Nutcracker Museum

1st Quarter Newsletter 2023

for the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

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     We are pleased to announce that a total 34,347 people visited the Nutcracker Museum in 2022, including children under 5 and active military with their families who receive free admission. This is the record number to date, and would have been higher except for the extremely cold weather in November and December which kept the mountain passes closed many days.

The museum has had visitors from every state in the Union, every province in Canada, and from over 100 other countries.   Many international visitors will find specimens from their countries, and those from India find a display of betel cutters larger than any in their own country!  We also have a display for students to identify nutcrackers in the costumes of different countries.

     The Nutcracker Hunts (our version of the scavenger hunt) create much excitement for all ages from 3 to 93, and the adults are having as much fun as the kids   New hunts have been made for various animals, different Steinbach designs, and for the numerous hats that nutcrackers wear.  We also have hunts written in Spanish for the many visitors who come our neighboring countries.  Reread the January 2019 quarterly newsletter and you will see examples of how the hunts vary with age.   Here is one example that shows while a student looks for a man with long nose, the adults will congratulate themselves for finding a bird biting a man’s nose.

KILROY

     The phrase “Kilroy Was Here” and the distinctive accompanying doodle became associated with GIs during World War II displaying a bald-headed man with a prominent nose peeking over a wall with his fingers clutching the wall.  Servicemen adopted the slogan and would draw the picture and the text on the walls and other places where they were stationed, encamped, or visited. An Ad in  ‘Life’ magazine noted that WWII-era servicemen were fond of claiming that “whatever beachhead they stormed, they always found notices up ahead of them that “Kilroy Was Here”.

Historians point to James J. Kilroy (1902–1962), an American shipyard inspector who worked at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA as the author of these posts.  During the war, Kilroy marked work he had inspected and approved with the phrase "Kilroy Was Here" in durable crayon.  Later he added the drawing.  Many of these figures remained on the ships as they landed in foreign ports.

The talented John Bruce of Bruce’s Woodworks in Draper, Utah carved this tiny 2.5 inch Kilroy that brings a special delight to the older veterans who visit the museum.

NEWS FOR ANTIQUE NUTCRACKER COLLECTORS

     If you collect antique nutcrackers, you will be interested in knowing about the Nutcracker Collectors Club under the direction of Susan Otto of Chesterland, Ohio. The group includes collectors from every part of the US and several foreign countries.  A modest yearly fee brings 4 newsletters a year full of information about carved figural nutcrackers as well as other types of nutcrackers in various materials and from various locations. This includes all kinds of nutcrackers except the wooden toy soldiers so popular at Christmas time.  An annual convention hosted by a prominent collector gives you a chance to view their collection, meet other collectors, learn more about your own collection, and even buy or sell pieces.  For more information contact Susan Otto directly at nutsue@roadrunner.com

COMING IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER

     We will give news about NUTCRACKER  DAY to be held on June 1 with free admission and a chance to win a prize.  On this day we will also be cracking nuts with antique mechanical nutcrackers like your grandparents used.      

     The Second Quarter Newsletter will also list all information about the contest we have for kids to make anything that will crack a hazelnut.  Judging for the contest will be June 24, and cash prizes will be awarded to those with winning designs.   If you want a head start, all information for the contest is already online at KidsLoveNutcrackers.com

Arlene Wagner, The Nutcracker Lady

Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum Email: curator@nutcrackermuseum.com