Historic Images of Boerne and Kendall County, Texas, Revised Edition Page: 203

                                
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Shooting Club, circa 1880. Alone at left,  Haufler. Left to right, top row: _ Wetz, unknown, Emil
Lichtenberg, Emil Phillip, A.D. Meckel, unknown. Middle row: John Reinhard, August Meckel, Charles
Schwarz, Gus Seewald, unknown, Emil Geesler, Albert Bodeman, unknown, Chris Bergmann. Bottom row:
Helwig Zoeller, unknown, Hy Scheele, Otto Reinhard, Charles Reinhard, Bill Stendebach, unknown, -
Erfert.

TURN VEREIN, INC.
("BOWLING CLUB")
The Boerne Turn Verein was organized as a private
club on August 12, 1890, with approximately 25
members. The original charter was dated 1891, and it
is noted that the dues in 1899 were 10C per month. The
first club hall was behind a saloon on Main Street,
where the old Eddie Vogt Store was previously located.
It later moved to the Phillip Manor House, south of the
Cibolo, and then to the Opera House on the southeast
corner of San Antonio and Main Street.
In 1904 a new clubhouse was built at the present
location with volunteer labor. Lumber was provided at
cost by King and King Lumber Company, and nails
were donated by Bill Ziegler. The frame building was
20 x 40 feet, and the two bowling alleys were added in
1908. The first building was replaced by a more
modern facility, which burned down in June, 1948. The
present structure was opened on June 1, 1949.
BOERNE VILLAGE BAND
Many early German immigrants who came to the
Texas Hill Country in the 1840s and 1850s brought
musical instruments and sheet music with them. They
formed singing groups and small community bands for

self-enjoyment and public entertainment at an early
date. The Latin settlement of Sisterdale had a male
quartet that sang in competition with other singing clubs
at New Braunfels October 16-18, 1853.
Karl Dienger, an accomplished musician, brought
his accordion with him when his family came to Boerne
in 1855. He played solo with small local groups, while
at the same time he was busy helping organize the first
Boerne singing society, the Boerne Gesang Verein in
1860. It was necessary to have a village band in order
to entertain and play for dancing when the Boerne
Singing Society hosted its first competition in the spring
of 1860.
By 1880 the Boerne Brass and String Band had a
Constitution and By-Laws drawn up, but unfortunately
the documents were not dated. An amendment to the
By-Laws at a later date (both on file at the Boerne
Public Library archives) has the following side note,
"Amendment of By-Laws, Art. III Sec. 4, April 25,
1885."
Some who signed this document were A. Kaiser, R.
Minnich, A.W. Petmecky, J.F. Thompson, W.
Vanderstratten, A.G. Vogt, Adolph Weyrich, and C.H.
Weyrich. Several of these people were active musicians
in the community from the 1870s to 1900. Information
from the Alexander Kaiser family, for instance,
indicates that he followed his older brother into the Civil
War as a 10-year-old drummer boy after their parents

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