April 2023 Newsletter
COMING MEETING: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 7:00 PM.
Location: Schramm Education Center (SEC).
Program: TBA
Presidents notes: Greetings to all. Spring is upon us and waterfowl are migrating. Trees are budding and grass will be growing soon. Hopefully none of this will distract you from your carvings.
I would like to thank everyone that attended the March meeting. We had great attendance with a total of 18 members and 2 guests. Hopefully we can continue this trend and maybe even see it grow. It just so happens that we had a great wildlife photographic presentation by Jim Thomas last month. Makes you wonder if there’s any correlation.
Not going to take up a lot of space with this but there’s a small bit of good news regarding the Ward World Championship. Recent news indicates that the Ward Foundation and Salisbury University have agreed to a truce at least as it relates to the competition and it will go on as planned. With the help of Ron Cleveland, I’ve sent out some information related to mailing entries. I would not be surprised that the show is different than expected given that it sounds as if support staff is less than hoped for. Things aren’t looking so good for the future of the museum though. I will continue to pass along information as I find it.
Work continues on the 2024 calendar and once again a big thanks to Ron Pigg for his work in making this happen. If you have decoys that have to be photographed, please bring them to the meeting.
Work continues on the website and Norm has been making updates as they become available. Many thanks to Norm and Jim for your support in this effort. If you haven’t visited the website recently, take some time to check it out. And while you’re there, look at things with a critical eye so that you can fill out the survey. I doubt anyone would disagree that having a good website is important. Norm, Jim and I worked to create the survey and feel that it’s critical to get your input. If there’s anything I can do to help you in this endeavor, call me or drop me an email.
I hope you don’t mind but I’m going to close with something a bit different this month.
I think you’ll all agree that we have a great working relationship with Nebraska Game and Parks (NGP). I don’t think it’s inappropriate to support them where we can. Toward that end I want to pass along some information I received. NGP is looking for seasonal workers. Positions are available for a range of skill levels and interests, including lifeguarding, food service, construction and maintenance, horticulture, housekeeping, office support, grounds maintenance and more, all in beautiful natural locations. Thought maybe your grandchildren or someone else you know might be interested. More information can be found at http://outdoornebraska.gov/workinapark/
Thanks Kirk
Meeting agenda for 3/14/2023
Welcome members and visitors
President’s remarks. Kirk
Treasurer’s report. Norm
Old business:
1. 2024 calendar edition plan (photos and collectors’ calendar page photos).
Ron P and Kirk P.
2. Website revision plan… Recent changes and member survey. Norm W and
Jim L.
3. Display cases update.
New business:
1. NGP Venture Park Fair report. Kirk P.
2. Library additions in 2023. (New additions and Request a list in PDF or hard
copy by mail.)
3. Future public carving classes
4. May meeting program
5. 2023 Mini Decoy show and picnic
6. Agenda additions…
Member’s carvings.
Program. TBA
Calendar photo session
Adjourn.
At the last meeting…. Kirk Pfeffer gave a brief history of the Ward Foundation and Museum. The current situation was discussed at length. Since the March meeting, there has been more developments in the story of the Foundation and the World Show. We will hear more at this coming meeting.
Ron Pigg gave us an update in the 2024 calendar. We will continue to take photos of carvings for the calendar during the meetings. Bring your carvings if we need get photos of your carving. Kirk will address the selection of photos for the Collectors’ Corner page.
Website development continues since the March meeting. Notably, the HOME page has been cleaned up.
A byline for the COLLECTORS’ page has been added to the HOME page. You may click in the link. It will take you to the new COLLECTORS’ page.
Here’s what you will find on the new page.
The COLLECTORS’ CORNER has 3 tabs:
*The art, history, and human side of decoy collecting.
*Decoy Collecting 101.
*Pictorial Review (under construction).
The main page describes the purpose of the page and gives the tabs for the accompanying pages.
Click on the link at the bottom of this page to go the Club website. These changes are editable, so let us know what you think of the changes on the survey and at the meeting.
Kirk lead a discussion of the display cases. The Schramm Park display case (Photo below) is complete. We added 5 carvings that will remain on display for about 6 months. A special thanks should go the Kelly Ekue, Education Coordinator for her work to get the case added to the Education Center. The case and display area is very well done.
Ned Shipley, Al Thomas, Norm Wise, Don Gabelhouse and, Kirk Pfeffer contributed carvings for the display case.
Mahoney Park display case… We have received some feedback for Jeff Fields and the NG&P Commission about the Mahoney display case project. More discussion and details to follow.
Decoy Collecting… It was suggested we contact Paul Satore for a program on decoy collecting. Paul is club member since 2017 and, is an avid collector and expert on the old birds. We look forward to his program.
Library additions… Three Godin CDs have been added to the Club video library. Green-wing and Blue-winged teal hen CD and the Pintail drake have been added.
Norm Wise donated the Godin Shoveler Drake CD. Jim has converted several VHS tapes to a DVD format. Now you may view the DVDs on you computer or DVD player. The list on our website has been updated.
We could print and distribute a printed copy of your library holdings at the meetings, however, to save on paper and printer ink, you may request a printed copy of the holdings list or, request a PDF digital copy. Contact Norm if you want either. The library list is also on the web site under the CLUB RESOURCES tab.
We briefly discussed future public education opportunities for the public. No action was taken and will be added to the April meeting agenda
New member… Aemal Khattak has joined us. Aemal is engineer on the faculty of UNL Engineering College. He has been carving waterfowl for several years. His work and family commitments will probably keep him from attending our meetings, but we welcome his support.
Coming shows and competition news: No club competition results to report.
The Ohio Decoy Collectors and Carvers Association show was held on March 18 - 19. All reports are this was another successful show. You may go to their website https://www.odcca.net/ for more info or go the the ODCCA FaceBook page for photos, comments, and results of the competition. Congrats and kudos to the organizers and competitors of the show.
Ward World Wildfowl Carving Championships is scheduled for April 21-23 2023 in Ocean City, Maryland. Some mail-in entries may be accepted for the competition. If you plan to ship entries to the show, consult the show guide at https://www.wardmuseum.org. We will post a guide to packing on our website http://cfdcc.weebly.com/index.html under the Tips, hints, etc. tab.
2
023 North American Vintage Decoy & Sporting Collectibles Show is scheduled for 10:00am to 4:00pm on April 25 through April 29, 2023 at Westin Lombard Chicago Hotel. This is the largest decoy and sporting collectibles show in North America. Room to room trading (Tues.-Thur.) followed by a ballroom show (Fri-Sat) plus a Guyette & Deeter auction. Additional information is available at https://nadecoycollectors.org/upcoming-events/
See ya at the meeting on April 11.
Location: Schramm Education Center (SEC).
Program: TBA
Presidents notes: Greetings to all. Spring is upon us and waterfowl are migrating. Trees are budding and grass will be growing soon. Hopefully none of this will distract you from your carvings.
I would like to thank everyone that attended the March meeting. We had great attendance with a total of 18 members and 2 guests. Hopefully we can continue this trend and maybe even see it grow. It just so happens that we had a great wildlife photographic presentation by Jim Thomas last month. Makes you wonder if there’s any correlation.
Not going to take up a lot of space with this but there’s a small bit of good news regarding the Ward World Championship. Recent news indicates that the Ward Foundation and Salisbury University have agreed to a truce at least as it relates to the competition and it will go on as planned. With the help of Ron Cleveland, I’ve sent out some information related to mailing entries. I would not be surprised that the show is different than expected given that it sounds as if support staff is less than hoped for. Things aren’t looking so good for the future of the museum though. I will continue to pass along information as I find it.
Work continues on the 2024 calendar and once again a big thanks to Ron Pigg for his work in making this happen. If you have decoys that have to be photographed, please bring them to the meeting.
Work continues on the website and Norm has been making updates as they become available. Many thanks to Norm and Jim for your support in this effort. If you haven’t visited the website recently, take some time to check it out. And while you’re there, look at things with a critical eye so that you can fill out the survey. I doubt anyone would disagree that having a good website is important. Norm, Jim and I worked to create the survey and feel that it’s critical to get your input. If there’s anything I can do to help you in this endeavor, call me or drop me an email.
I hope you don’t mind but I’m going to close with something a bit different this month.
I think you’ll all agree that we have a great working relationship with Nebraska Game and Parks (NGP). I don’t think it’s inappropriate to support them where we can. Toward that end I want to pass along some information I received. NGP is looking for seasonal workers. Positions are available for a range of skill levels and interests, including lifeguarding, food service, construction and maintenance, horticulture, housekeeping, office support, grounds maintenance and more, all in beautiful natural locations. Thought maybe your grandchildren or someone else you know might be interested. More information can be found at http://outdoornebraska.gov/workinapark/
Thanks Kirk
Meeting agenda for 3/14/2023
Welcome members and visitors
President’s remarks. Kirk
Treasurer’s report. Norm
Old business:
1. 2024 calendar edition plan (photos and collectors’ calendar page photos).
Ron P and Kirk P.
2. Website revision plan… Recent changes and member survey. Norm W and
Jim L.
3. Display cases update.
New business:
1. NGP Venture Park Fair report. Kirk P.
2. Library additions in 2023. (New additions and Request a list in PDF or hard
copy by mail.)
3. Future public carving classes
4. May meeting program
5. 2023 Mini Decoy show and picnic
6. Agenda additions…
Member’s carvings.
Program. TBA
Calendar photo session
Adjourn.
At the last meeting…. Kirk Pfeffer gave a brief history of the Ward Foundation and Museum. The current situation was discussed at length. Since the March meeting, there has been more developments in the story of the Foundation and the World Show. We will hear more at this coming meeting.
Ron Pigg gave us an update in the 2024 calendar. We will continue to take photos of carvings for the calendar during the meetings. Bring your carvings if we need get photos of your carving. Kirk will address the selection of photos for the Collectors’ Corner page.
Website development continues since the March meeting. Notably, the HOME page has been cleaned up.
A byline for the COLLECTORS’ page has been added to the HOME page. You may click in the link. It will take you to the new COLLECTORS’ page.
Here’s what you will find on the new page.
The COLLECTORS’ CORNER has 3 tabs:
*The art, history, and human side of decoy collecting.
*Decoy Collecting 101.
*Pictorial Review (under construction).
The main page describes the purpose of the page and gives the tabs for the accompanying pages.
Click on the link at the bottom of this page to go the Club website. These changes are editable, so let us know what you think of the changes on the survey and at the meeting.
Kirk lead a discussion of the display cases. The Schramm Park display case (Photo below) is complete. We added 5 carvings that will remain on display for about 6 months. A special thanks should go the Kelly Ekue, Education Coordinator for her work to get the case added to the Education Center. The case and display area is very well done.
Ned Shipley, Al Thomas, Norm Wise, Don Gabelhouse and, Kirk Pfeffer contributed carvings for the display case.
Mahoney Park display case… We have received some feedback for Jeff Fields and the NG&P Commission about the Mahoney display case project. More discussion and details to follow.
Decoy Collecting… It was suggested we contact Paul Satore for a program on decoy collecting. Paul is club member since 2017 and, is an avid collector and expert on the old birds. We look forward to his program.
Library additions… Three Godin CDs have been added to the Club video library. Green-wing and Blue-winged teal hen CD and the Pintail drake have been added.
Norm Wise donated the Godin Shoveler Drake CD. Jim has converted several VHS tapes to a DVD format. Now you may view the DVDs on you computer or DVD player. The list on our website has been updated.
We could print and distribute a printed copy of your library holdings at the meetings, however, to save on paper and printer ink, you may request a printed copy of the holdings list or, request a PDF digital copy. Contact Norm if you want either. The library list is also on the web site under the CLUB RESOURCES tab.
We briefly discussed future public education opportunities for the public. No action was taken and will be added to the April meeting agenda
New member… Aemal Khattak has joined us. Aemal is engineer on the faculty of UNL Engineering College. He has been carving waterfowl for several years. His work and family commitments will probably keep him from attending our meetings, but we welcome his support.
Coming shows and competition news: No club competition results to report.
The Ohio Decoy Collectors and Carvers Association show was held on March 18 - 19. All reports are this was another successful show. You may go to their website https://www.odcca.net/ for more info or go the the ODCCA FaceBook page for photos, comments, and results of the competition. Congrats and kudos to the organizers and competitors of the show.
Ward World Wildfowl Carving Championships is scheduled for April 21-23 2023 in Ocean City, Maryland. Some mail-in entries may be accepted for the competition. If you plan to ship entries to the show, consult the show guide at https://www.wardmuseum.org. We will post a guide to packing on our website http://cfdcc.weebly.com/index.html under the Tips, hints, etc. tab.
2
023 North American Vintage Decoy & Sporting Collectibles Show is scheduled for 10:00am to 4:00pm on April 25 through April 29, 2023 at Westin Lombard Chicago Hotel. This is the largest decoy and sporting collectibles show in North America. Room to room trading (Tues.-Thur.) followed by a ballroom show (Fri-Sat) plus a Guyette & Deeter auction. Additional information is available at https://nadecoycollectors.org/upcoming-events/
See ya at the meeting on April 11.