About Us
In 1978, the same year that Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream was founded in Vermont, two entrepreneurs in New Hampshire started a small poster company that evolved into White Mountain Puzzles.
Ben & Jerry’s rapidly became a national brand and was sold to food giant Unilever in 2000. White Mountain Puzzles grew more gradually and is still a family owned business. Founders Cronan Minton and Ted Wroblewski are still involved but have turned over the day to day operations and ownership to their respective sons, Sean and Colin.
Ted and Cronan are proud that White Mountain Puzzles has grown into one of the top puzzle brands in the United States! It took them longer than Ben & Jerry, but the satisfaction of having their sons involved in the business is worth its weight in gold.
White Mountain Puzzles is still located in Jackson, NH (pop. 850), in the White Mountain National Forest, just a few minutes from Mount Washington (elevation 6288 feet), in a beautiful village dotted with turn-of-the-century inns and B&Bs. The office overlooks the Jackson Grammar School, a white clapboard building that had three classrooms and 45 students when Sean went there as a kid. Now Sean and Colin are both married and have growing families of their own.
By sticking with the same business for over 35 years, White Mountain Puzzles has maintained relationships with thousands of accounts, manufacturers, printers, designers, sales representatives, and dozens of talented artists.
Every White Mountain Puzzle is manufactured in America. Every year our quality improves. All our puzzles are interlocking and made of sturdy blue chipboard on recycled paper. Our 1000 piece puzzles are the LARGEST IN THE INDUSTRY, measuring 24" x 30" when finished.
Due to our rural location, we’ve tried to stay ahead of the pack — to create puzzles that are more original and colorful... more educational... more entertaining...and, in all cases, immediately recognizable as WHITE MOUNTAIN PUZZLES.
In 2018 we represented New Hampshire as one of only 50 companies - one from each state - invited to the White House for the Made in America Showcase. For the past 5 years we have been named one of the top FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES in New Hampshire by NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS MAGAZINE. In 2021 we were among the top 5 fastest growing private companies in NH.
We take pride in the competence of our staff. Many of our customers are familiar with the friendly voices answering the phones in Jackson — Manager Kimberly Hotarek, Cathy, Karin, Grace, Wendy, Carol, Julie, Amy, Kristina and Lauren in retail. Jill, Bob, Alicia and BJ in the store. Suzannah, Vanessa and Melinda in wholesale, and Abram Jacobs and Peggy Maynard in sales. They bend over backwards to make sure every customer is satisfied.
Perhaps puzzle designer Charlie Girard summed up the spirit of our company best:
“It’s almost as if we’re all part of an extended family. After working in big and small corporations for over 30 years, you come to realize that there is more to a company than bricks and mortar, dollars and cents, or Fortune 500 status. To me White Mountain Puzzles is a great example of what is right about American companies and how people are treated as part of a team.”
