Tennessee siblings honor late mother with salt-and-pepper shaker museum containing over 20,000 items

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Two siblings are continuing their late mother’s dream of running a museum containing her extensive collection of unique salt-and-pepper shakers. 

Alex and Andrea Ludden — brother and sister — run a salt-and-pepper museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, as an ode to their late mother. 

Their mom, Andrea Ludden Sr., was an archeologist who collected salt-and-pepper shakers for 35 years before passing away in 2015, SWNS reported.

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Over the years, the mom collected roughly 60,000 salt-and-pepper shakers and opened a museum to show off the unique finds in 2002. 

Daughter Andrea Ludden said honoring her late mother is what matters the most now, telling Fox News Digital the museum allows her and her brother "to honor and share the vision [my] mother had."

Two siblings are continuing their late mother's legacy by running a museum that houses the 20,000 salt-and-pepper shakers that their mother collected.  (SWNS)

She said her mother’s fascination began "when she bought a pepper mill to replace a broken one."

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As the younger Ludden also told SWNS, "From there, it went onto salt-and-pepper shakers [and] she began to hunt them out everywhere."

"For us, running the museum is a labor of love."

Ludden added that her mother loved looking at the intricate designs, themes and varieties of the shakers. 

One unique item is a McDonald's salt-and-pepper shaker set from 2002. (SWNS)

The archaeologist’s full collection at one point numbered around 60,000 items before she gave some away to a relative and a collector in Israel. 

Today, daughter Ludden said she and her brother continue to run the museum, which contains roughly 20,000 shakers from the family collection.

Over 20 years ago, said Ludden, her late mother spent hours sorting through thousands of shakers into colors and themes to ensure they were displayed perfectly in the museum.

"The passion started with her — [and] because of her, history and curiosity [were] always part of the family," Ludden said to SWNS.

Andrea and Alex Ludden at The Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. They're now carrying on their family's legacy.  (SWNS)

She said, "For us, running the museum is a labor of love."

Ludden told Fox News Digital that the collection makes her wonder what inspired the creators to make the specific designs that they did. 

"Do you know how much time and effort it must have taken some artist to come up with an idea?" she said. 

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The Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum is still located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and visitors can see the display seven days a week for just $3, according to the museum’s website. 

The Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, contains roughly 20,000 shakers for guests to view.  (SWNS)

Ludden said the museum sees roughly 25,000 visitors each year. 

"People walk in not knowing what to expect and come out with a whole new perspective," she told Fox News Digital. 

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The current Guinness World Record for the largest collection of salt and pepper shakers is just 6,971, but Ludden told SWNS that the family has no interest in going for the title. 

The family said their museum features an entire wall display of fruit-themed shakers, another one for vegetables, another one for marine life — and another one for iconic cartoon characters.

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