Lou P. Kelly

Lou Kelly owned Peoria’s Kelly Beach and made his living renting boats. He was well-known as an avid gun collector and later became known for his decoy carving that suggests the Lacon area style. His pine decoys are hollowed out and have pointed tails. The decoys were designed to ride well on water and painted realistically in detail to portray true plumage patterns. When in use, a rig of Kelly’s decoys looks like a live flock. Though Lou Kelly produced a limited number of lures, his birds are easily identified by II LPK” stamped on the underside of the tails.