Discover • Preserve • Celebrate
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Midwest Decoy Collectors Association NEWSLETTER Summer 2015 Our April 2016 Show will feature Minnesota decoys such as this bluebill by Ole Gunderson of Ashby 50th Anniversary Show a Huge Success! The last full week in April is always a special time for brought strong prices throughout the two-day sale. collectors at the North American Vintage Decoy and Sporting Collectibles Show. In this, the 50th year of this The tabled event in the MegaCenter continues to offer event, few left disappointed. Dealers enthusiastically a range of “goodies” for every taste. And this year the reported strong sales while buyers left with bags under displays and related educational events were the talk of their arms and smiles on their faces. the weekend. The show featured Ohio Decoys (preceded by a terrific seminar on Ohio decoys and other sporting Room-to-room trading saw many decoys trade hands with collectibles), Michigan Fish Decoys, Contemporary a number of new offerings that had been in collections for Fish Decoys, Wisconsin Gunning Boxes, and 30 years years. For example, Rick and Georgia Hill of Redmond, of work by one of today’s top contemporary makers, Oregon, made the long drive to St. Charles with an Marty Hanson. outstanding group of Canadian decoys - great examples by Orel LeBoeuf, Bill Cooper, Geo. Warin, the Nichol family, The pages that follow will cover the wonderful pieces that William Hart, and many more. It didn’t take long for the were shared with attendees at the show, many of which word to spread and they were soon overwhelmed with have not been seen outside of private collections in many interested buyers. many years. The annual Guyette & Deeter auction did not disappoint For a video tour of the Show, check out two great pieces with one of the broadest array of good decoys seen in online: More Than Ducks at Tim Speight’s “The Decoy years. Decoys from Illinois, Louisiana, California, Michigan, Shed” at thedecoyshed.org; and ASO 5-30-15 Decoy Wisconsin, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ontario all Show In St. Charles, Il on YouTube, produced by Harry and Cathy Canterbury at Adventure Sports Outdoors. Summer 2015 D iscover • Preserve • Celebrate 1 MIDWEST DECOY COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION OFFICERS Rick Sandstrom President Sophie wishes all Jim Wierzba Vice President a golden summer! Bill Dodge Treasurer Steve Handevidt Secretary PRESIDENT’S CORNER BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bill Claussen Joyce Hay Our 2015 show was a tremendous need everyone’s support to successfully Herb Desch Roger Ludwig success thanks to the hard work of run the event. We hope to be able to Bill Dodge Rick Sandstrom many. We accomplished a significant communicate the plan to you very soon. Matt Downs Jeff Seregny Curt Froyen Joe Tonelli amount this year which culminated in th It is my pleasure to announce that Joyce Alan Haid Jim Wierzba our 50 anniversary event. We Steve Handevidt have made significant investment in Hay, Matt Downs and Larry Osentoski have joined the Association leadership WHO WE ARE upgrading everything that we do and it team and have already made important The Midwest Decoy Collectors Association is paying dividends with more member is a nonprofit, educational organization activity and new members. contributions. Joyce is focused upon incorporated under the laws of the State of our communications, Matt on St. Charles Illinois. It invites membership to all persons. One of our key objectives was to be and our facilities, and Larry is handling all The purpose of Midwest Decoy Collectors more inclusive and approachable. of our tech tools and systems. Thanks to is to foster the hobby of decoy collecting by We have expanded our display areas at them for stepping up to volunteer. It has attracting new collectors, seeking out and preserving old decoys, gathering data about the show to include wildfowl and fish already made a big difference. carvers and their methods, and holding decoys, both vintage and contemporary, an annual show for decoy collectors and this year had another hit with We have invested a lot of effort to and carvers. shooting boxes. In 2016 we will feature qualify and identify a bigger audience and now have a list of over 5,900 OUR HISTORY Minnesota wildfowl and fish, continue The Midwest Decoy Collectors Association with shooting boxes, and add shell boxes collectors with validated postal (MDCA) was started in 1966 by a small with their wonderful graphics to the mix. addresses. We are using this for our group of dedicated decoy collectors as a Don’t miss it! outreach for new members, and to gathering in Ottawa, Illinois to reconnect, communicate details about the show and share stories and trade decoys. Since then, Our show venue is a challenge. Most the value of membership. This has already the Club has grown to over 1000 enthusiasts of you are very aware that Pheasant Run resulted in several collections coming to from all walks of life. Our members come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, has gone through a lengthy bankruptcy St. Charles to be sold. Our inquiry rate is three Canadian provinces, England, process and it has created a number of up and identification activity from the web Switzerland, Japan and Mexico. They issues for us. This year was no exception and Facebook is increasing. write books on collecting, manage auction and we appreciate the patience that companies, publish magazines, carve world you have shared during this transition. The newsletter content and frequency class decoys, calls and collectibles, provide The new owners have been focused on is improving and now includes some appraisal services, and form a core network ads to help us pay for the outreach for of knowledge on sporting collectibles and creating a long term position and plan their history. That humble gathering of for the property. That plan is firming new members. A special thanks to our collectors in 1966 has grown to become up and includes the elimination of a supporters. They have made an important the North American Vintage Decoy and number of wings that have been a big contribution to our future. Sporting Collectibles Show – the largest part of our selling areas since 1984. We show of its kind. The annual show features I would be remiss if I didn’t commend room-to-room trading, a tabled show and are in discussion with them about how Joyce and Jeff Hay, Marty Hanson, Roger a major decoy auction in addition to a we can reconfigure and still support your Ludwig, Jim Wierzba and Tom Shumaker variety of networking events and educational top priorities of room-to-room trading, for the great work that they contributed activities including seminars, displays the exhibit hall event, and the auction to make our 50th show very special. and carving demonstrations. The show is in the revised facility. The social part of attended by collectors, antique dealers, Make sure you thank them, too. carvers, sportsmen, nature enthusiasts and St. Charles is important to all of us and others who come from all over the United we are determined not to lose it. We Happy Collecting and enjoy a States and Canada. are exploring a number of options to terrific summer! WEBSITE ensure that the 2016 show meets our www.midwestdecoy.org diverse needs. Suffice to say, there will Rick be significant change next year and we’ll Rick Sandstrom 2 Midwest Decoy Collectors Association Newsletter THE 2015 SHOW Summer 2015 3 Ohio Seminar and Decoy Display Like most folks who are challenged with writ- found themselves on smaller and smaller reserves. In ing about their particular decoy collecting passion, we 1803 Ohio was recognized as the 17th state by Presi- By Joyce Hay We take this opportunity again thank nd it dicult to come up with an eloquent summary dent omas Jeerson. at same year he put in place of what denes an Ohio decoy. For the sake of this policies that would further push Native Americans article and seminar, we are focusing on the decoys out of the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. that have folk art appeal and/or signicant his-his- Even though most of the remaining tory. ere will be a focus on the northern edge communities assimilated quite thorthor- of the state and will leave waterfowling heritage oughly into the emerging agrarian Ohio frontier culture, there were demands for their the people who brought in some of permanent removal to lands west of the MisMis-- sissippi. e population of the new state would of the soar to nearly a million by 1830 and as a result Ohio River of the “Indian Removal Act” of that year, the last Valley for vestiges of the Native American culture were gone. Jeff and I were excited to celebrate the decoys and other another day. Additionally, with more historical records being digitized and searchable every day, we are excit-excit- Ohio grew phenomenally through transportation; the key pieces of the display. Most ed to clarify the known carvers and club members and Great Lakes shipping, canals and then railroads. It explore some new possibilities. connected farms, factories and growing cities to the greater world. Newly-tapped natural resources of oil, We have an extraordinarily deep reverence for the iron and coal fed the Industrial Revolution in America. Ohio hunt clubs and their members who have pre-pre- Much of the wealth was concentrated along Lake Erie sporting collectibles from the state of Ohio at this year’s show. served, rst and foremost, the land; an irreplaceable and more specically along Cleveland’s Euclid Avenue. part of North America’s waterfowl habitat. Beyond of the fine art displayed was provided that, they each have preserved remnants of a by-gone Mechanical innovation born of the Canal Era was soon era: buildings, punt boats, decoys, photographs, perper-- used to create additional farmland.