Butterflies and Blue Santas

Sandy Rettschlag

3 years ago

Does everybody have a favorite collection? As I was growing creating a collection seemed to be a way of getting a child to have something constructive to do. Today, of course, we know that most of our children don’t even think about collecting anything as they are too busy with their phones or video games.

When I was a child I had a cousin who lived in Madison who had a butterfly and moth collection. Since I spent a lot of time with her during the summer I was able to share this fun activity with her. My uncle Lloyd built me a glass case for me to mount my findings. This involved going on picnics in the woods in Madison which is not where the Hilldale Mall and surrounding houses and businesses are now located. We had butterfly nets which was netting attached to a pole. We would spend hours upon hours searching for a wonderful, beautiful moth or butterfly. We also had books that helped us identify each one. This was a great learning experience and I enjoyed it for many years.

When I got home my mom took over helping me with my collection. I would go to a neighbor’s house where she had a beautiful flower garden. I caught some of the most beautiful butterflies and moths from her garden. I would bring my catch home. My mom would put them in a jar with mothballs and they would die. Then quickly after they died she would attach them to a board by carefully placing a pin through the body and holding down their wings with strings attached to the board.

I mistakenly took my collection for a show and tell at school. In my butterfly case, I had moth balls to keep any unwanted insects from getting to the mounted specimens. Unfortunately, the kids used this as a game and tried to roll the moth balls around the butterflies and a lot of them got broken wings. This ended my beautiful collection.

Now, as an adult, I started collecting blue Santa Clauses. I love my collection, but it is a job getting them all out at Christmas. They tend to take up a lot of room, so sometimes I bring out just a few at a time. I like the idea of doing something and when I saw my first blue Santa I knew that was unique.

But, one thing you have to be careful of is telling everyone you have a certain collection as you will get that item for every birthday, Christmas, or any event you receive a present. It can add up. I don’t really have a favorite, but I have one that is hand carved by a friend, a teeny tiny one that is so little, and there are certainly not two that are alike. One of my favorites is a picture drawn by a friend framed in blue. I can look at most of my collection and know that most of them have a story for me to remember.