Minnesota Town Boasts More Nutcrackers Than People

Nutcrackers are one of those tools that we don’t use very often. They still tend to find their way into our homes, typically around Christmas time.

It seems as if there are also some parts of the world where nutcrackers are more popular than others. This includes the area of Luverne, where there are 5,012 nutcrackers that call the Rock County History Center home.

According to the Nutcracker Museum, most people recognize the fact that nutcrackers have a functional purpose but they actually have more to do with the holidays, especially since the late 1800s.

Prior to that, they were handcrafted and they didn’t always look like toy soldiers. They had the purpose of cracking nuts, so people could eat them.

The interesting thing about Luverne is the fact that there are more nutcrackers than people living in that area of Minnesota. Out of the 5000+ nutcrackers that are at the Rock County History Center, more than 3000 belong to one individual.

According to Denver 7, Betty Mann is 92 years old and she is the proud owner of thousands of nutcrackers. She was having a difficult Christmas back in 2001 and decided that she would start collecting them.

Some people call themselves a crazy cat lady but she calls herself a “Crazy Nutcracker Lady.” In fact, when speaking with a local radio station, she said that she even has a shirt that proves it.

There are more than just toy soldiers in this unique Nutcracker collection. They have various characters from the Wizard of Oz, as well as the police, Pirates, and of course, Santa Claus.

You can see some of the collection in the video below: