2005 ODCCA Vintage Decoy Summary

2005 marked the first year the vintage group had to take up the slack left behind after the resignation of John Purvis. John had taken on the responsibilities of organizing almost all aspects related to our vintage weekend. John was responsible for these task’s long before we became members. They included first floor dealer room assignments, vintage decoy contest, seminars, displays, best room display award, posters, name tags, Ted Harmon’s auction and the list goes on. Thanks to his guidance and continued support, we were able to muddy through these task’s our self’s this year. His presence was missed and we all owe him a dept of gratitude. Thank you John, we wish you the best.

Most dealers show up on Thursday morning & are set up for business by noon. 2005 was again a sell out for first floor rooms. Over the last two years, there have been a number of new “Michigan” and “Ohio” collectors join our ranks. Were glad to have them and encourage them to help increase attendance. Many of these new collectors are people that have been bitten by the decoy bug through ebay. We personally don’t care were they caught the “decoy leprosy”, we just want them to feel welcome at our Ohio colony!

The decoy market remains hotter than ever and there’s no doubt the good stuff is demanding (and getting) top dollar and is harder to find. So why come to the show? For starters, the people. The decoy shows (not just ours) have become more social events than decoy buying frenzies. Lets face it, the days of seeing whole rigs of Schmidt’s and Bach’s show up for sale ended long ago. So now, we get together, socialize, network, educate and get educated. And, if you are so inclined, its not hard to find a cocktail or two. It’s time for the “gatherers” to become “hunters” and what better place to do it than room to room at our show. It’s sure a lot more fun than looking at your computer every day and you never know what the public might bring in off the street. This year, one collector bought a Mason Premiere canvasback, eleven glass eye mallards, two glass eye bluebills and a dozen or so Ohio canvasbacks from a local that walked in. Another local brought in a pair of D.B. Day Premiere mallards that he had received in payment for some home remodeling work he had done for an elderly woman. After carrying them room to room and receiving ever increasing offers, the man left with them. As far as we know, he still has them! Then, during the vintage contest, a gentleman brought in two Blair school decoys, a drake mallard and a drake pintail. Both birds were in dry original paint. Exceptional Ohio decoys branded “Isaac Newton”.

Thursday night we hosted our third annual seminar organized and hosted by Jon and I. That means we find someone to give the seminar and then we pour the wine! This was by far our best turnout and for good reason. Joe and Donna Tonelli gave us a lengthy slide show of their early collecting days that included trips to William Macky’s house, great decoy finds, early show and auction memories, great stories, etc. If you missed it, you really missed it. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the evening and we thank the Tonelli’s for their time and support.

Friday at noon we had our annual Decoys Unlimited auction hosted by Ted and Judy Harmon. The auction lasted about two hours and they sold approximately 150 lots. A Chauncey Wheeler brant was the top lot at $9000.00. The Harmon’s will be back for 2006. We would like to thank them for their time and support as well.

Saturday was the Vintage decoy contest sponsored by Decoy Magazine and as always, was well supported by our members. This is always a great way to see some spectacular decoys from various regions. Most of us would not have the opportunity to see these fabulous birds outside of our show. As usual we had fourteen categories. Best of Show honors went to Alan & Elaine Haid for their Crowell Plover. It was entered in our “In Case Of Fire” category. Contestants chose the one decoy they would run out of the house with if it caught on fire. We had some other fabulous decoys the Haid’s had to compete against in order to win this prize! Second Best of Show went to a Ben Schmidt hooded merganser owned by Ken & Mari Cole and Third Best of Show went to Tim Sieger and his Bowman shore bird. The People’s Choice award went to Mark Taylor and his Markam Rig redhead. Our judges this year were Marty Hanson, Tim Seiger & Elaine Haid.

Judges Marty Hanson, Tim Seiger & Elaine Haid (left to right)

Click to enlarge

They did a wonderful job and we thank them for their time. We had approximately 100 entries this year and for the first time we photographed every one of them and made a catalog. The catalogs were made on the premises and were available for sale at a cost of $10.00 each. Rumor has it that they have already traded second hand for more than the original selling price. This item is sure to be a collectible, so don’t forget to pick up your copy at next years show. It was a successful endeavor and we plan to make it higher quality and more professional looking for 2006.

Ken Trayer came back for a second year to finish his seminar (Bill Green Memorial Display) covering his book, North American Factory Decoys. This book contains a vast amount of information regarding decoy factories across North America. His seminars have been much appreciated by all who attended. The ODCCA wants to thank Ken for his efforts at the last two shows.

Last but not least, Bret Staschke won the award for best room display. Good job Bret!

In closing, this is a great show to attend, see fabulous decoys on display and spend quality time talking ducks with both new and old friends. We look forward to seeing all of you in March. It’s just around the corner!

Ken Cole/Jon Deeter
 

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