Nutcrackers have turn out to be a beloved factor of Christmas decor. For Boone Superior Faculty science instructor Shannon Glass Lumley, they’re also a illustration of childhood decades invested living in Germany.
A self-explained “army brat,” Lumley’s father served in the U.S. Army. She was born in England and invested 5 a long time cumulatively living in Würzburg and Mannheim, Germany, followed by time residing in Georgia and Tennessee. Lumley has been a instructor for 19 several years. She moved to Ames in 2010 and relocated to Boone about 6 decades ago. She also serves as the Boone Significant University scholar council advisor.
As a small female, Lumley observed a uncomplicated creation of “The Nutcracker” whilst residing in Germany. Her mom obtaining a attractive nutcracker further more propelled Lumley’s fascination. Currently, her collection totals about 40 nutcrackers. She also has an entire Christmas tree that harbors small nutcracker ornaments.
“I was drawn to the story. The nutcracker soldier was the protector and the very good male,” she mentioned. “There are so a lot of nutcrackers out there. It is fascinating. I bear in mind as a child they were being all incredibly related. As I have gotten more mature, they’ve gotten additional attractive and have various meanings and symbolism.”
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” is an 1892 ballet adaptation of the E.T.A. Hoffmann 1816 tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” Decorative nutcrackers entered the mainstream after Earth War II, when U.S. soldiers stationed in Germany introduced them back again to America as items.
Nutcrackers, or nussknackers, were manufactured of wood and fashioned to glance like troopers and kings. Friedrich Wilhelm Füchtner (1844–1923), known in Germany as “father of the nutcracker,” begun the first mass production of the style, applying a lathe, at his workshop in Seiffen in Saxony in 1872, according to the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum.
Nutcrackers are normally sold in pairs, and Lumley gets a male and feminine set as Xmas gifts from her partner every calendar year. Items in her collection variety from nutcrackers that depict kings and queens and the Sugar Plum Fairy to ones that gentle up or are glittery and glamorous. She also has nutcracker apparel and jewelry.
“People who know me acquire me nutcrackers. They know that I’m nutty,” she said with a chuckle.
They vary in top from a several inches, to sentinels that stand a few ft tall. A university student once gifted her a nutcracker that is “a small diva.”
“He explained he observed it and considered I experienced to have it. It has a purse, fur and matching hat and coat. It’s an lovable nutcracker,” she mentioned.
Lumley leaves her nutcrackers out only for the Christmas period. They are purely for attractive applications, though numerous are functional. She also has an appreciation for smoker nutcrackers, which burn off incense.
Lumley likes to research for nutcrackers at lawn income and estate revenue, staying away from on the net procuring. She prefers nutcrackers created in Germany, but if a little something additional commercialized catches her eye, that is all right, far too.
She explained she’s fascinated in including nutcrackers to her assortment that depict a variety of sports teams and replicate her vocation as a instructor.
In addition to nutcrackers, she collects Hummel collectible figurines and plates, which tie into her like of German-made collectibles.
She encourages folks to see “The Nutcracker” executed are living on stage.
