November 2018

My Three Favorite Decoys..

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Joe King was the favorite three speaker for the November meeting. I’d like to thank him for stepping in when the scheduled person was not able to do it. 

Joe brought in 4 decoys to show members and talk about.

 

 He started with a mallard decoy carved by Tuckerton New Jersey bayman/guide Joe King.  Member Joe King said that the carver Joe King is considered by many to be the father of the New Jersey style of decoys. Joe brought in Decoy Magazine that had a cover story on carver Joe King. There was a time when member Joe King‘s family thought that they might be related to carver Joe King. Although that was not proved to be true, Joe added that they do have something in common. They both like decoys.

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            The second and third decoys Joe showed were a pair of black ducks carved by William Veasey from Maryland. Although his specialty was waterfowl, he did carve all sorts of birds.  Joe said that The Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC has several of Veasey decoys on display.  Joe said that he has a Veasey kingfisher decoy on the deck rail outside his home. Just recently, a real kingfisher bird landed on the rail beside the decoy kingfisher and stared at it. Joe said he got a kick out of seeing that. Joe and several members chuckled, because that is exactly what a decoy is supposed to do.

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            The final decoy Joe showed is a personal favorite of his. It was a merganser carved by his friend and fellow LIDCA member Harold Fay. Joe said Harold is an award winning carver and Joe really appreciates his talents. Joe added that he once attempted decoy carving, but instead he ended up with eight stitches in his hand. So that was pretty much the beginning and the end of Joe’s attempt at decoy carving. 

            Thank you to Joe for bringing in some of your favorite decoys and sharing your personal and painful stories with us.

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       George Grivas is scheduled for the January meeting with Gary Terrasi scheduled for February.