Main Plaza

Main Plaza. . , THE HEART OF BOERNE, Main Plaza was the lifeblood of the town, similar to plazas in German towns. John Edward Vogt recalls the importance of the plaza during his childhood in the 1930s. It was a favorite place for the schoolchildren to play baseball, football, and other games., "The Kendall Inn was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hickman. Mr. Hickman was the Mayor of Boerne at that time, and Boerne was a popular vacation spot for many people from Shreveport, Beaumont, Houston and other east Texas towns. They would spend part of the summer in Boerne's spas and resorts, a favorite being the Kendall Inn. If we kids would be playing during the early part of the afternoon, Mayor Hickman would send the City Marshall to make us leave because we were disturbing his guests while they were trying to rest., Ah...small town politics." - John Edward Vogt, OLDEST GERMAN BAND NOT IN GERMANY, Each summer the Boerne Village Band plays on the Plaza. Karl Dienger organized the band in 1860 and Ottmar von Behr soon became a key participant in the band. His children and later his grandchildren became directors and players down through four generations (and still counting!). The band stayed together through the Civil War and later World Wars., Germany has given prestigious recognition to this long-lived band. In 1988, the Federal Republic of Germany gave the director its Friendship Award and on a state visit to Houston in 1992, the German President, Richard von Weizsäcker, praised the German musical tradition of Boerne. A special moment came in 1996 when the German President Roman Herzog presented the band with the most distinguished award for folk music in Germany, the Pro-Musica Plakette. The Boerne Village Band now proudly calls itself the "Oldest Continuously Organized German Band in the World outside of Germany Itself.", Captions , Victorian Pavilion on Main Plaza. 1900, BOERNE BAND- 1902 , Front L-R: Alexander Kaiser, Professor Hoepfenerter, Eddie Vanderstatter , Back L-R: Ed Kuhfuss, Bruno Phillip, Chris Bergmann, William Kuhfuss, Ed Clemens, , Henry Schrader, Julius A. Phillip, Freddie Stendebach, Unknown. . This historical marker is in Boerne in Kendall County Texas