With Phase 1 of the new museum building construction right around the corner, we began a long anticipated move of our archive to a suitable climate controlled facility in mid-May. The building that housed our books, papers, artwork, physical objects, etc., needed to be deconstructed to make room for the new museum hangar. What to do with our dozens of bins and boxes of archival treasures?

Fortunately, the Brodhead Historical Society and the City of Brodhead stepped in to help. After an addition to the local Depot Museum, a historic cheese storage building in downtown Brodhead sat empty. The city agreed to grant the Kelch Aviation Museum use of this climate controlled room for temporary storage while the archive’s permanent home is constructed at the airport. Our staff made a seemingly endless number of trips to town, filling the 25’ x 25’ room floor to ceiling. Thanks to the Brodhead City Council, we will be able to continue preservation, cataloging, and other work in the archive in spite of our temporary relocation.