MAZOMANIE — When it rains here, bad memories come back for many in this historic village.
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Kim Haugen of Mount Horeb walks through the exhibits on the ground level of the Midwest MicroCar Museum in Mazomanie. The museum was flooded and about 35 vehicles were damaged in 2018 during a major rain event that pushed Black Earth Creek above its banks. The museum is now open and its cars and motorcycles have been restored.
Ingrid Krause, owner of the Midwest Microcar Museum, is glad to have her museum open again. The Mazomanie museum, which showcases microcars, most built in the 1950s and 1960s in Europe, is open only occasionally, which is why Krause encourages visitors to check the museum's Facebook page for hours.
Ingrid Krause shows off some of the cars on the second level of a former blacksmith shop that is now home to the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie. At right is a BMW Isetta, a bubble car made in Germany between 1955 and 1962. Krause and her late husband, Carlos, who died in 2019, founded the museum with their son, Sven, in 2015.
John Parman constructed a blacksmith shop across the street from his home in 1864. The historic brick building at 103 Crescent St. is now home to the Midwest Microcar Museum, where out front sits a 1954 Ihle Schottenring. Most cars in the museum are street legal, but the Schottenring was designed for amusement parks.
Photos: The restoration and return of cars and motorcycles to the Midwest Microcar Museum
Midwest Microcar Museum
John Parman constructed a blacksmith shop across the street from his home in 1864. The historic brick building at 103 Crescent St. is now home to the Midwest Microcar Museum, where out front sits a 1954 Ihle Schottenring. Most cars in the museum are street legal, but the Schottenring was designed for amusement parks.
Midwest Microcar Museum
Ingrid Krause shows off some of the cars on the second level of a former blacksmith shop that is now home to the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie. At right is a BMW Isetta, a bubble car made in Germany between 1955 and 1962. Krause and her late husband, Carlos, who died in 2019, founded the museum with their son, Sven, in 2015.
Midwest Mircocar Museum
Kim Haugen of Mount Horeb walks through the exhibits on the ground level of the Midwest MicroCar Museum in Mazomanie. The museum was flooded and about 35 vehicles were damaged in 2018 during a major rain event that pushed Black Earth Creek above its banks. The museum is now open and its cars and motorcycles have been restored.
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Ingrid Krause, owner of the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie, shows the motorcycles and scooters on display in the former town hall building in Mazomanie, Wis., Tuesday, June 18, 2024. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Midwest Microcar Museum
Ingrid Krause, owner of the Midwest Microcar Museum, is glad to have her museum open again. The Mazomanie museum, which showcases microcars, most built in the 1950s and 1960s in Europe, is open only occasionally, which is why Krause encourages visitors to check the museum's Facebook page for hours.
20240618-06-MircroCar0047-06192024113656.jpg
Motorcycles and scooters on display, including a 1961 Valmobile folding scooter, center, at the Midwest MicroCar Museum in the former town hall in Mazomanie, Wis., Tuesday, June 18, 2024. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Midwest Microcar Museum
Most of the vehicles that were restored have tags with handwritten notes from Chris Beebe that detail some of the work that was done and information about how the vehicle runs.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
Carlo Krause, founder of the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie, takes a break on the ground floor of one of the museum's two buildings. Krause began collecting microcars about 30 years ago.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
Some of the collection at the Midwest Mircocar Museum in Mazomanie escaped damage from the August flood. These cars are on the second floor of a former blacksmith shop.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
A fan, along with dehumidifiers, are running constantly in the buildings of the flood-damaged buildings of the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie. This fan is on the ground floor of the historic Town of Mazomanie Hall, constructed in 1878 and converted to a museum in 2017.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
A workshop in the town of Springfield is filled with flood-damaged cars from the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie. The vehicles are being repaired following a flood in August.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
Chris Beebe works on a water-damaged starter from a Renault 4CV microcar. For nearly two months, Beebe has been taking apart engines of vehicles flooded in August at the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
Chris Beebe, longtime owner and founder of the now-closed Foreign Car Specialists on Regent Street, shows off the inside of a 1958 Noble 200 microcar he's restoring after the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie was flooded following August's torrential rains.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
A 1964 Bond from the Midwest Microcar Museum still holds mud on its exterior from the August flood. The vehicle is now in a town of Springfield workshop undergoing repair.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
Doug Heideman works on a Russian motorcycle after it was in a flood in August at the Midwest Microcar Museum in Mazomanie.
Midwest Microcar Museum flood aftermath
Doug Heideman, upper left, works on a flood-damaged Russian motorcycle, while seats and other upholstery from flood-damaged microcars are spread out on the floor of a workshop in the town of Springfield.
Midwest Microcar Museum
Sven Krause and his father, Carlo, share a passion for microcars like the 1957 Heinkel Kabine that has one door and three wheels and is featured at the Midwest Microcar Museum they are opening for Carlo's collection Saturday in Mazomanie.
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.
