What Hat Are You Wearing Today 1?

[Kirk H.]

Kirk, Enjoy these opportunities whenever you have the chance. These days will pass very quickly and she'll be grown before you realize it.

BR

Thanks BR. You are right it seems that she is growing up so fast. I know that she will only grow up once so I try to be at every important event for her.

Kirk

 

[johnnycanuck]

Blue smoke VS

Johnny

 

[daizawaguy]

Many thanks. My boots are custom Whites smoke jumper on a semi dress last, black rough out and brown water buffalo.

 

[delectans]

Really enjoyed the wonderful photos of you and your daughter, Kirk! Hope you can post some additional photos of the dance.

 

[delectans]

Whistling Wings And Whittled Ducks

Waterfowl decoys are a unique, North American folk art. Whittled and painted by hunters and self-taught artists over the past hundred years, those utilitarian 'blocks' which survived seasons on the water, fooling their feathered counterparts, have been admired and avidly collected for generations. Our annual Minnesota Decoy Collectors Association Show And Sale has traditionally kicked-off the decoy collecting season the first week in February.






Friends and fellow collectors from all over the U.S. and Canada began to converge on Minnesota by Wednesday afternoon. The old Thunderbird Motel, now a Ramada Inn, became a hive of activity as everyone checked in. I had to work, but took the afternoon off, and we headed to the old Thunderbird after picking Ryan up from school. He obtained permission to leave theater rehearsal early, but it was already late afternoon when we arrived. Borsalino Trionfo.



The Ramada folks have preserved much of the charm that was the Thunderbird.



A sight for wooden-bird-hungry eyes. A motel room open for trading, buying and selling.



Lovely rig-mate pair of mallards from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 1930s-1940s.



Every year I discover wonderful decoys by carvers whose work I had not previously seen. This pair was exceptional.



Waterfowl decoys, ice-spearing and other sporting paraphernalia are sprawled out throughout the motel rooms...on the bed, by the television, and even the night table. Nice blue-wing teal drake carved by Al Ponte of Michigan for the Point Mouille Waterfowl Festival decoy carving competition in 1978.



Masterful contemporary decorative carving of a canvasback hen, by Bill Gibian of Onancock, Virginia.



Its mate, the noble canvasback drake, in an alert posture.

 

[delectans]

Reluctant to take a break from the action to eat supper, Ryan and I wolfed down our meal in no time, much to Lydia's dismay.



Ryan was on the hunt for some rare and unusual fishing lures and ice spearing fish decoys. Well displayed selection of old frog patterned lures, some dating back to the early 20th century.



Exceedingly rare wooden frog lure made in 1931 in St. Paul. Mint in box.




Our friend Pete Press, one of Ryan's antique fishing lure mentors, demonstrating the Viking Frog's fragility. Hard to imagine such a lure surviving even one strike by a largemouth bass or northern pike!



The folks who show up on Wednesday are definitely a hard-core bunch who cannot bear to miss any of the action. With dozens of similar looking motel rooms open and closed at various times it is a challenge to keep track of all the interesting things we saw. Part of John Munson's great Evans factory decoy collection. Evans was based out of Ladysmith, Wisconsin from1872-1948.



John, sharing his years of wisdom with Ryan. My favorite part of our annual gathering at the Thunderbird is the camaraderie and fellowship that is shared during the Wednesday and Thursday room-to-room activities.

 

[delectans]

The best tasting goose jerky that money can't buy.



This delicious goose jerky was made by our friends Dave and Jeannette Kneebone. Migratory waterfowl such as Cannada geese cannot be sold, but Dave shares his annual take of geese with his family and friends. Jeannette's recipe is a closely guarded secret.



Onward to yet another room. In the foreground, a remarkable pair of canvasbacks by Ralph Reghi, of Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Reghi is one of our favorite carvers, and this pair, in fine original paint and condition, is from his 1931 rig.



Duck, goose, and yes, even Wapiti and European Stag calls abound.



Canvasback drake guarding the door. Mike Pavlovich. Monroe, Michigan ca. 1940s.



With school and work in the morning for Ryan and me, we had to call it a night way before I was ready...



...but we were back again Thursday evening. I was exhausted from a long day at work, but we were drawn back to the Thunderbird as a flight of canvasbacks to a glorious spread of decoys on the big water.

 

[delectans]

Some decoy folks arrived on Thursday. We wandered into this room, which opened only moments before we arrived, and I immediately spotted the unmistakable silhouette of a decoy that I had been hunting for over 17 years, sitting atop the pillow.



Magnificent hen canvasback by Ralph Reghi, from his famed 'Laurie Rig' of 1933. This rig of decoys, carved for the Laurie family, was considered by Ralph himself to be his greatest work, an opinion undisputed by present day decoy cognoscenti.



Carefully evaluating the paint. Many such working decoys received additional coats of paint following each hunting season. Decoys in original paint and condition are considered the most desirable. In the rush to get back to the Thunderbird I had not changed after work, and donned my lucky hat. Optimo, Silverbelly.



With such a prize in my hands, Lydia cautioned me not to set it back down on the bed, even if only briefly.



I did not hesitate for a second to "bag" this bird. In completely original and untouched paint and condition, this decoy came in from out of the woodwork. Note the light shot marks on the head and cheek. This alert, high-head "bull neck" canvasback was likely placed along the perimeter of the Laurie family's spread of Reghi decoys when they hunted the open waters of Lake Saint Clair during the Great Depression.

 

[delectans]

Friday. Most participants packed up their rooms and moved everything into the exhibit hall during the day, and prepared for the club only show and auction in the evening. This display just begged for a photo.



Lydia really loved the form and stylistic painting on this snuggle head bufflehead drake. Joe West. Bordentown, New Jersey, ca. early 1930s. Hollow-carved, three piece construction.



Joe and his son James were exponents of the Delaware River school of decoy carving.



A spectacular drake mallard, from the personal hunting rig of Hector "Heck" Whittington of Oglesby, Illinois. His finest painting and carving.



Decoys from "Heck"'s personal rig were all given individual names. This is "Carl".



Whittington is not the most sought-after maker from the Illinois River region, but I rather like his work.

 

[delectans]

Our show is open to the public on Saturday, and it is generally very well attended.






Several of Minnesota's best decoy carvers were present to interact with youngsters and perform carving and painting demonstrations. Richard "Dick" Schiebel has been a fixture at the show for decades, and his beautiful decoys are featured in Minnesota Duck Decoys.



The hunters and decoy carvers of the past often carried colorful nicknames, none better than Ed "One-Arm" Kellie of Monroe, Michigan. Best known for his stylish diving duck decoys, this redhead drake is ca. '20s-'30s, and is in amazing condition.



Exceptional form and rasp work on this bluebill drake. Carver unknown, it bears the stamp of the Queen's Hotel, Ontario. Ca. 1920s-1930s.



Sadly, this fine old decoy was not for sale...for now.



Many such decoys, whose carvers' names were lost to time, are eventually identified through scholarship and serendipity.

 

[delectans]

Old, zinc-lined wooden tackle box overflowing with lures.



A perennial favorite of many antique lure collectors, the Punkinseed, made by the Heddon Company of Dowagiac, Michigan in the 1940s.













Decoy carving as demonstrated by one of Minnesota's finest, Marv Meyer. Marv is roughing out the head.



I had my eye on this rare, ca. 1940s mallard drake by Carl Rankin when it first came in during Thursday room-to-room, but passed, and was very happy to see my friend Keith Buchert take it home and add it to his decoy shelf.



Yet another Ontario rasp master, Carl Rankin was for many years the marsh manager for Henry Ford II's Mud Creek Club.

 

[delectans]

 

[srserl]

My girl friend took me into Auburn, CA old town for an afternoon of shopping.
This is the Joss House, which was the central meeting and general purpose place for the china town community in goldrush times and now a museum. One of the only original wooden structures left in old town.


Next, we got a view of the old courthouse (still in use and also a museum)


as we walked into town.


Some old building remnant.


The Auburn Alehouse,


where I prepared for the looming afternoon of shopping.
10 samples (3oz each) of all their current offerings...I really liked the Placer Porter and the Gold Digger IPA. I had a Black and Bleu burger (pepper crusted beef patty with bacon and Shaft Blue cheese, delicious) but we were too busy eating to take pictures.


Here is the old firehouse, built in the late 1800s.


And a monument to the gold rush which shaped this town.


A fun sculpture outside of a jewelry store.


After a few hours of shopping, I needed a pick-me-up, so we stopped for some tea.


Exhausted, we headed home.

 

[Aureliano]

What a set of photos, Al! truly enjoyed this one. I have a fascination for decoys and some of those look spectacular!

 

[EggHead]

It's nice to have all your ducks in a row

 

[bowlerman]

Al, and srserl, both wonderful sets! What fascinating shows and regions.
srserl, where is Auburn, CA? I suppose I could always look it up.

 

[delectans]

srserl: Welcome, and a fantastic set of photos. Keep 'em coming.


Ale: Thanks, my friend.


EggHead: You beat me to it! I was planning to use that clever line for my captions but did not manage to get them all completed last night. lol


Jeff: Thank you. There were plenty of South Dakotans in attendance.

 

[Chepstow]

Al, and srserl, wonderful Photos sets!
Al, you go home with a wooden Duck. Beautiful work. Enjoy it.

 

[Chepstow]

Jeff and David, my sincere thanks for the congrats and too kind words, I really appreciate them.

 

[DJH]

Waterfowl decoys are a unique, North American folk art...

Lord love a duck - that's a crazy event, AL.

I'd forgotten about those decoy ducks - wildfowlers used them around the Thames estuary where I grew up. We also had a local decoy pond where they'd set up nets to drive the ducks into and mass kill them. I think it must have been banned (or at least fallen out of favor) when we used to go there because fishing was all that went on.

Looks as though big money is paid for some of the best of the US decoys - I think I saw $1million for some?

Great photos, you certainly find some unique events to visit!