May 1, 2006

Corolla, North Carolina – One of the hallmark exhibits of the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education is the collection of carved wooden waterfowl decoys.

Easily one of the premier examples of historic decoys used by hunters along Currituck Sound, the 250-piece Neal Conoley Collection will be among the exhibits unveiled by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission in an 10:30 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony on June 16.

These working decoys reflect the resourcefulness and creativity of generations of Coastal residents. Each was individually crafted by hand.

“You will rarely ever see eyes painted on the decoys,” said Chandler Sawyer, a Currituck native who is a wildlife education specialist with the center. “The carvers must have thought that by the time the ducks got close enough to see the eyes, you’d better be shooting!”

Wooden decoys like these were an important utilitarian tool. Surviving examples are often weathered, battered and sometimes patched.

Along the Outer Banks during the 19th and early 20th centuries, waterfowl hunting was an important part of making a living. At first it was for sustenance. Later, hunting was a commercial endeavor and the meat was sold for market, ending up on the tables of families and restaurants in Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

As waterfowl hunting became a popular pastime for sportsmen, providing guide services became a profitable, if seasonal, job.

The oldest decoy in the collection is a ruddy duck, carved in 1885 by John Williams, a Knotts Island resident.

Today, original Currituck Sound decoys are considered folk art, treasured as heirlooms and often command thousands of dollars at auction. And they are rare.

"They are hard to find these days because people know their value and they are highly cherished,” Sawyer said.

He should know. Sawyer comes from a long line of decoy carvers. He is the great-great-grandson of Bob Morse, a master carver whose work is well represented in the collection, along with decoys by Alvirah Wright, Joe Hayman and Ned Burgess.

At auction, a mallard hen decoy by Burgess was sold for $24,150 and a ruddy duck by Morse brought $18,700.

Sawyer often teaches beginning decoy carving classes at the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education.

“Currituck decoys are not known for their beauty; they are simple and rugged but highly functional,” he said. “Currituck decoys are large and have blocky paint patterns.”

The collection had its beginnings in 1967, when a college student and duck hunter named Neal Conoley Jr. would sometimes hang out with old-time carvers and buy old decoys that he liked. His interest – and his collection – would grow. Conoley is the author of “Waterfowl Heritage: North Carolina’s Decoys and Gunning Lore.”

In 1994, the Whalehead Preservation Trust bought the collection. It is housed in a special display gallery at the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, one of three regional learning centers across the state operated by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.