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It was like Christmas in June for Betty Mann Tuesday evening, June 14, when a pickup load of nutcrackers rolled into the parking lot at the Rock County History Center.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. In all, she counted 134, all of them German collectibles, plus an assortment of vintage German ornaments.
The Northfield donor, Marvin Farmer, had worked for Midwest of Cannon Falls, a gifts and collectibles wholesaler that’s no longer in business.
“Verl and I were familiar with the company, because years ago we had purchased nutcrackers from them,” Mann said.
She explained that the collectible nutcrackers were produced in limited supply, and Farmer would keep one back every time he learned they were going to stop making it.
The donation includes nutcrackers of all sizes, the largest at about 6 feet tall and the smallest at several inches, and Mann said only three are duplicates to the ones in the History Center’s current collection.
In an already crowded display room of more than 4,000 nutcrackers, Mann said it will take some “rearranging” to expand and make room for new pieces — or in this case, very old pieces.
“Some of these pieces were made in the German Democratic Republic, and some say West Germany,” she said. “So, you know that’s from the time the wall was up.”
The pieces are currently spread over two large tables for sorting, and they’ll be displayed with the other German collections, such as Steinbach, Christian Albrecht, Erzgebirge and Seiffen.
When asked if the latest addition would put Luverne closer to having the largest nutcracker collection in the world, Mann said that’s not her goal.
“We just want people to be able to come in and see them and enjoy them,” she said.
In 2016 Mann donated her personal collection of roughly 2,500 nutcrackers to the History Center after tourists who had heard about them were asking to view them in her home.
Community consultant Roger Brooks later told Luverne leaders that the nutcrackers are the “hook” that brings travelers into town, and he recommended focusing on nutcrackers for the town’s “branding” campaign.
Meanwhile hundreds of people from all over the United States and world have come to see them.
“They know about us on the East Coast and on the West Coast, and they come from Australia, Africa, some places in South America, Japan,” Mann said. “And they come specifically to see the nutcrackers.”
She said she’s proud of the display, but she’s even more pleased that once people see the nutcrackers, they’re compelled to tour the rest of the museum and learn about Rock County and its communities.
“That’s been my goal all along — to get people to come into the museum,” she said. “
“Quite often when they leave, they’re talking not about the nutcrackers; they’re talking about the claim shanty, and the Luverne Thirty Automobile and the buffalo and all the other historic items we have there.”