Alexandria Bay is located at the east end of Lake Ontario in a region of New York called the “North Country”. In close proximity to the St. Lawrence River, the region around Alexandria Bay is one of the largest staging areas of migrating waterfowl in the Atlantic Flyway.
George Blevins, a butcher and storeowner was a lifelong resident of Alexandria Bay. Well known in the area for his carving skills, he produced a number of decoys for local hunters and those who frequented the hunting clubs that dotted the area. Many of his decoys were purchased by the Thousand Island Decoy Club for use by the members. Decoys owned by the club were “branded” with the initials of the club in reverse order: “DIT”.
Blevins is credited with having carved about 400 decoys, mostly scaup and golden eye. His decoys show considerable variation in size and head shape suggesting that he did not use patterns.
For additional information
Decoys of the Thousand Islands. 1992 by Jim Stewart and Larry Lunman.
Ontario Decoys – Some Carvers and Regional Styles. 1982 by B. Gates.