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Layniebug and I headed to town to go to the ward museum this afternoon. She said she could make decoys for me to hunt with, and going was what she wanted to do. So off we went.

Not sure how "famous" they are elsewhere, but the Ward brothers, Lem and Steve, were/are pretty famous carvers around here. They're from a small town on the Chesapeake down the road named Crisfield, and outside of soft shell crab shacks and crabbing boats, there's still not much there, so they remain a pretty big deal.

So without further ado, let the virtual tour begin.

Just getting there. The decoys in the parking lot were very realistic.

At the entrance. Layniebug liked the flowers, and I was pleased to find that veterans get free admission. Bonus.

Some pretty cool stuff, showing the reed decoys that the injuns used to use. Which I suppose shows, like camouflage, the fancy stuff is more for the hunter than the prey lol





While it might be nice to blast that many ducks at once, I would be terrified of actually having to shoot a punt gun.







And for the Browning lovers, this was the only actual shotgun in the place. Showing that the clunkers really do belong in museums.

Thank you, tapatalk.

They actually moved the Ward brothers' entire workshop into the museum, which was pretty neat.

I found this pretty interesting, and might be handy for those who try carving, and say "screw it, I suck". Goes to show, practice, practice, practice.


In case you can't see it in the pic, this was one of their first scaup, from 1918, compared to scaup they did in 1967:

This ones for RickC

And this ones for hammer, rebel, and Hudson

There really was no shortage of stuff to look at. This was a room full of decoys from different parts of the country. Interesting how the styles vary so much.

These are some that the Ward brothers did later in life. Some of the non-waterfowl stuff was pretty damn amazing, too.

They had cases of the working decoy grand winners. While they call them "working decoys", it's doubtful they ever see a spread. But when judging, they float them instead of just judging their appearance, to see how they ride in the water, too. Amazing skill.

And some randomness.

On the way out, we stopped in the gift shop. Almost ruined my day by causing a stroke.

assateague wrote:On the way out, we stopped in the gift shop. Almost ruined my day by causing a stroke.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1401051769.364148.jpg

I pictured your face, then looked and seen your avatar matched what I imagined perfectly.

Awesome Jim!

Outside, I taught Layniebug how to eat honeysuckle. She's in love with it, now. And she tried to put the sneak on a couple mallards (which she correctly identified as drakes- yes!)

ducks~n~bucks wrote:

assateague wrote:On the way out, we stopped in the gift shop. Almost ruined my day by causing a stroke.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1401051769.364148.jpg

I pictured your face, then looked and seen your avatar matched what I imagined perfectly.

This was probably the neatest thing I saw there, though:

Thanks for that! The Ward brothers are a legend world wide among carvers. They did some amazing work over their careers. There are a lot of carving classes land mentors out your way especially for the youngsters.

Not being much into carving, I wasn't sure if they were only a local thing or not, although I know the world championship is named after them.


Based on your style, you may find it interesting that that Canada I posted was the only canvas decoy in the place. The only one.

Cool stuff Jim. Some of the faces Bug made we're cracking me up!

Yeah I dont think they did very many canvas birds. Those were basically cheaper fillers for the market hunters and once that era ended the canvas decoy almost faded away.
In one of my books I read that for the longest time they were barbers (if I recall correctly) and the carving was just another side thing to bring in some money. Whats amazing is decoys they sold for a couple bucks back then are worth 6 and 7 figures now.
I think it was Lem that would often include a poem with a completed order.

Redbeard wrote:Cool stuff Jim. Some of the faces Bug made we're cracking me up!

I can't get that child to make a straight face for a picture for nothing.

Good stuff Jim, she's getting big.

assateague wrote:

Redbeard wrote:Cool stuff Jim. Some of the faces Bug made we're cracking me up!

I can't get that child to make a straight face for a picture for nothing.

straight faces are boring

Thanks for sharing that AT.

X2 on the faces. That's funny stuff

Awesome thread! I never woulda heard of the Ward brothers but I read a piece in either delta or DU or maybe wildfowl magazine a couple months back. I love the market gunning history. And your daughter is a ham Assa. She cracks me up. Good stuff!

Sounds like a great day!!

Thanks for the pics!

Good stuff, Assa!