I was born in Davenport, Iowa in 1954 and grew up in Rock Island, Illinois. Since childhood, my passion has been ducks and duck hunting. I have hunted the backwaters of the Mississippi River since I was eight years old, and still own property in the Mississippi flood plain in Rock Island County.
I learned to call ducks at an early age. My call making inspiration came from Lenus O'Dean, the legendary call maker from Rock Island. Lenus held
the first known duck calling contest back in the late 1920's and his exceptional duck calls have become extremely valuable and desirable for the serious call collector.
My calls are hand produced from the highest quality hardwoods, carefully selected for both beauty and sound quality. My duck calls are of the Arkansas style with a single Mylar reed. I also make a conventional goose call and a few wood duck calls. My calls have been blown in competition here in Wisconsin and I have won many awards at call shows, including best matched set at the Call Makers and Collectors Association's annual show in St. Charles, IL. Each call I make receives my personal trade-mark of a burned mallard drake curly tail feather on duck calls or a goose tail feather on goose calls. Howard Harlan (call collector and author of the definitive book on calls and call collecting) personally told me that he knows of no other call maker who has ever done this. One of my calls appears on the cover of the new book "The Art of American Game Calls" by Russell E. Lewis. I have been making calls since the early 1990's and am proud to help carry on and promote this truly unique American folk art.
Canvasback Hen and calls, 10/2004
competitions throughout the United States. Among the shows where I have won ribbons and best in class awards are the Midwest Decoy Show in Davenport, Iowa, the Dremel/DU Show in Racine, Wisconsin, the Detroit Carving Contest in Livonia, Michigan, and the World Carving Competition in Ocean City, Maryland. I recently received the "People's Choice" award at the Racine Art Walk show in the fall of 2004. My matched set won a third place award at the 2006 National Wild Turkey Federation annual competition.
