EAST LANSING, Mich. - Val Berryman, curator of history at the Michigan State University Museum, is getting his Santa Claus memorabilia ready for display in the Lansing area. However, a national publication has beaten him to the punch.
An article on Berryman and his vast personal collection will be featured in the winter 2001 edition of Better Homes and Gardens' Creative Home, scheduled to hit newsstands this month.
The eight-page color photo and story spread highlights selected Santa pieces from America, France, Germany, Russia and England.
"I wanted to emphasize the foreign pieces in the collection and focus on the way Santas and Santa substitutes have been depicted in other countries," Berryman said.
It all started when magazine personnel talked with Vaughn and Stephanie Rawson of Mason. The couple, Santa carvers who were featured in the November 2000 issue of Crafts and Decorating Showcase, now Creative Home, were familiar with his collection and suggested the staff talk to Berryman.
He sent some photos to the magazine for its consideration and the rest, as they say, is history.
An editor and photographer came to his Williamston home for a two-day shoot and ended up having to do it all in one, as luggage and cameras were lost in transit for a time.
"It was amazing how much they accomplished in that one day, taking so many photos of the pieces in various positions," he said. "When they came to do the story in August, we had to cut greenery off my bushes to set the scene."
Berryman, who started working as a senior art student at the museum 38 years ago, has been curator 35 years. He has been collecting Santa memorabilia since 1983 and plans to donate his collection to the MSU Museum to keep the collection available for the enjoyment of others.
Besides teaching an MSU Alumni Association Evening College course on the history of Santa in November, he will be displaying pieces of the collection at the Kellogg Center and MSU Museum in November and December.
A talk he will be presenting at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Turner-Dodge House in Lansing will be videotaped for later viewing on local cable television. The dates of the displays at the Turner-Dodge House are Dec. 2-17, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and on Wednesdays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Berryman says he plans to keep on scoping out antique shows and shops to find new Santa pieces to add to his collection.
His favorite piece?
"That's like asking someone who's their favorite child. I have some favorites, but it's more exciting when the next image comes along to help me tell the story of Santas around the world."