The Waterfowl Decoys of Southwestern Ontario and the Men Who Made Them

L.J. Rouse was a freelance writer in Toronto.

This illustrated history of a vanishing folk art of the fowling tradition is a collection of accounts of craftsmen and hunters of “the good old days” in the counties of Kent and Wentworth, Southwestern Ontario. There were at that time private hunting clubs, and artisans who provided duck hunters with a multitude of highly specialized, often beautifully crafted decoys. The art flourished in a time so different that it seems longer ago than it actually was; hunting was to feed hungry families rather than for “sport.” “The cares and concerns of preserving our waterfowl heritage were not at all what they are today.”

Author Paul Brisco, though a young man, has through interview and intensive research attained the authentic tone and cadence of the “hunter’s yarn” in this comprehensive collection of the anecdotes and reminiscences of scores of old-timers and watermen. Through their memories a time and way of life gone forever seem revived. This highly specialized work will feast the eyes of those interested in what Brisco calls “Decoyphilia”: over 80 colour plates and 200 black-and-white prints, with maps, charts, old photographs and hunting gadgetry of the past. His interest extends to the future; Brisco is the founder of the non-profit Canadian Wildfowling Heritage Conservancy Inc., working for the preservation of Canadian waterfowl.