THANK YOU...

“Ontario Decoys III” is the result of sincere and frequent encouragement by many of those in the decoy fraternity and the incredible cooperation and generosity of the collectors who allowed me to view their collections and take photographs. I am particularly grateful to Bill Reeve for patiently keeping me on the grammatical track, to Bruce Malcolm and Paul Briscoe for their Western Ontario expertise, and to Diane Dawber for constant positive support. I thank Don Hewson for his aid in getting permission to use photographs of Ontario decoys held in the Canadian Museum of History.

For allowing me to use some of their images, I owe a special thanks to the U.S. auction house, Guyette and Deeter.

The past fifty years of identifying Ontario decoys and their makers has been a group effort exclusively by decoy collectors who have sought, bought, preserved, and researched them to the point of international recognition. Today some decoys are considered to be valuable sculptural art forms in their own right.

To all those who, by continuing the group effort tradition, have made this endeavor a reality, I thank you!!

Art Phelp, Bill Meggs, Bill and Margie Foley, Bob Shaw, Bruce Malcolm, Doug Bell, Gary Poole, Gene Kangas, George Merry, Harold Nichol, Jamie Stalker, Jeff Mewburn, Jeff Serengey, Jim and Brenda Orton, Jim Stewart, Keith Avann, Laurin Garland, Mark Harding, Max Hoyos, Rob and Bob Ward, Rod Fraser, Tom Eckart.

Thanks to Alex Firsov and his team at Life Web & Design Inc. for his patient assistance.

- B.G

BOOKS RELATED TO ONTARIO DECOYS

1981- The History of “wolfe Island Decoys”. Sid Fawcett

 1982 - Ontario Decoys.  Bernie Gates

 1983 - Decoys a North American Survey.  Gene Kangas

1986 - Waterfowl Decoys of Southwestern Ontario and the Men Who Made Them. Paul Brisco

1986 - Ontario Decoys II. Bernie Gates

1987 – Traditions in Wood: A history of Wildfowl Decoys in Canada.  Ed. Patricia Fleming

1988 - Decoying St. Clair to St. Lawrence. Barney Crandell

1992 - Decoys of the Thousand Islands.  Jim Stewart and Larry Lunman, Photography Peter steer

2002 - Peter Pringle, Master Decoy Maker. William Reeve

2004 - The County Decoys. Jim Stewart, Photography Peter Steer

 2009 - Nichol Decoys: The Smiths Falls School of Carving. Bernie Gates, Jeff Mewburn & Bill Reeve

2010 – Bird Decoys of North America:  Nature, history, and Art. Robert ShawB