Elmer's Auto and Toy Museum near Fountain City, Wisconsin

Elmer Duellman says that he never had toys when he was a boy. Now, after 47 years of collecting toys for children and toys for big people, Elmer and his wife, Benadette, (who have been married for 47 years) now have literally thousands of toys, classic cars, old menus, advertising signs, bicycles, motorcycles, Halloween displays and much more. The only drawback for a boy who didn't have toys to play with as a boy is that the storage of his collection now makes it difficult to play with his toys now.

But he can enjoy them and make it possible for others to enjoy them.

Elmer and Bernadette's auto and toy museum is at W 903 Elmer's Road, near Fountain City, Wisconsin. The museum's Web site contains a map and directions, as well as other helpful information for the potential visitor.

My wife and I were part of a church group that visited the museum on its last weekend of the season. Elmer's season runs from early in May till the middle of October. One reason for the relatively short season is because the main museum buildings (there are five them) are not heated. The family house, which also includes part of the collection, is heated. Another reason is that the museum is located in the country, and travel could be difficult during the winter months.

Elmer and Bernadette take an active role in the operation of the museum. They were on hand to welcome us and to take our money. Admission in 2009 was $7.00 for adults, $6.00 for seniors 65 and older, and $3.00 for children 6-12. Children under 5 are free. For that price, the visitor is free to stay as long as he or she desires. It is virtually impossible to see and enjoy everything in one day. Some people spend several days in the area, coming back to the museum every day until they feel they finally have seen everything they wanted to see.

There is no way to give an adequate description of everything at Elmer's, but here are some highlights. One building contains the little toys-such as toy cars, toy busses, toy trains, and other objects too numerous to list. Time after time, my wife would point to a toy that was just like one she had owned when she was young.

My favorite spots at the museum were the large pole buildings that housed, among other things, a collection of classic cars. There was a 25th anniversary Chevy Corvette with 5.4 miles on it! Elmer had bought it because he thought it might be valuable someday. There was a 1933 Rolls Royce in great condition. There were cars from the 1950s and 1960s, my favorite decades for automobiles. If you like Harley Davidson motorcycles, you'll find a collection of those.

One unique feature of the museum is the family house located on the grounds. The collection of antique dolls is kept there, as well as a 1929 Model A Ford Phaeton that sits in the family room of the house!

Something I enjoyed was the display of classic cars outside the family house. These cars were not part of the museum, but were cars driven to the museum by visitors the day our church group was there.

One question several of us had concerned the work that Elmer did that provided him with the money to build his collection. According to one of the Duellman family members working at the museum, Elmer owned a salvage yard that did very well. A visitor to the museum can see the yard with its hundreds of cars located next to the museum itself.

One drawback that a museum visitor encounters is the prohibition of photography-both still and video. There are a few photos on the museum website, but they barely give an indication of what a visitor will see.

There is something that can be photographed, and that is a magnificent view of the Mississippi River Valley from the museum property. The property is located on one of the highest-if not the highest--points in the area.

If you want to be drawn back to your childhood realities and fantasies, a visit to Elmer's Auto and Toy Museum would be worth your time.