The Republic of Crisfield

About The Author: Born In 1944 On The Eastern Shore Of Maryland In The Town Of Crisfield Don Was Raised In Small Town With Big Outdoors. He Grew Up Roaming The Woods Marshes Rivers Bays Of The Chesapeake. At The Age Of Thirteen He Was Allowed To Hunt And Was Introduced To The World Of Duck Decoys. In The Small Town Atmosphere Where Everyone Knew Everyone Else Don Soon Gravitated To The Grand Old Masters Of Decoy Carving Lem And Steve Ward Who Lived Down The Road A Mile. Under Their Patient And Informal Instruction He Learned The Art Of Carving And Painting As Well As Gained A Deep And Lasting Appreciation Of The Storytelling Tradition Shared By Community. This Love A Good Story Carries Forward Fifty Years Later To This Book. Though Don Roamed The World He Never Encountered A Place With A More Developed Sense Of Humor And Down-Home Wisdom Usually Communicated By Stories And Incidences From Life.The Ward Brothers Were Exemplary At This Being Both Poets And Sages And At The Same Time Over 70 Years Fathering The Art Form Of Painted Wildfowl Decoys And Sculptures In Wood. They Made Lasting Impressions On Young Don As He Listened To Them Recount Stories And Recite Poetry All Having A Message And Moral Behind Them. Many Of Their Original Carvings Which They Sold For A Few Dollars For Most Of Their Lives Later Became National Treasures. A Decoy They Sold In 1923 For $1.50 Recently Fetched $95000 At Auction. Don'S Artistic Talent Led Him To Pratt Institute In Brooklyn New York Where He Studied Industrial Design From 1962-1966 A Profession That Combined His Family'S Cutlery Manufacturing Business With His Interest In Art And Design. At Pratt He Developed A Great Interest In Buckminster Fuller'S Geodesic And Synergetic Work And Began His Own Explorations And Discoveries Into The Science Of Form And Structure. He Was Given A Full Scholarship To Attend Graduate School At Illinois Institute Of Technology In Chicago Il And Was Scheduled To Intervie