Rural Missouri - December 2021 - 33

photo coutresy Carolyn McDowell
Left: Hays Grand Prix mallard decoys (bottom) were modeled after the popular Mason Premier models (top). Right: James M. Hays (believed to
be the second from the right) and colleagues outside the company's offi ce building, which still stands on Industrial Drive in Jefferson City.
and other ventures. After moving the business to a new
factory on Industrial Drive, the company was renamed the
J.M. Hays Wood Products Co., and was the largest supplier
of saddle trees to the U.S. military in World War I. As
demand for those products declined following the war, they
manufactured a wooden car bumper known as the " Hays
Hickory Hitter " and, eventually, wooden decoys.
Duck decoys were not new in post-WWI America, but
their use as a recreational hunting tool was on the rise. As
the Great War ended in 1918, America passed the Migratory
Bird Act which sought to protect the waning bird
populations from market hunting and commercial feather
trade. When Hays began making decoys in 1921, the most
popular factory models were made by the Mason Decoy Co.
in Detroit, Michigan. Mason decoys were celebrated
for both their design and outstanding painting.
They were mass produced, with marketing done
through many sports stores and catalogs.
Greg and Randy both say there is no doubt that
the fi rst Hays decoys were made to compete directly
with Mason's products.
" It's really surprising that Hays did not get sued
for making decoys so similar to the Masons, but they
likely got away with it as Mason was turning its interest
from decoys to supplying paints to the Detroit auto
industry, " Greg says. " The Jefferson City birds have been
criticized for not being as good in terms of painting, but
they were still quite good. "
After two years, Hays was sold to another local business,
Standard Crate & Filler Co. Maintaining the Hays
name as a subsidiary, they changed the decoy body shapes
and introduced the concepts of scratch and comb painting
- a major feature of many later Jefferson City decoys.
Standard Crate & Filler went bankrupt in 1924, and
Hays decoy production came to a halt. The decoy making
equipment and factory were purchased by three members
of the Gundelfi nger family. The Gundelfi nger Wood Products
Co. continued wooden decoy production and manufactured
other wood products for another four years. While
they used the same iron duplicating lathe molds as Hays,
Gundelfi nger produced their own unique decoys, which
differed from the Hays and Mason products.
Gundelfi nger decoys tend to have less sanding, leaving a
rougher body and a textured, feather-like surface. Earlier
versions tend to be heavily painted. The company made extensive
use of scratch and comb painting on decoys, while
also producing furniture and other wood products.
Gundelfi nger also succumbed to bankruptcy in 1929.
Jefferson City's Harry Benz purchased the equipment and
continued making high-quality wooden duck decoys for
another 15 years. Benz began decoy making in the back of
his " Rent-a-Ford " business, formerly located on Jefferson
Street. Later, he built a new factory on Missouri Boulevard
on a site that is now home to the Jefferson City Eagle's
Club, where most of his production occurred.
How Benz's decoys changed over time has
never been well recorded. Greg, Randy and the
study group hope to change that.
Jefferson
City
" It's been interesting to learn about the
history, the families and where some of these
places were, " Randy says. " All three factories
were wood products companies, so they
knew wood. You don't see cracks in their
decoys that you see in Mason's. "
In the modern era, Hays decoys have been
misidentifi ed as Mason products and vice versa. Many of
those occur in authoritative guides on decoy history.
" Mistakes were made early on because people didn't
know the Midwest makers so well, " Greg says. " Once that
got in print, it took on a life of its own. "
After years of studying decoys, the members know what
they are looking for in the colors of paint, the shape of a
beak, the cold stamp on the bottom of a bird or even the
specifi c size and texture of dowel rods used to connect the
head and body. The more differences the members fi nd,
the easier it is to correct public record within the collecting
community where, as Randy notes, ingrained ideas aren't
easily changed. Greg estimates as many as 60% to 70% of
Jefferson City decoys bought and sold online suffer from a
case of mistaken identity.
DECEMBER 2021 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 33

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