As a well-known prop designer for community theater productions in Sitka, Jack Petersen is no stranger to construction. He holds up one of his proudest works, a wooden nutcracker adorned in a blue marching band uniform.
“As an artist, I do get very particular about…not just like the visual aesthetics, but also how things feel, how they sound and stuff, and I love how this one feels when it cracks a nut,” Petersen said. “For being the first Nutcracker that I kept myself, I am very proud of the construction.”
Reaching into a basket of walnuts, Petersen plucks one out and places it into the nutcracker’s mouth, preparing for a satisfying crack.
This nutcracker is the first of three that Petersen has made. They are part of his large nutcracker collection, which features over 130 nutcrackers. Since the beginning of the month, the majority of the nutcrackers in Petersen’s collection have been displayed at Wildflour Cafe and Bakery, where he serves as a year-round line cook. The nutcrackers are spread out across the restaurant in an array of sizes and materials, some made from various kinds of wood, and others from relatively unconventional materials like iron and brass. Their uniforms are adorned in details marking their country of origin, from Germany to Russia. Wreaths of fake pine boughs and Christmas lights wrap around the room, a playful reminder to patrons that the holiday season is upon us.
While many of them are displayed out in the open by Wildflour’s entrance, some of the nutcrackers have more cheeky hiding spots.
“I do like hiding the nutcrackers really high up on shelves, especially for kids who like to look around and stuff,” said Petersen. “I have nutcrackers hiding in the rafters in the bathroom by the salt shakers there. It is a wonderful little game of ‘I Spy’ for people who want to come in and look around.”
Petersen’s fascination with nutcrackers began when he was around three years old, when he saw a local production of the iconic ballet, you guessed it, The Nutcracker.
“It was just like something magical,” Petersen said. “I like the ideas of toys and dolls and things coming to life when we don’t see them and stuff.”
While many young audience members who attend the yearly production often walk away inspired to become ballerinas, the show took Petersen’s imagination in a different direction.
“This may seem silly, but I remember being a kid and wishing that I could crack a nut with a nutcracker and having daydreams of some whimsical Drosselmeyer figure of my own to [say] ‘Hello, young boy. Would you like to crack a nut?,'” said Petersen.
As his admiration for nutcrackers persisted over time, Petersen began the work of collecting them to fulfill his childhood dream.
“Eventually, when I became an adult with adult money, but none of the adult responsibility, I started looking online, reaching out, and started researching nutcrackers that could actually crack nuts, and one thing led to another, and we are now here,” he said.
When it comes to determining what nutcrackers to add to his collection, Petersen is drawn to those that have unique designs that resonate with his inner child.
“I really love finding the ones that are homemade, like they’re ones that individual people made, or smaller crafters, or some older oddities,” said Petersen. “I look for ones that look like they could have leapt off of the children’s books I used to read as a kid because I don’t know, there’s just something really magical about that.”
And it is that very magic that Petersen wishes to share with the community through displaying his collection at Wildflour.
“I love sharing my collection with people, and I specifically love being able to share nutcrackers that actually crack nuts, because it’s a very mundane thing, but it’s also not something that the average person gets to do in a lifetime,” he said. “And it’s a bit of holiday magic to be silly.”
Petersen’s nutcrackers will continue to be displayed up until Christmas, before being packed away once more as Wildflour begins renovations in January. In the meantime, Petersen hopes his collection can spread some Christmas cheer, and that he can maybe even help some folks crack a nut for the very first time, just like the nut-cracking mentor he dreamed of having as a child.
