DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9711020125

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Paul South 

DATELINE: ROANOKE ISLAND                    LENGTH:   72 lines

COLLECTOR'S CRAVING FOR CARVED DECOYS IS REAL DEAL

Embraced in an aroma of sawdust, ducks of every color and kind rest motionless on tables and shelves in Guy ``Big Chief'' Midgett's Manteo workshop.

The birds' eyes are fixed forward, like Buckingham Palace guards. Even those tilted on their side never blink. Some are bright and smooth, others scarred and faded by buckshot and the buffeting of cold sound waters.

All are handcrafted of wood and plastic. And every one of Midgett's faux-feathered friends is his treasure.

The North Carolina plate on the blue and silver Suburban parked outside spells out his passion:

``Decoy.''

``I have about 700 in all,'' said Midgett, 65. ``I've been at it quite a few years. I've always loved ducks. As a kid, it used to be that you could see all of Manteo Bay. You'd see a fishduck or a witchduck all the time. I grew up loving to hunt.''

Duck hunting is a centuries-old tradition on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Practiced by the poor for survival, and by the rich for sport, the pursuit of the magnificent creatures in the fall is as much a part of this place as softshell crabs in summer and dogwoods in the spring.

Big Chief, however, hunts no more.

``I will still eat a duck,'' he said. ``But I can't bring myself to kill any living thing anymore. I mean, look at these birds,'' he added, pointing at a magazine portrait of birds in flight. ``They're just too beautiful to kill.''

Now, Midgett's outdoor love is collecting decoys. And as chairman of the Dare County Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, an international organization aimed at protecting waterfowl and their habitat, he wants to preserve ducks for the future.

``The waterfowl populations are up about 30 percent,'' he said. ``The only one that hasn't come back in this area are Blackheads. I don't know why that is.''

Midgett, who got his name Big Chief as a schoolboy after wiping up a bus with some kids who were picking on him, now hunts ducks in the many decoy shows and shops held annually along the Atlantic coast.

Scouring tiny villages with picturesque names - Havre De Grace, Md., St. Michael's, Md., and Harker's Island, N.C., to name three - the retired carpenter spends many a fall and winter weekend trying to flush a masterpiece Mallard or Teal from its maker. Some in his collection are almost a century old. And many a classic quiet quacker can fetch hundreds, even thousands, from history-minded hunters and decoy-decorating yuppies alike.

``For guys like me, comparing a great decoy to a Picasso painting isn't a bad comparison,'' Midgett said.

Among his prized possessions are decoys crafted and signed by the hands of Madison Mitchell of Havre De Grace, regarded by many as a Michelangelo among duck carvers. Midgett counts the late craftsman among his many friends.

``He was a great gentleman,'' Midgett said. ``I used to go up to see him every year. He passed away a few years ago. He had a real eye for the details. The details and the color are what make a great decoy.''

Also included in Midgett's array are birds crafted by Outer Banks artists like Nick Sappone of Wanchese and the late Dudley Brothers, Lee and Lem, of Knotts Island.

``A lot of people here grew up duck hunting,'' Midgett said. ``They couldn't afford to buy decoys, so they made their own. It takes a real gift.''

Midgett is no artist, by admission, but he will continue to buy decoys, despite his wife Marion's gentle, half-joking protests.

``She's a Pennsylvania girl,'' Midgett said. ``She got a taste of Dare County salt, and didn't want to leave. Every time I go to a show, she says, `Don't buy any decoys.' ''

His smiling response should make duck carvers up and down the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland see visions of dollars dancing in their heads.

``I told her I'd quit buying decoys when she quit buying shoes.''

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