Wrens Nest: Wrenshall news

On a computer screen in Wrenshall last Saturday, the fate of the first champion of the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association was being decided. The president of the association and Wrenshall resident, Valerie Coit, was toggling through her Zoom screen gallery to keep a close eye on the more than 100 teams and individuals competing from 11 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. when the final heat ended. Coit's attention to detail paid off as a few of the contestants were within seconds of each other's time.

"Some of the competitors lost time because they dropped a couple pieces," she said.

Coit has always been a puzzler, and a competitive one at that. She consistently placed in the top three at the Duluth Puzzle Contest in the early 2000s. She then reinvigorated the competition as the Duluth Puzzle Derby, which now serves as a fundraiser for area 4-H programs. She also led a team to multiple victories at the St. Paul Winter Carnival amidst 70 other competitive teams.

The jigsaw puzzle association formed just before the pandemic hit, coming together in January after the World Jigsaw Federation put potential world champion contestants in touch with each other and encouraged them to start a group in the United States. Coit was elected as president in May and has been working with a group of four other committee members to create a nationwide community for jigsaw enthusiasts, provide guidelines and support for competitive jigsaw puzzling competitions, and work with the World Jigsaw Puzzling Federation to determine the puzzlers eligible to represent the United States at the annual world competition.

This past weekend's competition was the first for the association. There were 30 states represented and the event raised $3,000 for Covid-19 relief efforts.

"One of the things we are trying to encourage is a community around puzzling, whether that is supporting groups that are getting together to puzzle for fun, or connecting them with puzzle swaps," she said.

Coit says that being part of the organization has only increased her passion. "I now have a much larger puzzle family - I'm doing puzzles with others on Zoom [and] I'm doing puzzles by myself and posting my times on a group Google doc."

"We've put in place systems where you don't have to fly to Minneapolis to compete – you can do it right from your dining room table," she said.

The group is working with other international groups. Coit was part of an online call with an Australia puzzle association to discuss potential collaborations.

'Scarecrow scenes'

Wrenshall is putting together a new idea to try and get residents to keep going outside and moving their bodies. The inaugural "scarecrow scenes" will take place in Hugh Line Park at the end of October and feature 6-foot-square dioramas. Mayor DonnaMae Weiderman is hoping to draw visitors to an outdoor attraction that is fun and unique.

"It is low cost and we're able to showcase our community in a unique way," she said. She is soliciting area business and organizations to adopt a plot. There is no cost to participate and visitors will vote on their favorite through Nov. 3.

The best way for people to reserve a plot is to contact the city of Wrenshall at [email protected] or 218-384-3680. The only thing that the city asks is that some sort of scarecrow is included in the diorama, but it is up to the designers to interpret.

If you have a Wrenshall related news story you want to share (or have cabbage recipes) email Annie at [email protected] or call 218-310-4703.