Meet the 101-year-old who runs the most important nutcracker museum within the U.S. : NPR

Arlene Wagner based the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum in 1995 together with her past due husband, George Wagner. It now holds the most important number of nutcrackers within the U.S. She is pictured maintaining a figurine referred to as The Nutcracker Woman, which used to be designed in her symbol via a German craft maker.

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Tucked into the Bavarian-esque the city of Leavenworth, Wash., on the foothills of the Cascade mountains is a two-story jewel of caprice and, some would possibly say, obsession. It is the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, the country’s greatest nutcracker assortment, which homes an array of greater than 9,000 hand made nutcrackers, one relationship again to no less than 200 AD.

Presiding over all of it is Arlene Wagner, most often perched on a stool on the museum’s front dressed in a pearl necklace and conventional German dirndl get dressed. (Assume Julie Andrews within the Sound of Tune.) Whilst diminutive – she stands at simply 4 toes. 10 inches — the “Nutcracker Woman” is a spitfire of an entrepreneur who simply celebrated her one hundred and first birthday.

“I had no thought it could transform this,” Wagner proudly instructed NPR, primping her white halo of curls. What began out as a one-off acquisition has grow to be a legacy, she defined.

Vacationers are attracted to Leavenworth on account of the Bavarian theme that is been followed via the entire the city’s companies, together with the native McDonald’s. Wagner boasts that the nutcracker museum and its present store have grow to be considered one of its primary sights.

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Wagner started the gathering accidentally in 1976. She used to be the director of a ballet corporate in Renton, Wash., on the time and used to be striking up a manufacturing of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

“We had been in search of the nutcracker for [the protagonist] Clara to carry and we discovered all of those giant mouthed, crunchy guys, and so we began gathering them,” Wagner mentioned.

The ones first few had been of the toy soldier selection this is now virtually inextricably related to Christmas and iciness vacation decor. (They generally put on a tall black hat and a purple military-style jacket, and game white shoulder-length hair.) However, she quickly turned into extra all in favour of extra odd varieties after she went to an vintage display in Portland, Ore., together with her past due husband, George Wagner. “That is after we were given presented to the porcelain ones and the outdated steel ones,” she mentioned. “We had been so taken!” she added.

Arlene Wagner has advanced relationships with lots of the ancient German nutcracker-making households, together with the Fuchtners.

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Searching for nut-cracking units turned into a keenness for the couple. They shopped at property gross sales and auctions, and made common journeys to Europe to seek out uncommon pieces. In the end, their pursuits expanded past the hand-carved picket treasures referred to as “nussknackers,” which hinge to crack nutshells of their mouths. Additionally they started to gather variations that includes the extra streamlined “lever” genre that appear to be a collection of pliers, and a few that delicately weigh down nuts the usage of a screw mechanism. The couple turned into attracted to ornate steel betel cutters from India, gear intricately carved out of bone and tusks, or even primitive “nutting bowls” made from stone that date again hundreds of years.

Wagner joked that the couple by no means went on a cruise as a result of all in their trip used to be devoted to shopping for extra nutcrackers.

Over the years, the Wagners turned into all in favour of vintage nutcrackers that includes the extra streamlined “lever” genre that appear to be a collection of pliers, and a few that delicately weigh down nuts the usage of a screw mechanism.

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Through 1995, they might gathered a number of 7,000, which turned into too unwieldy for any type of house show, in step with Wagner. “It used to be time to percentage it with folks,” she mentioned, smiling. They opened the museum that yr.

Even for the reason that demise of her husband in 2011, she has persisted to develop the gathering. In September of 2021, she reached a outstanding milestone: the Guinness Global Report for the most important number of nutcrackers on the earth with 9,103 distinctive units. Officers counted thrice, she mentioned with fun.

(To Wagner’s dismay, the museum’s Guinness glory used to be short-lived. A couple of months later the identify used to be taken via a Lithuanian guy who owns a number of 10,000 nutcrackers.)

In September of 2021, Wagner reached a outstanding milestone: the Guinness Global Report for the most important number of nutcrackers on the earth with 9,103 distinctive units. The museum’s Guinness glory used to be short-lived. A couple of months later the identify used to be taken via a Lithuanian guy with a number of 10,000 nutcrackers.

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Favorites come with centuries-old nutcrackers 

Within, the museum is a rebel of colour, covered with floor-to-ceiling, customized show instances which are meticulously curated via Wagner. Thus far, she mentioned, she has bought nutcrackers from 50 nations, spanning two millennia.

Arlene Wagner turned into a collector again in 1976 accidentally, she instructed NPR. She used to be the director of a ballet corporate in Renton, Wash., on the time and used to be striking up a manufacturing of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

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Right through a up to date seek advice from, Wagner confirmed off a few of her maximum prized trophies. Amongst them is likely one of the oldest crafted nutcrackers she possesses: a bronze software solid someday between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D. It were buried for hundreds of years someplace between Rome and Naples and used to be unearthed within the Nineteen Sixties, in step with the antiques broker who bought it for the Wagners. The small device measures 12 inches and is embellished with lion designs, indicating it most likely belonged to a rich historical Roman family, she mentioned.

One in all Arlene Wagner’s maximum prized acquisitions is a bronze software solid someday between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D. It were buried for hundreds of years someplace between Rome and Naples and used to be unearthed within the Nineteen Sixties, in step with the antiques broker who bought it for the Wagners. The small device measures 12 inches and is embellished with lion designs.

Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

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Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

Any other of her favorites is a merely carved, lever-style nutcracker from France this is comprised of wealthy, heat boxwood. It is about 8 inches lengthy and depicts the bust of a person who’s dressed in what looks as if a laurel wreath. Beneath the top is a date: 1554.

“It is the earliest known-of dated nutcracker on the earth,” Wagner says, emphasizing the phrase “dated.”

Some of the longest partitions at the first surface of the museum is devoted to near to any American vacation one can recall to mind. New Yr? Take a look at. Valentine’s Day? Take a look at. Cinco de Mayo? Take a look at. Wagner mentioned she adores the colours and costumes of every of the designs.

The museum’s assortment contains nutcrackers spanning all American vacations — together with Thanksgiving.

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How nutcrackers turned into an emblem of Christmas

Vacationers are attracted to Leavenworth on account of the Bavarian theme that is been followed via the entire the city’s companies — together with the native McDonald’s. Wagner boasts that the nutcracker museum and its present store have grow to be considered one of its primary sights. (It additionally most likely does not harm that there is a German beer lawn at the identical block.) And the iciness vacations are the museum’s time to polish.

“It is all so superb,” Linda Krueger instructed NPR. She could also be a nutcracker fanatic, visiting the museum from California together with her son and daughter-in-law. Over the past 45 years, Krueger has patiently accrued “an excessively large bath complete” of nutcrackers that fill her house once a year at Christmas. When explaining why she likes them, she simply mentioned, “I am German.”

The usefulness of nutcrackers have made them a family merchandise for hundreds of years. But it surely used to be the 1816 newsletter of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King via German writer E.T.A. Hoffman that ended in the common acclaim for the toy infantrymen and different figures from the e-book, in particular throughout Germany.

The 1816 newsletter of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King via German writer E.T.A. Hoffman ended in the common acclaim for the toy soldier nutcrackers and different figures from the e-book, in particular throughout Germany.

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A 17-minute movie produced via Wagner detailing the historical past of nutcrackers explains that ahead of the e-book, nutcrackers had been incessantly formed as kings and infantrymen and believed to carry excellent success and chase away evil. They had been incessantly given as presents from fall to the tip of the yr, when nuts are harvested, in step with Wagner. They had been additionally incessantly integrated in Christmas stockings together with goodies and nuts, she added.

Higher, toy soldier nutcrackers exploded in recognition in the US following Global Battle II, in step with Steinbach, some of the fashionable German nutcracker-making corporations. The trade seized at the alternative to introduce the brightly painted toys to a brand new marketplace: American infantrymen stationed within the German town of Hanover who sought after to take house a memento. Nowadays, Steinbach produces 30,000 to 40,000 nutcrackers a yr, and about 90% of them are bought within the U.S., the AP lately reported.

Then there used to be the ballet — particularly, George Balanchine’s model, which premiered on the New York Town ballet in 1954. The manufacturing and next excursions enchanted American audiences, firmly cementing the nutcracker as a Christmas famous person.

Theo Jung, 9, makes his manner down a nutcracker scavenger hunt tick list put in combination via the museum.

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The important thing to a longevity

Days ahead of her one hundred and first birthday, Wagner surveyed her two-story kingdom from her designated stool close to the museum’s front. “That is the place I will control the whole thing,” she mentioned, as she greeted a circulation of households, passed out scavenger hunt checklists and made certain present store shoppers had been being helped.

In this day and age she works about 4 hours an afternoon, and he or she’s were given a brand new “Nutcracker Woman” in coaching – Michelle McMullen, who is been via Wagner’s facet now for years. She’ll take over when Wagner is after all able to step again. However she does not look forward to that might be anytime quickly.

“The important thing to dwelling a longevity is to stick busy,” Wagner mentioned.

And as of this week, Wagner may have a unique new nutcracker on the market: a 10-inch hand carved reproduction of herself made via German artisans. A cloud of white hair and pearl necklace integrated.

Wagner holds the “Nutcracker Woman” figurine.

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