Creatively arranged in an upstairs booth at CR Rustic Antique Mall in downtown North Platte, a vast array of Santa Clauses beam good spirits and joy from corners, racks and shelves, regardless of the season.

Their cheery smiles and winsome expressions invite shoppers to step in for a closer look.

Linda Butterfield of Gothenburg is an area antique dealer and owner of Vintage Treasures. In August 2023, Butterfield purchased the private collection of Nancy Meyer-Laier, affectionately known to many as the Santa Lady.

By October, Butterfield had designed a booth to showcase the Santas. She displays a fraction of the collection and continuously restocks the display as items are purchased.

Meyer-Laier’s daughter contacted Butterfield after seeing an ad for Vintage Treasures in a Gothenburg newspaper. The two ladies met, finalized the details and Butterfield purchased the Santa Lady’s collection. It has been a labor of love for Butterfield and her husband to move, sort and examine each of the estimated 5,000 pieces in the collection.

According to Butterfield, Meyer-Laier had the Santas displayed in her home throughout the year, regardless of the season. Meyer-Laier was a teacher at North Platte St. Patrick’s for 20 years and would enlist high school students to help her with set up and manage the collection. At Christmastime, the Santa Lady graciously opened her home and offered tours to anyone who was interested, provided they called ahead.

Comprised of more than mere figurines, the collection contains a nearly unimaginable range of Santa themed items. Nutcrackers, candles, snow globes and steins line the shelves. Shoppers will find needlepoint art, embroidered tea towels and a macramé wall hanging featuring the jolly old elf, as well as ornaments, jewelry and serving ware.

Not knowing The Santa Lady before Butterfield was contacted about purchasing the collection, she appreciated the opportunity to meet Meyer-Laier.

“It was such a pleasure to get to visit with her, she really is a remarkable lady,” Butterfield said.

Upon making her purchase decision she realized “It’s not about the money.”

Butterfield said it was evident that Meyer-Laier had made a considerable impact on the community through her career, with her service to others and kindhearted spirit.

“I knew I wanted to continue Nancy’s legacy and give people the chance to own a special piece of it,” she said.

Proud of her German heritage, Meyer-Laier would travel to Germany and always brought back a Santa to add to her collection.

An auspicious moment occurred as the Butterfields were sorting and packing the collection.

“We were about 80% finished with packing when I came across the original Santa and I was just thrilled!” Butterfield said.

In the early 60s when Pizza Hut first came to North Platte, the restaurant held a drawing for a Santa figurine, dressed in bright red felt and faux white fur, with a plastic face. Meyer-Laier entered the drawing in her son’s name and ultimately won the prize.

This unassuming little Santa produced the spark that ignited a desire to amass the collection of a lifetime. Butterfield recognized the original Santa from a KNOP-TV video clip that was produced years ago when the station interviewed the Santa Lady.

That Santa is displayed in the booth, alongside a description, but it will not be sold.

As the Santa collection grew from the Pizza Hut drawing, Butterfield coincidentally began a 30-year career with Pizza Hut, working her way up to a position in Human Resources. She feels a special bond with Meyer-Laier because of interesting connections like that.

Butterfield is pleased she purchased the collection.

“I feel blessed to be able to share the collection with the community,” she said. “It is important to me to carry on the Santa Lady’s legacy.”

The Vintage Treasures booth is inside CR Rustic Antique Mall at 108 E. Fifth St., along with many other displays of vintage items.

(This report was first published in the Bulletin’s March 20 print edition. Subscriptions start at $48 a year.)

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