Green Bay Decoy Carver All  photos courtesy David VanLanen Many carvers begin their carving careers fretting about applying paint to their expertly carved decoys. David VanLanen was not one of…

Green Bay Decoy Carver and Bay Gunner Ted Thyrion was born in June of 1911 in Green Bay, Wisconsin and lived there his entire life. Ted had eight younger siblings,…

“to Judge World’s Best “Working Decoys”” The Decoy Corner articles in the WWA newsletter are widely accessed through the internet by carvers, collectors, waterfowl hunters, bird watchers and others. What…

Wisconsin Decoy Carver and the Oshkosh Connection Images courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles While in Oshkosh, WI and attending UW-Oshkosh in the 1970’s, my wife and I lived in a small,…

Images courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles In November I began highlighting the vintage decoy carvers of Lake Puckaway in Green Lake and Marquette Counties. These men were experts in designing and…

First, a little history on Lake Puckaway and its development as a waterfowling hotbed: Lake Puckaway is located in Green Lake and Marquette counties in Central Wisconsin. The Fox River…

Decoy collectors are sometimes a strange lot. Most are totally immersed in collecting vintage waterfowl decoys, exclusively ducks and geese. Back in this country’s waterfowling history of the late 1800’s…

Oshkosh Decoy Carver All photos courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles. Oliver “Ollie” Drahn was born in Iowa in 1908 and migrated with his family to Oshkosh, WI, as a teenager, residing at…

A Wisconsin Decoy Carver All photos courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles. Ora Clough (pronounced Clew) was born in 1896 in Perkinstown, Wisconsin. Perkinstown is located in Taylor County in the Chequamegon National…

a La Crosse, Wisconsin Carver It has been said that Wisconsin did not have a decoy carver that compared with the best carvers from along the Illinois River in Illinois!…

A Beaver Dam Original Carver Myron Mackowski’s parents emigrated to the the United States from Prussia in 1890. Together they had six children; four boys and two girls! Myron was…

Wisconsin and Illinois Decoy Carver Joseph E. “Paco” Anderlik was born in April, 1922 in Mexico City, Mexico. He migrated to the US with his family and had a home…