A Decoy Corner Article
By Bruce Urben, WWA President
Thomas Peeters holding one of his hand carved decoys.
Wisconsin has been blessed with some of the most talented decoy carvers seen in the early 20th century. These men and women have carried on the decoy carving heritage in this state. But, there is also a multitude of contemporary decoy carvers that have been carrying on that tradition in Wisconsin over the last 30 years.
Thomas (Tom) Peeters is one of those carvers from the Winnebago Lakes area near Neenah, WI. Unfortunately, we lost this exceptional carver too early in life. Here is his story:
Thomas M. Peeters was born in Neenah, WI in 1944. Tom attended Xavier High School in Appleton, WI and excelled at sports, particularly football. Tom was the fullback on the high school football team and was the running mate with Rocky Blier. Tom lived in the Neenah area his entire life.
Tom was a machinist by trade and worked at Hewitt Machine Co. in Neenah for 35 years. He enjoyed hunting waterfowl, pheasant and deer but his first love was carving and painting hand carved wooden decoys. Being an avid waterfowler, Tom’s first decoys were gunning decoys that he used. As he moved through his 35 years of carving decoys, his artistic talent was showcased in his many decorative carvings. According to his family, Tom’s carving was influenced by a neighbor and other carving peers in his area. For the most part, Tom was self taught and had an eye for detail.
Two of Thomas Peeters’ decoys
Tom’s favorite decoy to carve was the Canvasback but he carved a number of other species including mallards, wood ducks, bluebills, shorebirds, chickadees and fish. While Tom sold few of his carvings, many were displayed in his self described “boathouse” in his family room. Displayed in a 14 foot skiff and an 8 1/2 foot upright boat that he hand built.
He carved using power tools as well as hand tools and used mainly cedar and basswood for his decoy bodies and heads. He painted mainly in acrylics, made his own patterns, hollowed most of his decoys and used glass eyes. His style would be interpreted as contemporary antique with a decorative spin. Tom’s output of decoys was 100 or so, but he always seemed to be working on a project of some kind. His wife, Dawn told me that his favorite saying was “and on the eighth day, he carved a decoy”.
After seeing examples of Tom’s carving it is no wonder that he had won numerous ribbons and awards in competitions that he entered. His detail and painting was exceptional.
Thomas Peeters decoys
Considering the number of decoys that he carved, there are very few available on the secondary market. Those that are available will be in high demand by Wisconsin collectors. Most of his decoys have been passed down to his children and other family members. One thing we know for sure, Tom was a very gifted and talented decoy carver and artist. His decoys would grace any mantel or shelf and you would be fortunate to have one of his decoys in your collection!
Tom M. Peeters passed away in 2020 and is sorely missed by his family, friends and carving peers.
He was truly a Wisconsin original decoy carver.
Special thanks to the Peeters family for background on this exceptional decoy carver!