THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 1995 TAG: 9501100112
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
Reading Archie Johnson's introduction to his new book, ``Canvas Decoys of North America,'' I began to wonder why I didn't know more about these cloth-covered decoys which were the duck hunter's decoy of choice in the earlier part of the century on Back Bay and Currituck Sound.
As Johnson tells it, large numbers of decoys - from 200 to 300 - were needed to attract ducks and geese in the bay and sound's wide open waters. Towing hundreds of heavy wooden decoys by sailboat out to duck blinds on the bay and sound was a chore indeed. The much lighter weight of a canvas decoy made them easier to use.
Canvas decoys don't weigh as much as those carved from a block of wood because they are made from wire frames over which the canvas or cloth is stretched and then painted. Only the necks and heads are carved from wood. Although the canvas coverings need to be replaced periodically, the frames and heads are as sturdy as a wooden decoy.
In addition, Johnson wrote, good sized blocks of wood from which to carve wooden decoys weren't as readily available, particularly on the Outer Banks of North Carolina where mainly live oaks and scrub pine grow. In the earlier part of the century wood for carving had to be brought in, usually by horse and cart down the beach from the Virginia mainland.
Consequently, Johnson wrote, the canvas decoy was used in this area more than any area in North America. And although they are still used here in Virginia (Johnson hunts with canvas decoys), I never thought of them as an important part of our waterfowl lore until I got his new book.
Cecil Stevens (1892-1977) was one of the first folks to make canvas decoys here in Virginia Beach. Stevens grew up in the little seaside community of Wash Woods which was where False Cape State Park is now and he later moved to Knotts Island, N.C. He worked as a hunting guide and as a market hunter, selling waterfowl to markets before bag limits were enacted.
Although Stevens also carved decoys from wood, large oversized geese decoys made from canvas were his trademark. A photo of a 1920s Canada goose, made by Stevens, is in Johnson's book. Johnson notes that Stevens constructed his big birds with 10 wire ribs, large heads and eyes made of tacks.
``Canvas Decoys of North America'' tracks the development of and innovations in the manufacture of cloth decoys across the nation, beginning with Virginia, North Carolina and other states on the Atlantic flyway and ending with California on the Pacific flyway.
In addition to including information on individual craftsmen, like Stevens, Johnson has researched canvas decoy manufacturers who were always working to come up with a lighter, less expensive decoy. He also uses hundreds of photos, copies of patents and various advertisements to give flavor to the history of this little known craft.
Some cloth covered decoys were delightful off-beat creations such as the Acme Folding Canvas Decoys. These decoys were not only lightweight but compact because they were collapsible. Made by the St. Louis Brass Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis, Mo., Acme Folding Canvas Decoys sold for $7.50 a dozen packed in a wooden box.
The folks in St. Louis were full of creative ideas, it seems. In the late 1930s, the Duck-In Decoy Co. there made headless decoys. They were designed to look like ducks which were feeding - their heads down in the water. An advertisement which Johnson has included in the book boasts: ``High flyers, fast flyers . . . it makes no difference, this new headless decoy stops them. Ducks see Duck-Ins first.''
Then there are the North Wind Decoys, patented in 1977 by Jelmer Shjeflo of Bismarck, N.D. With bodies, patterned after windsocks, and stuffed necks and heads attached, these decoys are put out in grain fields, secured to the ground with wooden dowels. I realize now that the realistic Canada geese decoys I've seen in front of craft stores around town are made in this fashion.
And what is perhaps the first rubber ducky was made by the Minnesota Rubber Duck Co. in the 1940s. These rubber duck and goose decoys were self-inflating. The company also made canvas decoys with rubber heads.
Johnson is a collector of canvas and cloth-covered decoys. He also is the author with Bud Coppedge of ``Gun Club & Decoys of Back Bay and Currituck Sound'' and has written for various decoy and wildlife magazines.
His new book is available for $29.95 from CurBac Press, P.O. Box 1086, Virginia Beach, Va. 23451. Add $3 for shipping and handling. Or call Johnson at 428-6717.
P.S. The Virginia Beach Center for the Arts is offering a $750 prize for a work of art which reflects the essence of the Boardwalk Art Show. The winning entry will become the official poster and program cover for the 1995 Boardwalk Art Show in June. Call 425-0000 to receive competition guidelines. The deadline for entries is Feb. 1.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHESAPEAKE BAY, call the Chesapeake Regional Information Service at 1-800-662-CRIS. The toll-free line, a service of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, offers up-to-date recorded information on Bay issues and takes orders for specific publications through a Touch-Tone menu or callers can talk directly to an Alliance staff member. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
This canvas-covered Canada goose decoy by George Crosson is the
cover illustration for Canvas Decoys of North America by Archie
Johnson.
by CNB