Tombstone mystery
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Last week Sylvia Segovia and I were walking through Hidalgo Panteon searching for the graves of several people. If you have never visited this charming little cemetery, you are in for a truly cultural treat. You will find rows and rows of concrete crosses and headstones of many designs. Most […]
Highways, motels and diving ladies
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Have you ever thought about what travel was like before superhighways and chain hotels? It was definitely a much simpler time. Early travel meant dirt roads, complete with ruts and mud holes. Not until after World War I did road improvements became a priority. The Federal Highway Act of 1921 […]
The Susanna saga continued
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — “And so,” Michael Freiherr von der Tann continued, “we are so pleased to have these documents returned to our family. They will join the rest of the Tann Archive in the Hesse State Archives in Marburg.” With a hand-off of an acid-free box containing four vellum documents, this chapter of […]
Cold War fears in New Braunfels
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — In recent days, we have all watched heart-breaking images flash across our screens as Russia exerts its power over Ukraine. News of such events has stirred up childhood memories of my classmates and I scrambling under our metal school desks during bomb drills of the Cold War Era in the […]
Away in a manger
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Christmas morning had finally come! Presents, wrapped in shiny red or green paper and topped with ribbon bows, were stacked beneath the Christmas tree. But first, I looked on the coffee table where the Mary and Joseph figures had been reverently kneeling, gazing with love at an empty manger for […]
Die Neunköder and the castor bean
Keva Hoffmann Boardman — When nine young men from Frankfort emigrated to Texas in 1849, they were given the nickname of “Die Neunköder” or “the Nine Lures” or “the Niners.” One of them, George Weber, described the group of adventurers: “Taking a sailship at Antwerpen, we finally landed at Indianola after a 57-days voyage…after a […]
“Ein Prosit, ein Prosit” to music
By Myra Lee Adams Goff We are celebrating the 175th Anniversary of New Braunfels and its unique culture in which music played a large part. Music creates sounds that evoke different emotions. Sounds representing joy, sadness, patriotism, history and love and can be produced through many different instruments and particularly through the voice. “Music has […]
Isabel Zuniga wins Sophienburg history scholarship
The recipient for the Sophienburg’s Myra Lee Adams Goff history scholarship has been chosen. Out of over 50 entries from Canyon High School, Canyon Lake High School, New Braunfels High School and Smithsons Valley High School, the recipient for this year’s $1000 scholarship is Isabel Zuniga from New Braunfels High School. The entry chosen must […]
Recipes for life
By Tara Voigt Kohlenberg Now that circumstances are anything but normal, there is a pretty good chance that you, too, have been playing “What Can I Make With This?” The game is played while standing in front of an open pantry or refrigerator. Don’t get me wrong, I do love to cook, but when our […]
One hundred years and one to grow on
[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Video_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] By Tara V. Kohlenberg — When New Braunfels turned one hundred years old in 1945, the U.S. was entering into its fourth year of World War II. Everything went to support the war effort, resulting in rationing of goods to the general consumer. Sales of new cars were restricted, and the speed limit […]
