Lake Puckaway Decoy Carvers – Part I
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…
Wisconsin Decoy Heritage
Lake Puckaway Decoy Carvers Part II
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…
Edward Burgert
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,…
WWA’s 2023 Decoy Competition
“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 John Thyrion
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
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…
Milton Geyer
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…
Burton “Burt” Lange
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.…
Roy Discher and Chuck Koepsel
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…
Rich Reimenschneider
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…
Richard “Dick” Bajorek
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 Leonard Sprader
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…