A Decoy Corner Article
By Bruce Urben, President
Enoch Reindahl
Enoch Reindahl was born on May 18, 1904 on his parents’ farm just outside of Stoughton, Wisconsin. His parents had emigrated from Norway in the 1890’s and settled just outside of Stoughton. Enoch had two brothers and a sister, and while his family moved to the Village of Stoughton in 1915 for the conveniences of community life. they continued to farm their property into the 1940’s.
As a youth, Enoch spent most of his time outdoors, developing a strong connection to wildlife, painting and photography. He graduated from Stoughton High School in 1921, and about that same time developed a strong interest in hunting ducks and geese in the local marshes. He carved his first rig of decoys for his own use in 1921, along with building his first duckboat.
Reindahl Mallard Pair, photo Guyette and Deeter
Enoch was a conservationist, improving habitat on his family’s farm by installing dikes to hold water, setting out duck boxes and planting rice and sago pondweed for the wildfowl.
Reindahl started out making his decoys out of white cedar that was harvested from the family farm, and in later years purchased wood at the local lumberyard. Most of his later decoys were hollow, with his “trademark” crossed and raised wings. It seems that Enoch was very frugal and initially developed a system to carve eyes in his decoys rather than using expensive glass eyes. It is known, however, that he used taxidermy glass eyes later in his career.
Extremeley rare wooden and cardboard folding Canada goose silhouette
According to records, Enoch carved Canada geese, snow geese, canvasbacks, mallards, pintails and black ducks. All of his decoys have a very content, or almost sleepy pose. His carvings were done almost exclusively with hand tools. He had a great artistic ability, which is highlighted in his painting. He painted his decoys exclusively with oil paints, showcasing masterful blending. His style is unmistakable, and he was instrumental in passing along his painting skills to the Homme brothers (Fred and Mandt) who also lived near Stoughton.
Enoch Reindahl served his country in the Army in the 1930’s which, as you would expect, greatly reduced his carving output. After his enlistment, he returned home and worked on the family farm, in a gravel yard, and for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroads.
Enoch’s decoys are highly prized by collectors and he is known as one of the most gifted decoy carvers that came out of Wisconsin.
Enoch passed away on September 21, 2000 at the age of 96 at his home at the edge of Stoughton,
Canvasback drake by Enoch Reindahl World Auction Record Price for Maker, photo Guyette and Deeter
Because of the limited number of decoys he carved (numbering only in the hundreds) their value is extremely high. There are very few of his decoys on the secondary market, short of several sold by large decoy auction services in the US. I found a sleeping mallard Decoy by Enoch Reindahl that sold at the Jim McCleery auction in 2000 for $46,000, and later resold in April of 2008 for $92,000. His decoys are certainly a better investment than the stock market!
Clearly, Enoch Reindahl was a Wisconsin Original Decoy Carver, artist, conservationist, craftsman and writer. If you are lucky to own one of his decoys, cherish it forever in your family. If you have a chance to see one of his decoys in person, take the time to view the work of an exceptional decoy carver from Wisconsin.