Christmas Season and Magic

This is the season of magic, traditions, joy, memories and peace.  There is much to be said that when winter comes we follow a star, or go to the woods to talk with the animals; we reflect on a new year to come and the past year to see if our balance sheet really balances out.  Retirement has changed how I look forward and backward-fixed incomes seem to do that to me.  I have always had a job, a steady pay check and knew that tomorrow would bring a routine or at least as much of a routine that education can provide, but now each day brings different challenges.  Whether it is a doctor's appointment for mom, fixing lunch or doing the laundry there is no routine.  Pat has gone back to work in her field of economic development and although the job is labeled as part time, her hours and her dedication is full time and she is really really happy.  I have looked at some part time work but now have an opportunity to unload trucks and stock shelves at a local store starting at 2:00 a.m.-I am sure that this will bring a routine but can I function with the "day duties" after an early morning start!  But the extra money will be nice!

The Santa Claus carving season has been fun, even though the money brought in was down, several Santa's and decoys found new homes and that is always my goal-everyone needs a good home.  Perhaps after I am gone they will be very valuable!  The carving is always fun and looking for new projects is good; Pat evaluates my new work with a very critical eye, which is good!  Of course I listen to her!

One of the things that I try to do is to be a student of wood;  there are many traditions that must be followed if one is going to be a successful wood worker so I have attached the Legend/Mythology of Wood for your enjoyment plus some pictures of wood spirits!

The mythology is very simple. In what are now referred to as Pagan cultures, those that preceeded Christianity in many of the Western countries today as the Germanic States and the British Isles, Mother Nature was the major diety. She was the creator of life and from her everything both mankind, animals, and nature were born.

In some of the earliest stories Mother Nature is the Sun and her consort was the Moon. She would look upon him with her loving nature and that is why the Moon sometimes is full and bright, reflecting her love. But, being a female spirit she would become moody and jealous because her consort, the Moon, would light the earth with the light that she gave him, his reflected (full moon) light. So she would turn her back to him, scorning him, and therefore with hold her love and light. Which is why the moon becomes dark during an old moon. But he would be patient and he would wait because he loved her so very much. Because of his patience she would soon relent and again smile gloriously upon him.

So it was that Mother Nature wanted to come to earth and enjoy the beautiful world that she had created for us, to walk the fields and forests. But she became lonely. To ease her loneliness her consort also came to earth and he did so by inhabiting the trees of both the meadows and the forests. He stands as the single old apple tree that graces the grass lands giving shade to the cattle and goats. And he stands as the gardian of the forest, the large tree right at the forest margin. And he is the oldest twisted tree deep within the black woods. But one of his favorite trees was the evergreen.

Now it was the humans knew that the evergreen was special for even during the coldest and harshest of winters it remained forever green. Other trees around him suffered the 'small death' of winter, losing their leaves and going bare. The people realized that there must be something very special about the evergreen so the story arose that the Wood Spirit of God that walked the earth during the warm seasons went into the evergreen to live during the winter. There he slept until the warmth of spring returned.

Because the people were frightened that the 'small death' might one day not give way to spring they decided that they would go to the forest and bring into their homes an evergreen. They would tend the evergreen giving it water and protecting it from the deeps snows and harsh winds. Therefore they were protecting the Wood Spirit God. When the time came that the 'small death' of winter should be passing they would return the evergreen to it's place within the forest so that the God would awaken and once again bring spring to the earth.

That's why wood spirits are male. They are the consort to the Goddess - Mother Nature.

Thanksgiving, December and Christmas

Thanksgiving has gone, the kick off of big shopping and now December is here.  Have had a hard time getting stuff started as mom was back in the hospital for a couple of days right before Thanksgiving-had low hemoglobin count and took 3 units of blood to raise count back up.  We had thought that maybe her time was about done but after the latest stay and a good doctor visit we have put all those thoughts aside and now turn back to making Santa Claus and the season joyful!

Had an interesting post from the American Youth Foundation asking "What have you done today to make your community a better place (yes I did paraphrase it) but did make me think about my daily activities since I have retired.  The AYF also has a saying about "at your very best all the time"; how great it would be if we all followed that creed; maybe at this season it could be come our daily thought for the day.  Think how productive we would be and how we would make a difference in the lives of those around us.  OK, done with the philosophical stuff.

Opened up the stored Santa Claus box and found all sorts of things that I had forgotten-took some down to the local art vendor and have been to a couple of craft fairs.

Also found some of the "flat" one dimensional Santa's that I started with several year ago.  The daughters have received a Santa carving, either flat or carved, every Christmas over the past 15(?) years. Check these out, the arms even move!

A new friend from Tuftenboro, NH, saw me carving with pine and gave me a piece of basswood that he had cut from his local forest-I have never worked with a better piece of wood than this piece.  Also read about a new Santa design with the jolly gent looking up at the skies, trying to figure out if the time was right for flying.  Hope you like it.

Also did a new Nativity Scene, one dimensional but have some carving in to separate the colors.  I would probably call it a piece of Folk Art as the characters are pretty funky.  Found the design in an old craft book from a used book store.  For next year also bought a book on how to do a fully carved set-will probably be a "long term" project!

Weather here has been really strange-October snow of 12+" but last month temps in the 60's.  Local ski places are bumming as too warm to make snow.  But most folks feel that a day in the 60's is one less day with cold and snow-let's just hope that spring comes on time.  A good friend told me that over the next 20-30 years that the NE will become more like the NW United States, less snow, more rain and moderate temps so  maybe we are on the way!

Selling some of the  Santa's-most of the bigger ones (6" ) are around $50, smaller ones (4") $35 or so.  Ornaments run $10-$15 depending upon the size (no pictures of them).  Sold the Loon decoy to a good friend who will give it a great home; have a Cardinal in the works too.  Staying busy but still having fun.

Hope that this holiday season is going well for all-let me be among the first to wish you a Merry Christmas.  And much peace in your life.

And don't forget to measure twice and cut once.

PS-Christmas at the Richter's version 2011.

Loons

My first attempt at carving a loon decoy is done (pictures are attached).  It seems like starting a new carving scares the heck out of me and I just go so slowly that I don't ever seem to get it done, but-it is done.  It is 1/2 size-I think that my next one will be a full size with more detail in the feathers but for now I will be proud of this one.  It is that time of year when the Santa's seem to start popping up again-had a decent summer with carving, now the painting begins (pictures will follow).

The weather in New Hampshire has been off the chart, ranges from hurricanes to early snow storms so who knows what to expect this winter to be.  Guess will get a lot of carving done, but back to the loon.

Did you know that loons are large birds weighting in at 9 pounds with wingspan up to 4 feet.  In the water they have a low profile with a curved neck, summer their neck and head are a glossy black with a green sheen.  They range from Canada and the Northern States n the summer and in the fall they migrate  along the coasts of North America and the Gulf of Mexico.    Loons preferred diet is fish and  occasional crustaceans such as crayfish.  Loons locate fish by sight, underwater diving as deep as 60 feet to chase down their prey.  The female lays two brown eggs, the first one larger than the second and are incubated for 30 days by either the male or the female depending upon the time of day.  Once they hatch the chicks leave the nest almost at once to avoid predators.


 One of the biggest threats to the loon populations is man as we drive our boats too close to nesting sites and continue to use lead in our fishing equipment.  The first eliminates the nest while the second takes the life of the loon from lead poisoning.  I have fished in my float tube while these birds swam within 10 feet plus I have laid in bed and listened to their mournful calls at night. In short all water fowl is pretty cool but loons may be the coolest of all.


Remember to keep those lines tight and to measure twice and cut once.  Much peace

Wood burned feathers head and neck

Base coats-trying to get sheen on head

Starting to Add Details

Side view finished product

Top View finished product

Nelson (papa)

Wood, Words and Hurricanes

As the summer comes to a close, camp has been over for a couple of weeks, it takes me a while to get back on top of things at home.  This week we had an earthquake and now this weekend have a big storm coming at us-we went to the store and bought batteries and water-plan to fill the bath tub tomorrow so that we can still flush.  Could be worse in that we could be closer to the coast or in New York City!  I know that many people refuse to look at valid research on Climate Change; what will happen to the planet if we continue to ignore science-makes me wonder just how much we have failed a generation in providing a quality education.

One of the high points(and there were many) of the summer was working with Sam, the oldest (13) grandson.  He originally took the job because he could earn some money and he had been a camper and wood worker for many summers.  But once he got started, he gravitated to the camper who needed some extra help; he knew how to offer his help just at the right moment, encouraged the effort and celebrated the completion of the project.  Few adults have such talents in working with other people but Sam nailed it every time.  I know I sound like a grand parent but I saw Sam through the eyes of an educator; and what I saw was truly outstanding.  He made the summer very special.

Below, a bird house constructed entirely with by the camper, designed, constructed and painted.  Just how neat is this.

Had a good summer with wood working-actually had a good summer with several hundred projects completed and sent home with happy campers-now if I just had a good feeling about the parent's views.  But had one girl make a chair for her sister, another boy made a bench for his sister's American Girl Doll.  The painting was an experience in its self-many projects had enough paint that they probably are still not dry!!  It is amazing what young people  can think of as they build a shelf, a box or a bench.  I did provide some patterns and kits but what happened to these when an imagination took over was really cool.
Check out the striped bird house, the bench with the stars and, yes, a basketball goal!!!!  And check out the box beside goal.

Carved some Santas and roughed out some shorebirds but time was so tight that didn't even get any fishing in. (Pictures come later)  Will get back on a schedule of carving every day.  Met some interesting people at several "Artisan" Events, several excellent carvers, goggle Brian Stockman and look at some of his work.  I met a log furniture maker from Maine-he makes some great lamps with home made shades of bear, moose and fly fishermen.  He asked me to come up with a bear pattern for his lamps; hard to find a log that can be carved and look like his lamps but will come up with something.  I promise to be a more consistent writer and keep everyone updated.

Just remember two things: 1.  Measure twice, cut once and 2. If it doesn't fit, get a bigger hammer!

Peace to all.

Nelson

July at Merrowvista

The first 2 weeks of camp is done but still have a bunch of campers riding bikes, canoeing and hiking all over New England.  I will post some pictures of the woodworking projects just completed later but today need to talk some about camp.  I started coming out here 20 years ago and have been amazed at the changes that occur in the young people that pass over "honk horn "hill and are never the same.  At the present time there are hikers on the last 100 miles of the AT finishing at Mt. Katadin in Maine; there is another group of bikers riding in Nova Scotia while other are making the same kind of shorter trips.

Merrowvista asks that each individual recognize the unique qualities of all those who come into camp;  tolerance, patience and kindness and respect for all are the foundation for all programs.  Sam said that camp is a safe place to sing, shout and dance in the rain but the coolest part was that the adults who are here don't just shake their heads and say "oh those young people" but instead the sing, shout and dance in the rain with you!


I would invite you to visit the American Youth Foundation web site and read about Merrowvista in New Hampshire and Minniwanca in Michigan.  Challenges are given, risks are taken the people are never the same.


Much peace.

Not really summer

Summer is officially here according to the calendar-yes!  School is out for most everyone in New Hampshire, the swimming pools are open (but really cold), baseball is into the playoffs, and the highways are busy with families heading into the White Mountains.  Me, I am at Camp Merrowvista-check out the web site-getting the wood shop ready, preparing some projects and ready for 300 young people to arrive on Sunday!

Part of the Kiley family flies to France on Saturday for an early start on the vacation to Italy that happens in a week.  The oldest grandson has more miles on his passport than we do!  They are excited although trying to get in as many days as possible with life long camp friends, who will be gone when they return.  It is amazing how much the whole "family thing" has changed since I started doing this summer job!  Used to fish every evening some place, go to town and hang out or just sit on the farm house porch and watch the world go by-now, there are base ball games to watch, video games to play with the grandkids or just throwing a ball around..fishing-not yet!

Will get some pictures up of projects we have going in the shop plus some pictures just of the shop-wish it was across the street from where I live!  But all is good.

Remember, if you are on the water to keep a tight line or if you are in the shop to measure twice and cut once!  peace to all.

 

Summer

The heat seems to have come earlier this year than I remember, or at least for New Hampshire, usually this is Missouri heat and humidity.  We try to tell ourselves that the humidity is different but the AC runs just the same!  I have completed my first school year of retirement-on a scale of 1-10 probably a 6 but with new hip closer to 9!  I have two shore birds for sale on Etsy, many lookers but so far no takers.  Have already been in the local swimming pool, been on a bike ride and walking 2-3 miles per day with the wife, plus rehab so am losing some weight.  Been doing some carving under the daughter's apple tree-much fun as every 15 minutes have to throw the ball for the dog!

But this all got interrupted by  mom getting pneumonia and winding up in the hospital for 4 days; but as she usually does is making a rapid recovery and getting back to finishing up some quilts.  Since she has come back home, I have started work at Camp Merrowvista for the Wolfeboro daughter; getting the shop ready for campers making benches, bird houses and boxes.  Part of my "duties" include transporting the boys to various games and events-of course Sam the oldest, seems to be needing my services less and less!!  The whole environment at camp is so different than the "real" world, no bullying, no cliches, no posturing, honest communication-when I think of creating an educational system that values young people, this should be the model to follow. OK no more soap boxes!

Don't have pictures to post as not on the home computer but I promise will get some up soon showing where I spend some of my summer.  So until next time, measure twice, cut once and also remember to keep at tight line!
Peace

Time to Remake Me

Sorry have been gone so long but have been busy working in the carving business, doing rehab and....thinking about how I am going to remake myself after retirement.  I started thinking about the "remaking" thing when I read that as the economy and business industry changes, people need to think about how they are going to remake themselves.  I have completed the first year of not being in schools since 1948-does that make one seem old or what-my dad always said that teachers never joined the real world because since we were 6 we had been doing the same thing every year...August school starts, Christmas vacation, then out of school in May!  So perhaps he was right because this has been a year of wandering around some times, glad that don't have to fight some battles but missing the contact with educators and discussing current issues in education.  So now I have to think about the remaking part.

The carving goes well, I think that I get better with each piece; I am learning that not all pieces can be done totally by hand as way too time consuming.  Having a hobby that needs to become more business like is also difficult especially when it comes to developing an inventory then trying to find a market or a venue from which my carvings can be sold.  Am going to try to put some of the carvings into a venue called "Etsy" and see how the general public feels about my work.  I have also posted some pictures of antique decoys that have become work a lot of money; you never know, if you have something of mine,  even if you are tired of it, put it in a box, might be worth something to the next generation!  Found a decoy "Yellowlegs Shorebird, carved by George Boyd, carved in the late 1800's to early 1900's in Seabrook, New Hampshire that just sold for $13,000!  Wouldn't it be nice to find one of these in an old barn!

This decoy went for over $8000!

Guess I will continue to look for how I am going to "remake me" and will try to keep you posted.  Check out Etsy for my new products and I promise that I will be more prompt in my thoughts-perhaps that is the "new" me.  Keep measuring twice but for all those fishermen out there, keep your lines tight too.  Much peace to all.

Nelson (pappa)

It's Snowing

It's Saturday, had thought that streams would be at a fishable level and that I might forgo the wood work to do some fishing on this Easter weekend-but the green spring grass is covered in snow, temp in the 30's and the forecast is for rain, rain, rain.  Perhaps when I was younger I would "gear up" and go out anyway, but age and a wife who is supervising my recovery and rehab from the hip is discouraging this type of activity in this type of weather.  Besides we have to go watch the grand kids do the "dye the egg" thing!  Good friend of mine is fishing at a place called Rockwell Springs Trout Club in Ohio-check it out on the web, very interesting post.  I changed my Facebook profile picture to opening day at Bennett Springs in Missouri, where fisherman stand shoulder to shoulder to catch 5 trout; say what you want, but it was at Bennett Springs where I spent a week doing nothing but fly fishing that I learned how to do this stuff.

The bears are out of hibernation and feeding at the bird feeders for those people who either want to keep feeding the birds or just want to see bears tear up their feeders.  I read an article that some bears out west are not hibernating but are feeding on kills from wolves over the winter months.  Another change in behaviors.  Listening to a person speak about the preservation of forests, restoring forests and the Easter celebration of rebirth.  They spoke of the importance of maintaining a healthy woodlands by intelligent plan of harvesting.

Found a new pattern for a bench that includes a vise that I plan to build this summer.  Not one that can set in the living room but one that I can use the tools with and not take up much space.  Something to build once good weather gets here.  Pictures to follow (I hope).  I plan to build a bench similar to the ones in the picture except tall enough for me to sit, then attach the vise sold by Woodcraft.  Creating a stable base for using the plane and draw knife will speed the process.

Looking forward to spring, getting outside to carve and getting knee deep in some trout water.  Thanks for reading and remember to measure twice and cut once.  Peace this Easter season.

Goose Hunting

Saw a Facebook post today about the Brookfield Relays coming up this week and a flood of memories came back, many names, both of coaches and athletes, the hamburger steak meals between the preliminaries and the finals.  How much fun we had as coaches who had some really gifted athletes who worked hard and had some success; the track was probably the worse track in the area but no one complained because we ran a great meet, thanks to all the great volunteers.  I know this has nothing to do with wood and words, although we did throw the discus off two sheets of plywood in the middle of the football field-I have no idea how we kept from killing someone.

But Brookfield had some great hunting-goose season started in mid October; had to call off football practice so wouldn't have to punish players for skipping to go hunt!  This was a great experience especially to a novice hunter;  I did get better after several years to the point that I started to serve as an unofficial guide to new hunters.  We hired a new science guy, young, considered himself an outdoors guy, and even had a chocolate lab pup!  He was single so my wife and I provided some home cooking, and some TV watching but he wanted to go goose hunting.  Thanksgiving vacation was upon us and he was not going home so we set up a trip to a local field that I had been hunting and bagging some geese.

Now the limit at the time was one goose per day and two geese in your possession; this was a Federal standard since these birds migrated-fines were high and punishment meant losing your gun and privileges.  I am sure that the time limit for prosecution of crimes has long passed so I hope that I can safely tell this story.

We had decided to hunt Wednesday morning since it was a half day of school without much pressure in the classroom.  He knew the bag limits and was a good waterfowl hunter but had never killed a goose, so to say he was excited was an under statement.  We got to the blind early in darkness without our dogs as we would be shooting in a corn field plus storing the dogs at school was usually not a good idea.  The geese were flying hard from the south as there was a good north wind plus over cast, great weather for hunting.  But the geese were ignoring the decoy spread in front of our blind and landing on a large pond or small lake north of our blind probably 800 yards away and coming over us too high to shoot.  But I knew what to do-I told him to go to the fence line and hide in the weeds while I went up the ditch to the pond, came in to the geese from the north side, they would fly south over him and he could get his goose.  A simply brilliant plan, what could possibility go wrong?

As I was crawling up the ditch, geese were flooding into the pond, I estimated there was at least 500+ birds on the water, wall to wall.  The biggest danger when flushing this big of flock was to only shoot one bird, if they were too close together with a shot gun you could bring down several birds and since I was out in the open and could be seen from the road I only wanted one goose!  I also was enough of a hot dog that I wanted to shoot a bird with a band so I could research where it had been, how old it was and the like.  So up over the dam I came busting into the geese-now if you have ever been around geese they are quite noisy especially when they are startled-the noise was deafening, I surveyed the geese, picked one out (with a band) and with one shot dropped it into the middle of the lake/pond!  Geese were flying and heard my hunter friend shooting-bam bam bam-(he had an automatic) then I heard bam, bam, bam, then another bam, bam. I am thinking: I know this guy can shoot but maybe he is so excited that he can't hit anything! The thought crossed my mind, do I need to shoot one for him, but quickly dismissed the thought because I didn't want to get caught killing a second bird.

 I threw clods of dirt at the floating bird until it finally got close enough for me to pick it up; I headed back to check in with my friend in hopes that he had killed a bird and not shot himself!  I climbed the fence and saw him sitting on the ground with a goose at his feet; I told him good job but then he stood up and started talking.  He said that he had gotten so excited, he had never been so close to so many geese and he just started shooting, reloaded, shot some more, reloaded and that he had two geese out in the corn field, two geese down in the ditch and two more in the fence row plus the goose at his feet for a total of 7 geese killed.  Visions of federal penitentiary in Leavenworth Kansas, came to my mind as I asked him what the hell were you thinking?  His response of I don't know-there were just geese every where and they were flying and making noise and my gun just kept going off!!!!  He said that he knew he needed to stop but he just couldn't!!!  Great-to get back to town hunters had to pass through check points whether the conservation agents would check your car/truck for geese.

We went back to town, checked the geese, took them to the butcher shop to be dressed-Thanksgiving dinner!  But we still had all these birds out in the field and i didn't really want them to be wasted but how to get them to town?  Then it dawned on me-I taught driver education and could pass through the check points without question, so first period we drove out and moved the birds closer to the road, put a couple in the trunk, returned to town, dropped them off in my garage, second period, back to the field and stop by the garage to drop the birds off.  School was out at noon, I went home, dressed the birds, and made some phone calls for distribution of the birds to people that I knew was short on food at this time of year.  So what was a bad situation, although still bad, at least some good came of the hunting trip.

I had great students in driver education classes, most of them were hunters or dated hunters so the trips with the geese stayed secret.  The story of the trip did slip out and the science teacher, outdoor guy with the chocolate lab lived to hunt another day-we goose hunted the Friday after Thanksgiving but that is another story.  He was a great teacher and a good friend.

Loons and Their Magic

The first time I heard the call of the loons the hair on the back of my neck stood up-it was night, no moon, I was walking back from fishing a brook filled with trout.  I knew immediately that a "creature of the night" was coming to get me-remember all those movies we watched as a kid, when more was left to the imagination than in films today?  In New Hampshire there is a creature of the night called a Fisher Cat-a weasel on steroids that kills small dogs, cats, rodents so my fears were founded!  As I ran through the trees to get back to the cabin I smashed into the oldest daughter who with a laugh asked me why I was running-I explained "the creature" that was after me.  With an even broader laugh she explained the loons, their calls and their magic at night.

So ever since that time I have wanted to carve a loon but for some reason, never took the time to start, but now at the request of a good friend from the mid west I am carving a loon (1/2 size).  I am trying to use all hand tools rather than the grinder (with a cord) or the sander (with a cord).  I did not have a big block of wood so chose to glue 6 1/2" pieces of pine after roughing out the pattern on each piece.  From there came the draw knife and plane to rough out a general shape.  The head is separate and has 3 pieces of wood glued after again cutting out a general shape.  I used my scroll saw to cut each piece but in the real world I would use a band saw to cut out the form.

I marked the eyes on the head using a punch so that I wouldn't lose the placement.  The eyes are a sinister red and will be glass eyes that I purchase from a dealer.  With the initial cut I need to find the center line so there is balance to the decoy as I remove wood.  I try to keep redrawing the lines as I move through the carving.  Loons are a different bird to carve as much of their body rides low in the water and is unseen in the final work.

Chisels are used to carve the feather bunches and to improve the placement of the head.  Loons are black and white with striping, spots and checkering on their backs.  Painting is still a ways off as I need to bring the head into detail and improve the side feather pattern, then extensive sanding will take place.  The head will include better bill definition and the neck will blend into the body with one smooth line.

Loons are cool because they return to the same nesting place year after year; they can live up to 30 years; the produce 2-3 eggs and are protective of their chicks even providing them rides on the adults backs.  It takes 25+ days for the eggs to hatch and as soon as the chicks hatch they go into the water; at 11 weeks they can fly.  Adult birds leave the lake and travel to lakes in northern Maine or Southern Canada, congregate for several weeks before flying to the Atlantic Ocean for the winter.  Young loons leave the nesting lake and fly to the ocean for 2-3 years before finding a mate then finding a lake to start the life cycle again.

Loons need clean water and places free of human population (boats); reports say the population is "stable" but each year many loons die from contact with boats, fishing line, plastic soda holders and from their natural predators.  Chicks are vulnerable especially from large fish.  Loons are native to the North America and Canada so those of you in the mid west need to travel to watch and hear the wonderful birds.

Thanks again for visiting and remember when cutting to measure twice and cut once!  Peace.

The Benz Decoy Company-Jefferson City, Missouri

THE BENZ DECOY

COMPANY

When Harry Benz began his decoy company, decoy production was nothing new to Jefferson City, Missouri. Starting in the early 1920s, the J.M. Hayes Wood Products Company manufactured many different wood products including duck decoys. A failed business venture in 1922 eventually forced the company to declare bankruptcy in 1925. The Gundlefinger Wood Products Company purchased some of the machinery and some of the inventory and began to produce a variety of decoys. By 1928, The Gundlefinger Wood Products fell upon financial problems.

Harry Benz’s decoy production began with the purchase of The Gundlefinger Wood Products Company in 1929 after the company declared bankruptcy. By a collective bid of $6,000, Harry Benz bought the machinery and stock of the insolvent company.

The Jefferson City resident was already operating a host of other businesses when he took over The Gundlefinger Company. He owned a new and used furniture store, a taxi service and garage as well as used a car and rent-a-Ford business. Harry Benz was now assuming the business of decoy production on the eve of the Great Depression. Producing decoys from the basement of his rent-a- Ford business, Harry continued the tradition of decoy manufacturing in Jefferson City.

Benz decoys were produced in mallards, black ducks, bluebills, pintails, whistler, widgeon, canvasback, redhead, teal species as well as geese.  Two wooden models were offered – Grand Prix and Superior.  Grand Prix were made of light weight wood and were larger than life size.  The Superior grade was slightly smaller in size. Both models were produced on duplicating lathes, sanded semi-smooth and finished with hand painting.

The Benz Decoy Company survived the great depression, but the pressure of World

War II and the increased marketing of lower cost paper mache and plastic decoys proved too great for Benz.  The end of the war in 1945 also brought about the closing of decoy operations for the Benz Company as well as bringing an end to over two decades of decoy production in Jefferson City, Missouri.

	Benz Mallard Drake Jefferson City, Missouri • Circa 1930s This nice example is in virtually mint condition, having never been used. This is the last one I have that came from a rig found several years ago. He has never been rigged and shows just the slightest amount of box wear. The small various tan marks/spots on him are traces of the original newspaper he was wrapped in after he was painted. Wonderful dry and crisp original paint that features Benz’s typical comb painting on his back and tail. Great crisp example from the last of the Jefferson City factories. Item #207008

	Gundelfinger Black Duck Jefferson City, Missouri • Circa mid 1920s If you looking for a hard species of Gundlefinger decoys this might be your bird. Believe it or not, I have seen more teal than black ducks by Gundelfinger. Overall, this bird in nice original condition with even gunning wear. The nail that is now visible in his neck is original and was used by the company to secure their heads. The neckfiller is cracked all the way around and the left side of the bird has two small paint scrapes as well as a tight age crack under his eye. Thick original comb paint. The original company ink stamp is still visible on the bottom. Item #207020

Gundelfinger Canvasback Hen Jefferson City, Missouri • Circa late 1924-1929 Rare special order oversized sold canvasback hen. This decoy measures just over 16 inches long and 8 inches tall. The paint is 100% original with a few paint "pops" to the top of the head and neck and some rubbing to the breast. Structurally she is in excellent shape with "No" cracks or splits. She features her original deep red eyes and nice comb paint on her back. A similar example can be seen in Ken Trayers" North American Factory Decoy book. I have only seen three or four of this style and all have come out of the Wisconsin area. Rare Gundelfinger decoy!

Item #207007

$650.00

So here you have the history of Decoying in Jefferson City, Missouri; The final carver was put out of business by modern technology but as you can see the decoys are still in demand. Enjoy the descriptions of these decoys that are for sale from collectors-I know that the next time I see a decoy setting in an antique shop out here I am going to pay more attention to the decoy.  So far the ones I have looked at have been in bad shape or cleaned up and repainted.  A word of caution, if you decide to buy an old decoy DO NOT repaint or repair anything because as soon as you do anything like that you have just lost money.

The next post I plan to talk about my Loon Decoy, have some pictures and maybe even give some really interesting (not) information on how I am doing this with hand tools only.  PIctures should give you some idea of progress.  Hope you enjoy.  Thanks for stopping by.

Remember to measure twice and cut once.  Peace

Missouri Decoy Factories

There are numerous decoy factories and carvers in the midwest.  But how nice it would be to know where the factories existed in Jefferson City-is it possible that anyone thought to keep that record?  Sounds like a search for another time.  We hear so much about valuable decoys from the east coast, it is nice to find decoy factories in Missouri; as those of you in the mid west search those antique shops would you keep an eye out for these decoys? Who knows you might find a bargain and become one of those "pickers". This may bore some of you, but I believe that history is important plus if you are looking to become a collector here is an expensive but a good place to start.  If you have relatives or friends near fly ways or rivers start checking the garages and barns for decoys-I once saw a stack of decoys behind a garage in Iowa. When I talked with the elderly woman in the house, she said that her husband had hunted over them for years but wasn't interested in selling any until she talked with her son; she also thought I was crazy for wanting to buy any of them.  Her son called me with a price at $300 per decoy-thanks but no thanks.  I found a place in Maine that was run by an elderly man who priced most of his decoys at $25-$50-he had hunted over most of them-I did not have my check book and it was before debit cards; I returned the next summer but the man had died, his children had remodeled the shop (cleaned it up) and had the decoys listed at $300-$1000-again, thanks but no thanks.  But I am going to keep looking for that bargain!  Check out the pictures and descriptions below-someone found these so keep looking.

Hays Wood Products Co. Mallard DrakeJefferson City, Missouri • Circa early 1920sThe Hays company began producing decoys in the early 1920s. Hays was the first of three companies that produced decoys over a span of two decades in Jefferson City. This mallard drake in excellent dry original paint. There is a tight age crack that runs the length on the bottom and an inch up the tail and breast. Most of this is covered by the old strip weight applied to the bottom. The head is securely attached. The neck filler is cracked, but present, all the way around. This crack has run up into the head just slightly but is tight and not that noticeable. The small tan smudges are actually news print still stuck to the bird from when it was originally painted. Judging from the amount of wear, or actually lack of it, I would say he has not had much use.
Item #207013 I$785.00 Benz Pintail Drake Drake pintail by Benz Wood Products Co., Jefferson City, MO., in excellent O.P. and cond. with some in-use wear, glass eyes, nice scratch painting on back, this decoy is from my personal collection, ca. 1930's. Carver : Benz Decoy Company 450   Benz Widgeon Drake RARE Drake Widgeon by Benz Wood Products Co., Jefferson City, MO. Grand Prix Model, near mint original paint and condition. This decoy was weighted, but never used in the field. It has nice scratch painting on the back and glass eyes, ca.1930's. THIS IS ONE OF THREE KNOWN BENZ WIDGEON DECOYS IN COLLECTIONS: A TRUE INVESTMENT GRADE DECOY. Carver : Benz Decoy Factory 1725.00   Gundelfinger Pintail Drake Gundelfinger pintail drake (no.237), hard to find, excellent paint. Carver : Gundelfinger Decoy Factory 300   Gundelfinger Superior Canvasback Drake Gundelfinger No. 227 (Superior canvasback drake)in fine original condition. The comb paint is exquisite. The large flat ballast weight is marked "NIXON" Carver : Gundelfinger Wood Products 250   Gundelfinger Redhead Superior Pair Pair of Gundelfinger redheads, Superior Models. Drake all original, with wonderful deep comb-painting and fine original paint. The hen may have some minimal hunter repaint; it still has its ballast weight. Both decoys are worn, and provide a great example of the Jefferson City decoys. Each decoy is 14.5 x 4.75 x 6.75 (L x W x H) inches in dimension. Carver : Gundelfinger Decoy Company 435.00     Gundelfinger Superior Model Mallard Pair, Original Paint Great pair of Gundelfinger Superior Model (Gundelfinger catalog #205, 206) solid decoys. These are classic examples of the Gundelfinger decoy line of decoys. The drake has some areas where the paint has been rubbed off, but the hen is remarkably pristine. The drake is 16 x 5.25 x 6 (L x W x H) inches. The hen has the same dimensions. Some of the top layers of the heavy impasto flaked off the hen's chest flaked off before comb-paint application: she looks great anyway. Some comb paint has flaked completely off the back of the head. Carver : Gundelfinger Decoy Company 400.00     Gundelfinger Grand Prix Mallard Pair Pair of Gundelfinger Grand Prix Model (Gundelfinger catalog #5,6) hollow decoys. These have carving around the bill root. Each bird is 17 x 5.5 x 7 (L x W x H) inches. The drake has some areas where the paint has been rubbed off, but the hen's back is still exceptional despite worn paint on the head. Both decoys have their original strip weights. Carver : Gubndelfinger Decoy Company 431.25   Thanks for checking out the site, remember to measure twice and cut once.  Peace to you all.	I

Heroes and Hand Tools

Since we down sized last summer there has definitely been some adjustment in my carving and wood working; used to be able to use the garage, basement or the "man cave" to make as much mess as I wanted.  I have a wonderful wife that tolerates the planes and knives but does not tolerate power tools-just think how much dust can be generated!  So other than going some place with a band saw to rough cut out the decoys, leaves, or blocks for Santas, everything is done using the tools you see in the pictures.  When I read about the history of early decoy carvers and how they did their work with axes, draw knives and the like, I almost feel honored to be working with hand tools only.  The work goes slow but one does draw a sense of patience needed to complete the work plus going slower allows an appreciation of the wood and the finished product.  So just as the hare and the turtle race, the prize goes to the slow!  I worked with a carver in Maryville, Missouri, who took me out to meet a priest at a local seminary who talked about taking big cuts instead of so many small ones as the project would be completed quicker but more importantly the carver should be willing to take risks to make the project more detailed.  Maybe a message about life there?
So anyway here are some pictures of a 1/2 size loon decoy that I am working on and the tools. Sorry had to slip a picture of Sam here-he plays on an AAU team out of Wolfeboro, NH: they went 3-1 in their first tournament last weekend.  They went 35-4 last year.

Sam walking the walk at AAU Basketball

Pretty rough looking Loon

Still need to build a bench to sit on and carve

As for the heroes part, I recently posted to another blog commenting on college sports and the coaches who drive them.  The discussion was about Tressel football coach of Ohio State and was he right in not communicating with the University about violations that he knew had occurred with his players.  I mentioned John Wooden, his success and how his father played such an important part in his life and coaching philosophy.  Pat and I sat in the lobby of a hotel in Topeka, Kansas, trying to decide where to eat when Wooden came over and sat down; he proceeded to ask questions about us, our family, why I taught (not why I coached) and directed the conversation at us.  Several weeks later I received a copy of the poem "Why I Teach" and a copy of his pyramid for success.  As I read many of his books and heard him speak I knew that his methods were how coaching should be done.  Vince Lombardi, coach of Green Bay, took over a team in total disarray, set some high standards and pushed a team that had never won to become winners.  His big piece was loyalty and hard work to the program.  So these guys are people who helped me form my philosophy of teaching and coaching-Later Dr. Rick McGuire, former MU track coach helped  me know that I had been on the right direction all the time.

Anyway as I posted to the blog about Wooden, the responses from two individuals was as hard as I have ever heard.  Both charged that he was one of the most dishonest coaches ever to work in the profession, he paid players under the table, had favorites that got special treatment with the final statement being something about "there is no way he could have been that successful without cheating"!

The Internet is a wonderful piece of technology but....how much disservice is done by rumors, falsehoods, and people (like me) who post much of which if their (my) opinion.  The sad thing is that many people take anything said as fact and can't wait to spread the news.  So just how hard is it to have a hero and to keep a hero when their every moment is open for review, beyond the playing field.  I haven't asked the grand kids who their heroes are but think that who ever they say, I am going to work hard to help them preserve the admiration of that person. And then just hope that the "hero" doesn't do anything to screw it up.  As far as John Wooden goes, I went back and looked for evidence that he was not all he was revered for and could find nothing factual that he was not a fair and respectful man.  I guess the final test for him was, when he was on his death bed, how many of his former players came to see him-Kareem Jabaar (spelled right?) returned from speaking engagements in Europe to speak with him.  No greater evidence is needed as far as I am concerned.

It is closer to spring here, blue skies and some of the flowering trees are beginning to flower-of course they will be short lived as we still get some frost.  Remember when you get ready to build (or plant something this spring) to measure twice and cut once.
Peace
Pappa R

Spring and the Supermoon

So will all the crazies be out tonight or will I just be by myself?  The moon is going to be cool, as this only happens every 20 years or so; just think what the Native Americans thought when this happened?  When we vacationed in the great Southwest years ago, and visited many of the old Native American villages around the Grand Canyon and I heard historians speak about the volcanic activity that took place in the area.  Can you imagine not understanding what was going on and how afraid those people must have been or just how much faith they must have had?  I just finished reading Pat Williams' book "Coach Wooden"; recommend that it be required reading for all wether you are into sports or coaching.  When we talk about faith and making every day special, this book will fire you up for the rest of your life!

John Wooden had a huge impact on my teaching/coaching career-here is a bit of wisdom from his career: "Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished but  by what you should have accomplished with your ability."

So now let's talk some carving projects;  as we have down sized I have stored boxes of shore birds and miniature decoys since we have no place to display them.  I have posted some pictures, if you are interested in buying any let me know; shore birds vary in price from $30 to  $60; miniature decoys are $30.  I also have posted a couple of pictures of some birds that I am entering in the Keene Art Walk show in June.

Entries for the Keene Art Walk Show 

Currently have a 1/2 size loon on commission, a cardinal and a shoveler nearing completion.  Next up will be a 1/2 size blue heron.  Will keep you posted on the projects with pictures next post.  So much for being philosophical-don't forget to measure twice and cut once.  Peace