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After five years of fundraising, the $1.3 million Kelch Aviation Museum has a new home at the Brodhead Airport. The collection had been scattered throughout multiple hangars at the Green County airport.
Pat Weeden was hired in 2014 as executive director of the Kelch Aviation Museum and has been leading fundraising efforts. The next phase will be for the construction of a grand entrance that will connect the museum with a building that houses offices, a library, archives and event space.
The archives of the Kelch Aviation Museum include an estimated 22,000 photos and negatives.
Patrons meander through exhibits focusing on the Golden Age of Aviation, at the Kelch Aviation Museum.
Kent McMakin has been restoring vintage aircraft at the Brodhead Airport for over 30 years.
A biplane takes center stage during Friday's opening of the Kelch Aviation Museum at the Brodhead Airport.
Hannah Froehlich, right, watches as her children -- from left, MacKayla, Weston and Emmagrace -- write postcards to send via "air mail" during the grand opening of the Kelch Aviation Museum. Museum officials are trying to attract younger people and encourage aviation exploration.
An open cockpit aviation hat and goggle set is displayed at the Kelch Aviation Museum.
Ami Eckard-Lee, archivist at the Kelch Aviation Museum, searches through the collection last week.
Photos: Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead
Kelch Aviation Museum
The archives of the Kelch Aviation Museum include an estimated 22,000 photos and negatives.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Hannah Shickles, 18, has become immersed in aviation since she first started volunteering at the Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead. Here she looks through a drawer of aviation photo negatives.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Ami Eckard-Lee, archivist at the Kelch Aviation Museum, searches through the collection last week.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Ami Eckard-Lee, archivist for the Kelch Aviation Museum, talks about the importance of air mail and the bravery of the pilots who flew in all sorts of weather in the 1920s and 1930s in open air cockpits.
Kelch Aviation Museum
An open cockpit aviation hat and goggle set is displayed at the Kelch Aviation Museum.
Kelch Aviation Museum
A biplane takes center stage during Friday's opening of the Kelch Aviation Museum at the Brodhead Airport.
Kelch Aviation Museum
The Kelch Aviation Museum has opened at the Brodhead Airport. The 12,000-square-foot museum's focus is on vintage aircraft from the 1920s and 1930s, many of them from the collection of Al Kelch. The museum is open Wednesdays through Sundays. Admission is free.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Pat Weeden was hired in 2014 as executive director of the Kelch Aviation Museum and has been leading fundraising efforts. The next phase will be for the construction of a grand entrance that will connect the museum with a building that houses offices, a library, archives and event space.
Kelch Aviation Museum
One of the many planes of the Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead.
Kelch Aviation Museum
The Kelch Aviation Museum owns 14 planes with another five on permanent loan. Virtually each one is air worthy.
Kelch Aviation Museum
After five years of fundraising, the $1.3 million Kelch Aviation Museum has a new home at the Brodhead Airport. The collection had been scattered throughout multiple hangars at the Green County airport.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Kent McMakin has been restoring vintage aircraft at the Brodhead Airport for over 30 years.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Among the early uses for airplanes was air mail service.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Patrons meander through exhibits focusing on the Golden Age of Aviation, at the Kelch Aviation Museum.
Kelch Aviation Museum
A Pietenpol airplane flies through the sky above the Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Three biplanes pass over the grand opening of the Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead on Friday.
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Kelch Aviation Museum archivist Ami Eckard-Lee shows off a variety of blueprints and instructions for planes.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Spectators watch as three biplanes pass over the grand opening of the Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead on Friday.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Kelch Aviation Museum archivist Ami Eckard-Lee shows off a blue print of a vintage airplane, part of the museum's collection of aviation history.
Kelch Aviation Museum
A corner dedicated to the namesake Kelch family talks about Alfred & Lois Kelch and the The Kelch Corp. at the Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Darryl Joranlien pears through the window of a vintage Ford automobile at the Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Tony Simcic of Kansas City rests on a wing of his plane Friday duringa fly-in at the Brodhead Airport.
Kelch Aviation Museum
Hannah Froehlich, right, watches as her children -- from left, MacKayla, Weston and Emmagrace -- write postcards to send via "air mail" during the grand opening of the Kelch Aviation Museum. Museum officials are trying to attract younger people and encourage aviation exploration.
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
