28 Piece Puzzle

What started out as a simple jigsaw puzzle purchased at a craft show has now become a family keepsake. The jigsaw puzzle below is the work of Andrew "Mac" Smith (son of Vivian Smith, grandson of Ruby and George Prosser). More than a decade ago, back in 1991, Andrew "Mac" Smith discovered at a craft show a simple 29 piece jigsaw puzzle shaped like the state of Texas. Almost immediately, it occurred to him that this puzzle could be modified to represent all 28 grandchildren of Bom and Justus. However, there was only one problem. This was a 29 piece puzzle and Bom had only 28 grandchildren. Yet, Mac went along with the purchase and then pondered as to what he was going to do with the leftover piece. Then, to Mac's surprise, the problem of the leftover piece was quickly solved when he recounted the pieces and only counted 28 cutout pieces. The 29th piece was actually the body of the puzzle and not a cutout piece as first thought.

Then, with a little designing, a little engraving, and a little painting, Mac refashioned the simple map and allocated a piece of Texas to each of the 28 grandchildren of Bom and Justus, all in their "pecking order" and all by family color. Red pieces, of course, represent members of Aunt Mattie's family, while gold symbolizes those of Aunt Ruby, and green and blue represent Uncle Vernon and Uncle Spencer. The order, or position, of each piece also has significance and are arranged in birth order. The oldest grandchildren, Justice and Arvan, are at the top, in the panhandle of Texas. Then, moving down the map and from left to right toward the Gulf of Mexico, the birth order continues down to the youngest grandchildren, Verna "Marge" and Claudia.

Many family members have been very impressed with Mac's Map and has requested copies. To date several maps have been made for various family members.