A Decoy Corner Article
By Bruce Urben, WWA President
All photos courtesy the author
The Bay of Green Bay is located on the northwest side of Lake Michigan. Major tributaries to Lake Michigan, including the Fox, Oconto, Peshtigo and Menominee Rivers, all flow into Green Bay. Green Bay is a relatively shallow arm of Lake Michigan and it has been, and continues to be, a highly productive waterfowl area, a historic waterfowl breeding area and a stop-over spot for migrating waterfowl.
This article is about another of the many Bay of Green Bay decoy carvers from the turn of the century.
Charles Corbin was born in 1872 and was married to his wife, Maggie, in the early 1900’s. Corbin was a passionate and avid waterfowler on the Bay, as was his wife, who accompanied him on many hunts. The Corbins had a hunting cabin near the mouth of the Suamico River, about 15 miles north of the City of Green Bay. His cabin was located near the present day location of the Barkhausen Wildlife preserve. Louis Barkhausen was a local industrialist, avid waterfowler and early supporter of Ducks Unlimited nationally.
Charlie Corbin retired from his job as a saw tooth filer for the J.L. Lumber Co. sawmill in Menominee, Michigan. In retirement, Charlie was able to continue his passion of waterfowling on Green Bay. In the early 1900’s, Charles began to carve his own decoys and later in the 1920’s he began selling his decoys to local “sports”. In addition to decoy carving Charlie was known for making quality boats and skiffs.
Charlie’s decoys were typical of those used on the Bay of Green Bay. Large bodied, solid and hollow decoys with high heads that rode the rough waters of the Bay extremely well. All of his decoys were carved of wood harvested locally. They had glass eyes and his bodies were carved in two pieces with the seam well above the waterline. His heads had some detail carving and most had carved separation of the of the bill from the head. He used a simple paint scheme with quality oil paint that was specific to the species.
No one seems to know the number of decoys that Charlie carved, but it is known that his favorite species were all divers, including canvasbacks, buffleheads, redheads and bluebills.
Charlie Corbin, another original decoy carver and waterfowler who made his living on the Bay of Green Bay after retirement. Charlie passed away at the age of 84 in 1956.