"George 'Skippy" Barto: Decoy Carver, Baseball Player"

George 'Skippy' Barto ( 1880- 1959) was one of hundreds of sportsmen who found immortality through their decoy carving skills. Born in Tiskilwa, Illinois located in the heart of the country's greatest waterfowling regions, Barto loved the outdoors and grew up during an era long gone. This was a time before agricultural practiced dumped chemicals and increased siltation in to the Illinois River and the commercial barge traffic churned up the river bottoms destroying native wild rice and wild celery beds along the river. Drainage projects reverse the flow of the Chicago River bringing the city's pollution down river. The Illinois bottom land were fertile loafing spots for the multi...