Boulder-native sisters, Maryanna Wienbroeer Brunkhorst and Melody (Wienbroeer) Huisjen have collaborated on an art and poetry exhibit that shares experiences of USAF veteran Maryanna Brunkhorst. Through her poems and creative non-fiction writing, Maryanna explores everything from a chance encounter with a desert resident while stationed in Kuwait to the emotional impact and honor of service to our country.  These have been interpreted by Melody to inspire visual works of art laden with symbolism and created with watermedia, ink, and ephemera.

The Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum has the collection on display from January 22-April 21 for their ARTillery series, which invites veterans to creatively engage with their military history.

Learn more about the ARTillery series.

Seven volunteers came together on January 23 to contribute an evening of Colorado military history for the students and families of Prospect Ridge Academy, as part of the school’s Science and Social Studies Night.  The volunteers facilitated five different interactive stations covering 170 years of military history.  Students were able to try on replica uniforms and equipment from the Mexican American War, American Civil War, WWII, Vietnam and Gulf Wars and learn about these conflicts. They also learned about the women’s role in supporting the U.S. Army on the Western American Frontier (1840s to 1890s) and played games that the Frontier soldiers’ children may have played.  Over 125 students and their parents took part in the activities.

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The displays were coordinated by the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum with the help of volunteers from the museum, American Military Living History Association (AMLHA) and the American Legion Post #58.  Both the AMLHA and the American Legion meet at the museum and assist with the educational and events held there.  The activity was well received by the staff at the Academy. The Academy’s coordinator of the Science & Social Studies Night, Sarah Shoemaker, stated that, “I was very impressed with everything that was happening around our school.  You were the hype of the school today!  Many kids were talking about the night and how much fun they had with each presenter.”

When U.S. Army veteran and 2008 Heart of Broomfield award recipient Robert “Bob” Davenport passed away in late 2017, his family wanted to do something to honor his legacy. As a result, they partnered with the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum to create the Robert Davenport, Sr., Veteran Fund in his memory.

Davenport’s strong ties to veterans and Broomfield inspired his family to set up the fund. Davenport joined the Army in 1952 right out of college and later served in the Judge Advocate General Reserve Corp. before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. In 1958, Davenport and his wife, Patty, moved to Broomfield, where he became an active member of the community and was one of the six founding members of the Broomfield Memorial Veterans Museum.

The purpose of the fund is intended to help address emergency financial needs of honorably discharged or retired veterans of the United States military and of their immediate families.

The Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum Directors are responsible for helping to facilitate and execute incoming grant requests on behalf of the Davenport Family. To be eligible for a grant, a veteran must be a resident in the City and County of Broomfield. Grant requests shall not exceed $1,000.00.

Grant requests must be submitted to the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum in writing or via email. Requests may be submitted by an individual veteran seeking financial aid, a family member on behalf of a veteran, or an organization on behalf of a veteran.

To review the guidelines and access a grant application, visit the Veterans Grant page.

The Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum is one of nine non-profits competing in the Broomfield Dancing With the Stars on September 26 benefiting the Broomfield Community Foundation. Former museum board director and local history teacher, Paula Coffman, will be the star dancer representing the museum.

Paula Coffman will honor the military, our youth, and the importance of learning from each other, through a dance created with the support of dancers DeAndre Carroll, Cory Michael Klements and Raina Manzanares.

Each non-profit will raise funds that will support the foundation and also the non-profit.

Please support the museum by purchasing a ticket, voting online or making a donation.

VOTE HERE

The Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum is hosting an essay contest for all students who attend Broomfield schools or who are home-schooled in Broomfield at the elementary, middle or high school level during the 2019-2020 school year.

Essay Topic:

What does Veterans Day mean to you?

Essay Guidelines:

• Essays should be 500 words or less
• Submit document as a PDF
• Submit essay with the student’s name, school, teacher’s name and grade level
• Essays should be submitted by email to educator@broomfieldveterans.org by October 7

Prizes:

• Winners will be selected at elementary, middle and high school levels.
• $500 will be awarded to the school of each first place winner
• Winners will be invited to read their essay on November 11 at the museum’s Veterans Day Ceremony

If you have any questions about the contest, please contact Heather Christenbury at educator@broomfieldveterans.org or 303-460-6801.

On Saturday, June 15, 2019, the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum participated in the 1940’s Ball at the Boulder Municipal Airport, hosting a booth at the event.  

“We had probably the best location,” said Flint Whitlock, museum board member and a member of the museum’s Display and Exhibits Committee. “We were right inside the main entrance, so every one of the Ball’s 4,000 attendees had to pass our booth when they came in. We had numerous people stop by our booth, look at our exhibits and find out more about us.”

The theme of the museum’s booth was “Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of D-Day,” and it was decorated with posters and artifacts from that period. The 1940’s Ball is a combination of a costume party, dance, air show and military display that takes attendees—many of whom dress in uniforms and clothing—on a nostalgic trip back to that era. The Glenn Miller Orchestra and a girls’ singing group provided entertainment with songs from the Swing Era, while a 1940s military encampment with uniformed reenactors, military vehicles, a faux-French village dubbed “Liberty Street,” vintage automobiles and a separate dance hall that replicated Rick’s Cafe from the 1942 film Casablanca.

“It was the first time we have participated in the 1940s Ball,” said Whitlock, “but I’m sure we’ll be back for years to come.”

The Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum is enjoying more space since its expansion into the garden level of its building at 12 Garden Center. Thanks to generous support from the City and County of Broomfield, the veterans museum was allowed to take over the space previously occupied by Broomfield FISH. Following some renovations, the move was completed in the summer of 2018.

With the addition of another floor, the museum has added a larger meeting and presentation room, an expanded library and research room, and more space to store artifacts and museum collections. In the existing upstairs space, the museum will expand its current exhibits and bring in additional displays for visitors to enjoy.

The addition has been a long-awaited opportunity for the growing museum. In 2001, the founders of the veterans museum moved into one room in the upstairs and slowly grew its operations to fill the entire floor. The added space from the lower level will allow the museum to continue its growth and serve its mission of educating others of Colorado’s military history while connecting with veterans and sharing their stories.

This fall, the museum will host an official open house for everyone to see its newly renovated and enlarged space.

On September 1, scout leaders and scouts from Boy Scout Troop 87 and Cub Scout Pack 372 visited the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum and were able to see the museum’s new expansion into a second floor.  The visit resulted from an Eagle Scout project by Scout Graham Campbell focused on exploring areas where the museum and scout programs can support one another.

The museum often hosts meetings for local Cub Scout packs, provides workshops on flag history, etiquette and flag folding, and Cub Scouts join the museum in the annual Broomfield Days Parade.  Boy Scouts assist the museum with the Annual Veterans Day Program at Broomfield High School, collect discarded flags at the museum for the Flag Day Ceremony and receive help from the museum in working toward the American Heritage Merit Badge Award.  The visit and discussions were most helpful in identifying other potential projects and programs where the museum can assist our community scout programs.