Waseca Library puzzle competition gets heated

While the snowplows were busy outside the Waseca Public Library the morning  of Jan. 21, inside starting at 10 a.m. five people were locked in competition, and things were getting intense.

 

The Jigsaw Puzzle Derby competition was split up between a team of three women–Sheila, Amy and Allicyn–in one corner, and full-time mother of four Angela Deraad and her 2-year-old son Dominic. Angela is a 2007 graduate of Waseca High School. She has four children, one each in second, fifth, and sixth grade, and of course little blond Dominic. Angela’s husband, Drew Deraad, is a police officer for the city of New Richland.

 

Dominic could not truly be said to be competing. He was busy watching a cartoon on his mother’s phone, so his contributions were his good behavior and keeping his hands to himself. As the music played lightly from Dominic’s video, his mother was a little further ahead of the three women at the other table. Friendly competition or no, she had some obvious skills. When asked about her love of puzzles, Angela replied, “I just enjoy doing them. A while back I used to live up north in Alexandria. I was there for three years or so; their library had a large collection of puzzles on a table, and I would pick through those.”

As she spoke, she found piece after piece and added each  to the picture. Both teams were working on the same puzzle: an old-fashioned main street scene with coffee shops and a grocery. There were trees in the background and a bike parked out front. With an ease most might attribute to professionals, Angela fitted the cardboard pieces together one by one. She was asked about the hardest puzzle she’s ever done and she replied, “There was this one puzzle in Alexandria that was two-sided, but once the first side was finished, and it was flipped over, it had to be rotated 90 degrees and another puzzle was on the back side. It was very complicated, but I finished it. Again, I’m not an expert, I just like doing puzzles.”

 

At the other table, Shirley, Allicyn and Amy were doing their best to keep up with Angela. Allicyn, who served in the Army from 2003 to 2009, was stationed in Iraq from 2005 to 2007. Of her team, she said, “We just like doing puzzles, the three of us live close to each other in town here, so it makes sense we would do this together.” She then lightheartedly suggested more questions should be asked of Angela in order to distract her, since a cursory glance showed Angela was in the lead. Shirley said, “The winner of the puzzle competition gets a candy bar, and I really want it.”

 

A phone call later in the day revealed Allicyn, Shirley and Amy were the winners, but at that moment, the three ladies and the mother of four were left to their own devices, and to see who was the best puzzler.