The Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland received a donation of what the collector says is the largest collection of Dept. 56 Snow Village & Dept. 56 Christmas North Pole Villages in the state of Nebraska.
Robert and Grace Felthousen of Plattsmouth, Nebraska donated over 400 villages along with hundreds of little displays that go along with the collection. The majority of the pieces are no longer available for sale at outlets that carry Dept. 56 Villages. The collection, a display of rare and retired pieces, took the Feltousens 33 years to acquire. The majority of the pieces are no longer sold at outlets that carry Dept. 56 Villages.
The villages are so popular the Felthousens welcomed over 350 guests in their home last year. Now they hope to share their collection with a larger audience for years to come.
"The number of people who are interested in visiting the villages is overwhelming for one household," said Robert Felthousen. "we donated it so that Museum guests can admire and enjoy what took us a lifetime to collect."
Saturday, the display opens. It's part of SAC's annual "Santa Goes to Space" event. "Santa Goes to Space" features Santa Claus, the Star Wars "Stormtroopers", and interactive family fun activities from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
