Nebraskaland

36 Nebraskaland • November 2025 so good." His wife encouraged him to return, which he did, producing his fi rst carving soon after. "I was so proud of it," he said. "I was super happy." Since that fi rst bird, the carvings have become much more elaborate, yet he continues to fi nd value in that fi rst bird. "I show students and younger people where I started," he said. "Then I show them the real thing. This encourages them." Like other members, he has consumed videos and books, was critiqued by club members and spent many sessions with Norm. And the challenges have continued. "The colors," he said with a shake of his head. "I just couldn't get the colors right when I started. I didn't know what mixed with what. I needed a color wheel to show me." He would do this over and over again, slowly improving through the years. "The guys in the club kept telling me to keep trying. Keep going." I Needed to De-stress Claire Meerian of Gretna started carving decoys because her dad, Randy, asked her to come along. From his perspective, it was one more way to spend some time with his daughter who had fi nished college and had now entered the workforce. But for her, an accountant, it was a welcome relief from tax season. "I was working 60 hours a week and needed some creativity to deal with that," she said. "I needed to de-stress." So she started going to meetings and working on her miniature duck decoy. "I'm technical to a tee," she said. "And the members of the club let me know that my duck was boxy. It looked good, they said, but they showed me I had to have some creativity when I was carving." This is exactly what she has needed. Plus, all of her friends want decoys for Christmas and can't wait to see what she comes up with. It Becomes Real "It comes to life," said Ed Svoboda, looking at his carvings before him. "The painting is the most enjoyable. It becomes real when it's painted." Ed has carved since 1980, spending Thursday mornings through the years with Norm and many of the other members working on projects to display during competitions. "I'm in an intermediate category," he said. "There are novice, intermediate, advanced and master's levels. If you start to win the novice and intermediate, you move up. I've gotten as high as second place in those." Regardless of his fi nishes, it's therapy for Ed. He's currently working on a wigeon and has no plans to quit anytime soon despite its challenges. "Finding the pattern and getting it cut from the block of wood is the tough part for me," he said. "The painting — the painting is my satisfaction." I'd Go Crazy Don Gabelhouse of Lincoln carved his fi rst decoy in 1970. More than 55 years later, he continues to carve for one main reason. "If I didn't have carving, I'd go crazy." Don, meticulous by nature, began entering carving contests soon after he started, eventually winning an amateur category just a few years later, only to receive some much needed, albeit critical, comments by his former University of Nebraska- Lincoln instructor, Paul Johnsgard. "I'm not going back," Dick Zechmann — artist of this redhead — told his wife after his fi rst club meeting. "They were so good." But without their encouragement through the years, Dick would not have become the carver he is. Each new member of the club, including creator of this decoy Claire Meerian, is tasked with carving a miniature. She carves to have an escape from her stressful job.

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