web1_hat5.jpg

Hats have a chance to shineat annual Polish Room tea

web1_grace.man_.with_.cane_.jpeg

Trip to India confirms local woman’s desire to serve

<p>All it took was 10 months.</p><p>And, yes, sometimes Ginny Stivers felt like quitting.</p><p>But she and Walter DeBaecke persevered and proudly completed the 4,000-piece jigsaw puzzle they started last year at the Edwardsville Active Adult Center.</p><p>&#8220;There was no down time. While the glue was drying on the big puzzle, they put together and framed this little one,&#8221; center director Mary Lou Kocher said Monday, pointing to yet another puzzle on the wall. &#8220;And now they have a new one.&#8221;</p><p>This newest puzzle, a picture of a harbor, is only 2,000 pieces. That makes it more manageable, Stivers said, than the time-consuming, 4,000-piece picture of a castle in France&#8217;s Loire Valley.</p><p>&#8220;That was the most challenging, frustrating puzzle I ever worked on,&#8221; said Stivers, 68, of Luzerne.</p><p>&#8220;But you never stepped away,&#8221; Kocher said.</p><p>&#8220;Wait, wait,&#8221; Stivers admitted. &#8220;Once when Walter wasn&#8217;t here I almost threw the puzzle. I was so frustrated. Then I thought, &#8216;Oh my God he would kill me.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>So Stivers never threw the puzzle across the room, but quietly remained DeBaecke&#8217;s main helper, while other visitors at the Active Adult Center stopped by to help sort pieces by color every now and then.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s beautiful,&#8221; Sandy Humpter, 88, of Wilkes-Barre said as she admired the finished product.</p><p>&#8220;They were so diligent,&#8221; said Lorraine Gillespie, 74, of Larksville.</p><p>To make the finished puzzle suitable for framing, DeBaecke, 70, of Kingston, said he put it between two boards and flipped it so he could apply two coats of glue to the front of the puzzle and two to the back.</p><p>With such a large puzzle, DeBaecke said, it was almost inevitable that a piece &#8212; or two or three &#8212; would be missing.</p><p>&#8220;Evidently some pieces fell on the floor and were swept away,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;But look at it. You can&#8217;t tell,&#8221; he added as he pointed to three tiny spaces that each had been filled in with the appropriate color pencils.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL061119jigsaw1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Walter DeBaecke and Ginny Stivers stand in front of the 4,000 piece puzzle &#8212; proudly displayed on a wall at the Edwardsville Active Adults Center &#8212; that took them 10-months to make.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL061119jigsaw1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Walter DeBaecke and Ginny Stivers stand in front of the 4,000 piece puzzle &#8212; proudly displayed on a wall at the Edwardsville Active Adults Center &#8212; that took them 10-months to make.  </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL061119jigsaw2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Eager for the next challenge, Walter DeBaecke and Ginny Stivers are working on another jigsaw puzzle, a picture of a harbor that has &#8216;only&#8217; 2,000 pieces. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL061119jigsaw2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Eager for the next challenge, Walter DeBaecke and Ginny Stivers are working on another jigsaw puzzle, a picture of a harbor that has &#8216;only&#8217; 2,000 pieces. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL061119jigsaw3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jigsaw puzzle enthusiast Walter DeBaecke has found a willing helper in Ginny Stivers. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL061119jigsaw3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Jigsaw puzzle enthusiast Walter DeBaecke has found a willing helper in Ginny Stivers. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL061119jigsaw4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The start date for the latest jigsaw puzzle is written on the board on which the puzzle rests.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL061119jigsaw4.jpg</photo3><caption3>The start date for the latest jigsaw puzzle is written on the board on which the puzzle rests.  </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Finished product decorates wall at Edwardsville Active Adult Center</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mary Therese Biebel</p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jigsaw masters persevere,finish challenging puzzle