Free 'Nutcracker museum' opens at Great Lakes Mall in Mentor - WKYC
MENTOR, Ohio — The holiday train is rolling past Del Monti's Italian Treats in Mentor's Great Lakes Mall. Right across from the sweet shop, things are a bit nutty, as in The Wonderful World of Nutcrackers.
Perry school teacher and collector Barry Sneed loves the fun figurines.
"It started with one as a gift, and a couple more, and now up to 1,306 38 years later," Sneed, who co-owns Del Monti's, said. Barry's first nutcracker was from the old Higbee's Department Store in downtown Cleveland, and nearly four decades later, the number and variety of his collection boggles the mind.
Sometimes, the nutcrackers find him.
"(I) found a Halloween one in the middle of the summer in Cape Cod on vacation," he remembered.
Sneed's collection has every nutcracker imaginable — from Santas to soldiers (some smartly attired) from all-American to international, from hunters to "punters: (sporting Browns uniforms, of course), and even a King Tut-cracker!
Alex and Cindy Mandelli are Barry's nutcracker hunters. Alex says they really enjoy the search.
"We help him find them, that's all," he said. "It's just a blessing to help someone who helps a good cause. It's a blessing!"
The cause Alex is speaking of is Little Annie's Hope Train, which helps the homeless in Lake and Cuyahoga counties. The museum is free to visit, but Barry hopes the magic inside these nutcrackers inspires a donation.
"The six people who run it (Little Annie's Hope Train), they go out (and) all the money they make literally goes into taking things, making things, for the homeless."
The vast array of figures is a feast for the eyes and will make you smile, but they aren't for sale. Barry says he's all about sharing the magic contained in his 1,300 nutcrackers.
"I want more people to see them, because I know they're going to love them."
So leave the nutcrackers, but head to Del Monti's and take the cannoli!