Capt. Jessie Urie

Jess Urie made his living by fishing and renting party boats for fishing trips he chartered. When John Glen moved in next door, Urie started carving decoys and continued doing so for the rest of his life. Until 1955 when he bought a duplicating lathe for roughing out the bodies, Urie worked each lure by hand (Fleckenstein, Decoys 250). Flattened breasts and wide strong bills characterize the baldpate, black duck, Canada goose, canvasback, goldeneye, mallard, pintail, redhead and scaup decoys Urie produced. In addition to these birds, Urie also carved oversized black ducks and canvasbacks. Each bird was completed with extensive feather and wing painting. When Urie ceased making stools in 1968, he turned his attention to crafting miniatures that replicated the style of his working decoys (Fleckenstein, Decoys 250). Working full-time with his son Roger, Urie carved quite a few species. Though he broadened his repertoire to include utilitarian, oversized and miniature decoys, Jess Urie never compromised quality.