Nov. 20, 2002

Share what you know

It is vital for fish decoy carvers and collectors to share their knowledge with those currently not part of the decoy world.  If this information is not shared, and passed along, decoys and their rich history will be lost to future generations.

How do we share our love for and knowledge of decoys with others?

Carvers, offer to teach a class at one or more of your local schools, your community center, or senior center.  Share with your pupils the successes and failures you experienced learning to carve.  Be patient in your teaching, offering encouragement to those who lag behind.  Be willing to answer questions even if it means repeating your answer more than once.  Keep the class simple, and above all, make it fun.

If you don’t carve, consider speaking at schools. Tying your presentation in with a subject the class is studying would increase the interest level for the students.  Showing slides or movies related to decoys and ice fishing, or even displaying still photos will add extra punch to your session.  

Don’t forget to bring some of your decoys, and other implements related to ice fishing, to supplement your teaching or speaking.

If you’re a writer, you might think about producing articles on some aspect of the decoy world for newspapers or magazines.  There are a good number of people who don’t know about fish decoys and reading about them is one way to get acquainted.  Until I started writing about decoys more than seven years ago, I had no idea they existed.  Incidentally, I bought the first fish decoy I ever saw:  a 17-inch pike created by Jerry Matzen.

Along with the above suggestions for communicating our knowledge, we must not overlook educating potential collectors about the pitfalls waiting for them.  Tread lightly with this.  The idea is to inform individuals, not scare them away from decoys altogether.  These folks need to be told about one of the most prevalent traps:  the unscrupulous sellers out there only too willing to pass off artificially aged fish decoys as antiques, vintage, etc.  Not passing this information along would be to slight the honest carvers and sellers who have gone before us, and the contemporary carvers and sellers who do not practice deception.  

Books, magazines and videos can provide information on fish decoys.  So can decoy related websites.  The best source, however, for someone wanting to know more about decoys is a knowledgeable person willing to share what he or she knows about decoys.  

Signed,