Newbury
Decoy & Woodshop
173
High Rd.
Newbury,
MA
(978)462-7873
Retail
Sales
Big
Al's
Rte.
1 Seabrook, N.H.
(603)474-3575 |
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The Decoy Carver
Geoffrey H. Walker lives in Newbury
Massachusetts with his wife Josette and his two sons, Nathan and Joshua. With
the help of his father, Geoffrey built the family home that now overlooks the
Great Marsh and the Parker River Wildlife Refuge.
Being the son of a legendary hunter, carver, conservationist and artist,
Hank Walker, Geoffrey was raised in an atmosphere that allowed him to become the
sportsman and wildlife activist that he is today. At 10 years old his organized
sporting days were started on the famous “joppa flats” in sneak floats and
lay out boats hunting over his father’s decoys. Those days “floating” the
flats are what makes Geoffrey feel lucky that he was able to have experienced
the tale end of the golden era of waterfowling. To have cold feet on those
“diamond blue” cold days when equipment was simple, usually handcrafted and
the bag limit was 7 blacks, is something that most modern outdoorsmen can only
experience through the Walker Family artwork.
Geoffrey
is a dedicated waterfowler and true conservationist interested in fostering
respect and celebration of our local heritage and traditions. Geoffrey works
hard to preserve the traditions of the “golden era” where the personal
approach was most important and that secrets were learned from those you
personally respected or admired. He feels that today with less people entering the hunting fraternity, that
one must “put back as much as one takes out”.
Geoffrey
is not only active in D.U., Rotary, Boy Scouts, but writes an outdoor column and
is a certified gun& bow hunter safety instructor. Geoffrey’s active
participation in 8 Towns and the Bay and Mass. Audubon’s Great Marsh Summit
helps him to fulfill his role as a conservationist that strives to insure better
access to a clean and well managed marsh land.
Geoffrey also attained a Masters in Education and took part in the early
version of Teacher Corp.
As
a member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, Geoffrey has shown at many
prestigious shows, and his craft has been seen and admired at James Hunt Barker
Galleries of N.Y., Nantucket and Palm Beach, Florida. Still, the carvers in
house galleries in Seabrook, N.H. and in his workshop in Newbury, Ma. are his pride
and joys. For the last twenty-five
years these personal studios have been a clearing house of ideas and strategies
that would insure the continuance of our hunting traditions. A feel of the
fifties, with sneak boats, old outboard motors, hunting decoys and original
patterns of Hank’s original works ever present, these studios stand as a
tribute to the traditions of hunting. Just as the strong, primitive, heavily
keeled preening goose (working bird) stands not only as a fine example of a
“Classic New England Gunning Decoy”, but a hope that the wealth of important
history and traditions of waterfowling will always shine strong for generations
to come.
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