A Noteworthy Day of Nutcrackers in Luverne, Minnesota
Many times when you travel, you find a place that absolutely delights you. This describes my time perfectly on a recent trip to Luverne, Minnesota. Luverne is a town of just less than 5000 friendly people in Southwest Minnesota. For a town its size, it has a surprising amount of quality attractions. But the one that most captivated my heart was a collection of 6708 nutcrackers at the Rock County Historical Museum on Main Street. A wonderful woman named Betty Mann started the collection and it has grown from there. To my absolute delight, I got to meet Betty on the day I went to the museum!
I had never really taken much of an interest in nutcrackers until I saw the fascinating collection in Luverne. After doing a bit of research, I discovered that nutcrackers originated in the Erzgebirge, or the Ore Mountains, area of Germany in the late 1600s. Erzgebirge became known for its craftsmanship and detail in creating nutcrackers after miners in the region needed another occupation. Nutcrackers became more popular and associated with the holidays in the late 1800s after the theatrical popularity of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet. Today the nutcracker remains a popular collector item.
Betty often frequents the Rock County Historical Museum and was gracious enough to offer me a brief interview. What follows are my questions to Betty, with her video response. Just click on the corresponding link to see each video. Betty is a delightful lady and it was my pleasure to meet her and visit with her.
How did you start collecting nutcrackers?
How did your collection grow from that initial first purchase at Cracker Barrel?
How did your collection expand and then become part of the Rock County Historical Museum Collection?
How did the collection grow from the initial 2500 nutcrackers?
How many nutcrackers are currently in the collection?
What are additional plans for nutcrackers in the town of Luverne?
After the interview, my friends and I browsed the nutcracker collection. And, oh, what a collection it is! There are nutcrackers of all shapes, sizes, and theme. For a few examples there are nutcrackers:
Rock stars
Football players, Baseball players, and other sports people
Farmers
Fisherman
Nurses
Doctors
Surgeons
Animals (various kinds)
Chefs, BBQ Masters, and Cooks
Military Personnel, Firefighters, and Police Personnel
Teachers
Etc…
There are also theme sets of nutcrackers including characters in the Nutcracker Ballet, The Wizard of Oz, and The Beatles. I even spotted a Yoda nutcracker! And of course, there are thousands of “regular” nutcrackers in various colors. It’s just an amazing collection!
I admit I was quite captivated with the collection and took many photos. It was even more fun for me to go back through the photos because I could focus on a particular nutcracker or a small group of them. While I am including some photos in this post, the best way to see them is (of course!) pay a visit to Luverne to see them! The museum is open year round, but November and December really is the perfect time to enjoy the collection!
For more information on the collection and the Rock County Historical Museum in Luverne, click on the website.
For more information on the town of Luverne, Minnesota and other attractions there, click on the website. See also the link to my previous post about Luverne below that.
