Wisconsin Decoy Heritage

Your one-stop-shop for Wisconsin carvers!  

There is no better source of information for Wisconsin carvers of working decoys.  Scroll through the posts below, or google the name of the artist you wish to find.

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Hubert Kurkowski

Lake Puckaway Decoy Carvers – Part I

Decoy Corner
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…
Manthey bluebills

Lake Puckaway Decoy Carvers Part II

Decoy Corner
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…
Ed Burgert Canvasback

Edward Burgert

Decoy Corner
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,…
Best in Show

WWA’s 2023 Decoy Competition

Decoy Corner
“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…
Ted Thyrion Coot

Ted John Thyrion

Decoy Corner
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,…
David R VanLanen

David R. VanLanen

Decoy Corner
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…
Milt Geyer bluebills

Milton Geyer

Decoy Corner
Lifetime Green Bay Decoy Carver All photos courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles. It seems that people all over the world know of Green Bay, Wisconsin, mainly because of the Green Bay…
Large Blackduck

Burton “Burt” Lange

Decoy Corner
Horicon Marsh Decoy Carver All photos courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles. Horicon, WI was founded as a lumber mill town and a railroad hub on the Rock River in the late 1800’s.…
Widgeon

Roy Discher and Chuck Koepsel

Decoy Corner
Carving Team from Milwaukee, WI Photos courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles. Discher/Koepsel mallard In 1920, waterfowl hunting partners Roy Discher and Chuck Koepsel, both from Milwaukee, WI, went waterfowl hunting with…
Reimenshneider decoy

Rich Reimenschneider

Decoy Corner
An Oconomowoc, WI Decoy Carver, Collector, Trapper and Fisherman Photos courtesy Bruce Urben. Author’s note: Oconomowoc is a city in southeast Wisconsin located in Waukesha County that was settled in…
Bufflehead

Richard “Dick” Bajorek

Decoy Corner
A Green Bay Decoy Carver and Carving Instructor The vast majority of decoy carvers began their journey in carving through necessity, needing decoys to lure ducks and geese to their…
Frank Sprader Decoys

Frank Leonard Sprader

Decoy Corner
A “Milwaukee School” Carver Several Wisconsin carvers from the Milwaukee area coined their decoy carving style as the “Milwaukee School”. Both Owen Gromme and Warren Dettman, who worked for the Milwaukee…