Puzzle-Palooza in Full Swing in Mills River
Puzzle-palooza is in full swing.
Mills River Presbyterian Church, in an effort to bring the community closer together in a fun and unique way, is tackling what is billed as the world's largest jigsaw puzzle. A mere 24,000 pieces - each one no bigger than a nickel - are scattered across four tables inside the church's fellowship hall. Huddled over all those pieces is a small army of people, from 6-year-olds to seniors, all of them hunting for that next piece that will move the group a small step closer to completing the perplexing puzzle.
Church member Larry Sunday came up with the idea to attempt the puzzle. He thought it would be a fun way to foster fellowship among the church congregation and members of the Henderson County community. As he surveyed the room, he smiled at the way everyone was having fun and enjoying themselves. Well, almost everyone.
"Larry's the one that caused this aggravation," a joking Charlie Phillips said. "I'm not a puzzle person to begin with. I came earlier today, and the first 30 minutes I found probably five pairs. That's putting two pieces together that didn't fit anywhere else. Then I actually found three or four that all went together. Two hours later I did not find another piece. I think it's a wonderful idea, but it's going to be a time-consuming event I'm afraid."
The puzzle even stumped the pastor. Randall Boggs said he wasn't "a puzzle person" and did his best to help his flock toward the finish line. The point of the puzzle, he said, is to encourage people as a new decade dawns.
"The theme is 'Putting the Pieces Together. It's the start of a new year, a new decade, and we want to help people find their place and feel welcome here, but also find out how their skills and interests and talents fit into a larger picture here at the church and in the community," Boggs said. "It's fun, and there's no expectations other than come join us and have fun."
The puzzle is titled Life: The Great Challenge, and when completed it will measure 5 feet by 14.5 feet. The picture displays a colorful menagerie of sea life, land animals, sailboats, hot air balloons and distant planets. Sunday said the community will work practically nonstop on the puzzle until it is finished. He's optimistic the final piece will be put in place Monday.
"I figure we'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 to 90 hours," Sunday said.
Church member Kathy Ziprik is looking forward to seeing the finished product hanging somewhere within the church. Bringing people together may be the puzzle marathon organizers' main goal, but there is a bit of fame that goes along with completing the puzzle.
"We'll take a picture and write a report because there is a Web site for the puzzle, and it's called worldslargestpuzzle.com," Sunday said. "They have a hall of fame, and it shows the folks from all over the world who have put this puzzle together, organizations, teams, individuals. There's even a fellow who's a quadriplegic, and he put it together."
Ziprik added the Mills River Presbyterian Church and the puzzle volunteers will hopefully accomplish a couple of firsts for the puzzle hall of fame.
"When we complete it, we will be in the hall of fame as the first organization in North Carolina to complete it and also the first church that is on the hall of fame," she said. "It is a very challenging puzzle. I whip puzzles together in a weekend, and this one's very challenging. But it has done exactly what we had hoped. It has brought different members of the community out who have never been here before. It has given our congregation members an opportunity to come together on a cold winter evening. It has been real fun to see people coming together."
Saturday afternoon, there were still plenty of pieces yet to be put together. The church is encouraging anyone who wants to help out to drop by at any time. In addition to the puzzle, there is food, music and plenty of warmth from friends and neighbors to fight off the winter chill.
The church is located just off Banner Farm Road at 10 Presbyterian Church Road in Mills River.
Visit a slideshow of the event.
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