The Herald-Zeitung

New Braunfels is “Going Back to the Good Old Days” this Fourth of July.

Sponsored by the Sophienburg, the downtown 4th of July Parade begins at 9:15 a.m. at the Sts. Peter and Paul Church parking lot with line-up beginning at 8:30 a.m. With no deadline to sign up, potential participants still have plenty of time to take part in the festivities

Participants will line up in a first-come, first-served order with New Braunfels Fire Department leading the parade down Castell Street. Pedestrians and bicyclists will be followed by automobile drivers and equestrians.

The parade route will continue left on San Antonio street, continue around the Plaza, turn right on Seguin between the courthouse and Crosswalk Coffeehouse and disband after the courthouse at Seguin and Mill streets. A patriotic program will take place beginning at 10 a.m. at the Bandstand on the Plaza.

“We will have a short message from New Braunfels Mayor Bruce Boyer,” said Linda Dietert, Sophienburg executive director.

Also taking part in the program will be State Rep. Doug Miller (Dist. 73), County Commissioner Jan Kennady (Pct. 4), and a Sophienburg board member, Dietert said.

“Bill Reeves will sing a solo, and then we will have a sing-along,” she said. “At the end of the program, Barron Schlameus will play the courthouse bells.”

The sing-along or singing/entertainment of some variety has seemed to have been a mainstay of the parade throughout the years, but it has not always been a quiet affair, as local author and historian Myra Lee Goff noted in her June 26, 2007, column when describing the 1875 centennial celebration:

“On the eve of the celebration, a cannon on Sophienburg hill was fired 13 times in commemoration of the 13 original colonies. At the break of day on the 4th, people were awakened by the rapid firing of the cannon, followed by trumpets heralding the beginning of the festivities. (No sleeping in on that 4th.)”

The New Braunfels 4th of July Parade first began in 1846, Goff said.

“Before the July 4th celebration was taken over by the Sophienburg in the late 1970s, it was sponsored by the Volunteer Fire Department,” she wrote in her June 24, 2008, column. “In the early days, a parade on July 4th culminated in water competitions on the Plaza. A real crowd pleaser was water polo in which a beer keg was suspended from a cable. Two fire department teams faced each other, each team holding a fire hose in 'tug of war' fashion. They would turn on the water, point the hose at the barrel and 'let 'er rip' trying to move the barrel over the line. If you were at the Plaza, you were guaranteed to get wet.”

The crowd became involved in the event, said Goff, whose father was part of the volunteer fire department.

“Because of the July 4th weather, it was a plus instead of a minus to be wet,” she said. “And it would be a surprise. You never knew where the water would fall.

Past parade participants have included scout troops, VFW Hall members, New Braunfels Marsch-und Wandergruppe participants, car club members and ROTC members.

Keva Boardman, Sophienburg program coordinator, remembered one of the more unusual parade entries.

“The Stratemann family here in town has the bicycles that have the large front wheel and small back wheel,” Boardman said. “My brother (Tobin Hoffmann, parade chair) rode one in the sesquicentennial parade. They are quite technical. You have to learn to ride them.”

The years have brought many outstanding parade entries and performers to the Plaza, Goff said.

“The Comal Community Band of New Braunfels does an outstanding job, and we've had many outstanding New Braunfelsers perform. Beth Elliott, who is no longer with us, used to sing 'God Bless America' at the Plaza,” she said.

This past year marked a special time in history for the parade.

“I think last year we had a record crowd,” Goff said. “Members of the Vietnam Helicopters Pilots Association came en masse to march in the parade. It was very patriotic.”

The parade will take place, rain or shine. Parade information will be broadcast on KGNB radio. For information, call the Sophienburg at 629-1572 or e-mail questions to sophienburg(at)sbcglobal.net.

On the same evening, the city will present its annual 4th of July fireworks event at Landa Park beginning at 7 p.m. with Texas Tide (a Jimmy Buffet cover band) playing at the dance slab. The fireworks display, sponsored by H-E-B, begins at dusk, about 9 p.m. The rainout date is scheduled for Sunday, July 5th. For information, call 221-4350.