EAA Chapter 431 members and regular readers of this website know that we obtained an original 51′ Airway Beacon tower several years ago with the plan of restoring and erecting it on the airport as a memorial to past members and the Air Mail pilots of the 1920s and 30s. A similar tower lived in the town of Decatur, just northwest of Brodhead, for many years and local farmers tell stories of mowing the grass runways and “lighting the light” each night as it marked the airway between Chicago and St Paul.  Our project has languished a bit, but now has the energy of the local Boy Scout troop behind it.

Sebastian Adams, a Brodhead candidate for Eagle Scout, has taken the beacon tower as his community service project. Leading the scouts of Troop 108 in Brodhead, the tower sections are being scraped, sandblasted, primed and painted in preparation for set-up some time this summer.  Below is the text of a presentation Sebastian made to the Chapter 431 membership at the July meeting.

Eagle Scout Project-Beacon Tower

My name is Sebastian Adams, I am in Brodhead Boy Scout Troop 108. As you may or may not know, I am about to attain the highest honor in Boy Scouts, the rank of Eagle. One of the main requirements to achieve the rank of Eagle is to successfully plan and execute a service project that benefits the community.
My project is to restore the Brodhead Airport’s 51’ Air Mail beacon tower as a monument dedicated to the pilots that flew this Air Mail route, as well as the founding members of The Brodhead Airport and EAA Chapter 431. I will disassemble, sandblast, paint, and reassemble the beacon tower.
I hope to carry out this project in late June through Mid-August at unveiling. If you have any questions or comments about my Eagle Project, please feel free to contact me at sebastianadams2016@hotmail.com. I would be more than happy to review my project in more detail with you.
Thank you for your time and consideration of supporting my Eagle Scout project.

We can use cash donations to purchase what we need for materials. If you are considering a donation please contact me or send all donations to;

Air Beacon Memorial
c/o Bank of Brodhead
806 East Exchange Street
P.O. Box 108
Brodhead, WI 53520

The tower is being planned for the grassy area between the two main driveways at the airport and we hope to have it up in time for a dedication later this summer.

In these pictures, scouts from Troop 108 are hard at work preparing the metal framework of the tower. Several work days have occurred in the past few weeks and more are planned.

Joe Fitters and David George at the sand blasting station.

Michael Stockel at the scraping section.

Scouts work at the Disassembly Station.

Stay tuned for more updates on this project and details of the memorial and dedication planned for later this year.