel.” Just kidding.

The Germans, English, and Dutch all brought their own version of bowling to the colonies. This 9-pin sport was banned in Connecticut in 1841 because of the gambling and crime associated with it. Supposedly the people in Connecticut just added another pin making it 10-Pin bowling, circumventing the law and that solved that problem.

Curt Schmidt, author of the book, “Oma and Opa” tells of the importance of 9-Pin bowling to our early settlers. Bowling has survived as a popular sport here even today. He described 9-Pin Kegeln this way: “A team game with four to seven players. Pins are set up and then each team rolls two balls at the set-up. Then if the team member knocks all down with the first ball, the pins are set up again. And he rolls again. If a bowler leaves any pins standing except the King pin in the middle, it counts 12 points. If any pins are left standing, then the next bowler rolls it at them and so on until they are all down. The captain calls the member of the team who is likely to ‘clean up’ the alley. There are full house bowlers, left side and right side bowlers and clean up bowlers.”

In Comal County there are still many 9-Pin leagues. Bracken Bowling Club is one. Bernice Friesenhahn researched and compiled information on the bowling alley with Karly Friesenhahn formatting the information into a booklet for the celebration of their 100^th year. Bracken Bowling Club was founded in 1914 by a group of men who enjoyed 9-Pin bowling. The club was built on the Bose brothers land. E.H. and Albert Bose and their wives gave the property of 1/3 acre. In 1977, a new eight lane facility was built on 1 ½ acres of land across from the old alley.

Rubin Moeller who was the secretary of the club for many years researched the minutes that were written in German. The original two lanes had a cost of five cents a game to bowl. Family member names of some of the founders were Bose, Bremer, Forshage, Friesenhahn, Gebhardt, Haag, Heitkamp, Hoffmann, Jonas, Marbach, Moeller, Reeh, Rosenburg and Wuest.

Women eventually became part of the bowling scene. Accordingly in almost all cases, the husband was a member of the club and his wife was allowed to bowl. If the husband died, his membership passed on to the wife and she continued to pay.

Washington Irving in “Rip Van Winkle” contends that change is inevitable, but sometimes it is slow. Bowling has been hanging around in Bracken for over 100 years with few changes.

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