Popular Tennessee Museum Celebrates Salt and Pepper Shakers

As a big fan of museums, I've planned road trips around visiting them. They never have to be very long trips, either; none of us is ever VERY far away from one.

Learning the history--biological, physical, geographical, political--of any location fascinates me to no end. But there are also less traditional museums that pique my interest and sometimes even more so than what I would find in your typical museum of science and history.

If you travel to east Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains (maybe I should say "when" instead of "if"), your plate is probably already full by the time you get there. But there's always downtime, so maybe you check out a quirky little Gatlinburg museum that's all about salt and pepper shakers.

I am an instant fan. No, I don't have a particular bent for salt and pepper shakers, but I love this collection. You know as well as I do that just about ANY idea someone might have could be the inspiration for these common dinner table accessories.

Since the above presentation is from 2017, I thought I'd do some digging to make sure this cool attraction is still going strong. Sure enough, it is. And didn't Amy Wildman go above and beyond the call of duty securing photos of the exhibits?

Maybe my fascination with this museum stems from my mother's love of every single holiday. No joke. She had special shakers for St. Patrick's Day, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving (of course), and Christmas.

I would be very surprised if I went to Gatlinburg's Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers and didn't find Santa and Mrs. Claus somewhere among the displays. I would be very surprised if ANY stone was left unturned at this intriguing museum.