Solving the puzzle of stress with 40,320 pieces

What to do with 40,320 pieces that put together are 22 ft. 3 in. long, 6 ft. 3 in. high — that is the puzzle Elmer Kehler is trying to solve now.

The 10 scenes of Disney characters were ordered from Ravensburger in Austria as away for Kehler to deal with the day-to-day stresses of work and life. Now retired, Kehler said it took a while to get it because he first tried to order the puzzle in 2020, the height of COVID and the peak of puzzle popularity.

But by Christmas 2022, he fit the first piece to the second piece and was well on his way. Thankfully, his Steinbach Mennonite Church gave some space at the Crossview Church on Loewen Boulevard for others to come and see what 750 hours of patient fitting accomplished. The puzzle was held up on an angle by his self-built display backing.

Now when the puzzle is not taking up the full length of his garage, it sits broken up into its 10 scenes, waiting to be displayed elsewhere. Kehler said he is willing to consider any offer to display the puzzle, especially where children and fans of Disney can see it.

“But it has to be for at least a week,” said Kehler, who explained he takes it apart carefully so that he does not have to spend months putting it back together again.

He also wanted to acknowledge some of the credit for completing the puzzle should go to his granddaughter Sophie Fehr, now 15.