A nutcracker suite

Deepa Bharath

Frank Lynch’s living room looks a lot like a nutcracker museum.

The handmade, wooden dolls -- 107 of them -- are lined up in his

home. Soldiers guard the entrance. King Arthur is perched on a coffee

table. Puss in Boots smiles from the fireplace. There are even Mickey

Mouse and Goofy nutcrackers, a Ben Franklin, a banker, a Mouse King,

the Three Wise Men and a Sugar Plum Fairy nutcracker.

“I have a lot of nutcrackers,” Lynch admitted with a laugh. “I

have nutcrackers that would crack anything from a pistachio to a

coconut.”

Over the last 35 years, the 81-year-old Newport Beach resident has

collected these dolls that range in size from 6 inches to 6 feet. The

collection was initiated by Lynch’s late wife, Marilyn.

“She was a ballet mom,” he said.

Their dancer daughter, Molly Lynch, artistic director for the

Ballet Pacifica, has starred in “The Nutcracker” since she was 10

years old and for the last 15 years, has directed and choreographed

the production.

“To me it’s all about the ballet, the magic of the Nutcracker,”

she said.

Lynch has always admired her parents’ collection.

“They’re very individual and unique,” said Lynch. “And they make

interesting characters.”

Through their daughter’s involvement in the ballet, the parents

developed an interest in nutcrackers.

“The collection was something we could do together as a couple,”

Frank Lynch said. “It was something we did jointly.”

Marilyn passed away in 1998, but Lynch still continues to buy two

or three dolls every year. It’s become an unstoppable holiday

tradition in his household.

Every year, during the holidays, two van loads of nutcrackers

march out of the storage garage to Lynch’s home. The day after

Christmas, they go back to the garage neatly put away in boxes. It’s

almost a Christmas ritual.

Lynch orders the nutcrackers from a German company that

manufactures limited edition dolls every year.

“Each time they manage to come up with something new,” he said.

“Last year they came up with the special edition 9/11 set.” That set consists of three nutcrackers -- one policeman and two firefighters.

Some of the dolls, he got from other sources. The tallest one in

his collection is a 6-foot soldier that he bought from a display

window at a local store that sold designer clothing.

“It was part of their holiday display,” he said. “ I had never

seen one that big. It was so unique.”

So, he asked them what they were going to do with it after

Christmas. They said they didn’t know.

“I talked them into selling it to me,” Lynch said.

The nutcrackers he has collected, Lynch said, are priced anywhere

between $200 and $300.

“It’s a very simple design,” he said. “They’re functional and nice

to look at.”