People and puzzles the perfect fit for Whitmore Park resident

Like many people in the pandemic, Lindsay Bzdel has been trying to find different ways to pass the time.

In the spring the Whitmore Park resident started putting together jigsaw puzzles, which she said she found to be “addicting.”

“It seems to bring people together. So if there’s other people in your home, often everybody gets involved in some way and age really doesn’t matter except for the really large puzzles with tons of little pieces,” Bzdel said.

“But otherwise, if you find a puzzle that fits for the people in your family, everybody can work on it.”

Others also may have found the same pleasure in the activity. Bzdel said puzzles were hard to find in stores and figured more people, like her, were searching for them.

She then made space on her front lawn for a community puzzle exchange, for people to take a puzzle, leave one, or both.

“I just thought, ‘There’s got to be a ton of people out there who’ve been doing puzzles forever and have a bunch,'” Bzdel said.

“I got one rather large donation at the beginning, which was a huge help.”

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A snapshot of the puzzles in circulation. (Lindsay Bzdel)

The exchange happens at the curb of Bzdel’s house at 21 Bobolink Bay, where she has left the puzzles in totes. She said she tries to leave people alone, but every once in a while makes some small talk.

“But if I happen to be outside, we do often just have some little conversations. But there is a man on the other side of the bay, who I’ve run into numerous times. So now he knows my dog. He brought me some chocolates at Christmas,” she said.

“I wasn’t expecting any huge connection because we’re not allowed to spend a lot of time with people but the connection is still there.”

Even in the absence of any formal rules, the exchange has been a success. Bzdel had been seeking more puzzle donations as the activity has proven popular, as supplies dwindled. Donors came through, providing another batch.

“I think people just really appreciate it when you can put something out there for them to participate in,” Bzdel said.

“Just in general, people are good.”

Bzdel didn’t think the exchange would last past the spring, so the experiment has already exceeded expectations. She’s open to making it permanent but could use some help building a suitable fixture to house the puzzles.

“The totes are great, they work well but they’re not the best-looking and they’re definitely not permanent,” she said.