Woodcarver spreads holiday cheer with decorated thread spools

For most of his life, Paul Stoutenborough has put the needs of others first. So when the longtime woodcarver and former carpenter ran across some old wooden thread spools at a garage sale, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with them.

He carved outlines of Christmas trees and hearts on them, painted them and then brought them to Boulder City Hospital for its long-term care residents and to Quail Ridge Manor.

“Each one is wrapped in a prayer for happiness and wellness,” he said.

Salome Jarvis, activities director for the hospital, said the small gifts will be appreciated by the residents.

Since the beginning of COVID, she has not been able to bring in volunteers or take the residents on field trips so anything the community has done to remember them has been extremely helpful, she said.

“The community and hospital has made Christmas amazing for the patients,” Jarvis said.

Stoutenborough said he found the old thread spools about a year ago and knew immediately what he wanted to do with them. In all, he carved and painted about 200 spools, spending about 10 minutes on each.

Previously, Stoutenborough carved Christmas trees for residents of assisted living homes.

In addition to sending some holiday cheer to local senior citizens, he is a member of the Community Club of Boulder City and helped build more than 30 homes for Habitat for Humanity.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.