Vincenti Decoys Honored For 25 Years Of Business

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — The owners of Vincenti Decoys were recognized for their contributions to the city during Monday night's Havre de Grace City Council meeting. Mayor Bill Martin said that ever since the decoy store on Pennington Avenue opened in 1994, the husband and wife have been the city's ambassadors, introducing people to the town.

Both Pat and Jeannie Vincenti were raised in Havre de Grace and educated in the city schools, she said.

"I am an ambassador for Havre de Grace, but it's easy because Havre de Grace sells itself," Jeannie Vincenti said at the council meeting, noting visitors tell her they feel they've discovered a gem.

Decoys are a special staple of Havre de Grace households, and the mayor said that the Vincentis added a special presence to the merchant district.

Pat Vincenti, who was involved in water fowl growing up, has been carving decoys for more than 50 years. He said his days as a carver began in 1968.

He had gone to artisan Madison Mitchell's to get a decoy for a school project. When he went back to get a second one and was informed they were $3 apiece, he recalled Mitchell telling him: "These things are expensive," and so Pat Vincenti began carving his own.

Fueling his interest were works of decoy carvers Jimmy Pierce, Mitchell and Paul Gibson, he said.

Pat Vincenti worked at the Bel Air Bakery and left the job in 1986 to begin carving full-time. A few months later, he said he asked his wife to join him.

"We've never looked back," Pat Vincenti said.

Over the years things have changed.

"The internet, eBay, has absolutely changed I think the face of our country, not just decoys," Jeannie Vincenti said. "The downturn in the economy about 10 years ago, I think it's taught this generation what it taught our grandparents— that you buy what you need, not necessarily what you want."

The wood carvings are still in demand, she said.

"Decoys are still very collectible," Jeannie Vincenti reported, noting that people over the last decade have been "looking for birds" from the early 1900s to the early 1950s. "Our home is full of them."

While she said that the internet had changed things, her husband said that he saw another difference in the business over time.

When the store first began and people came in, "they were looking for me," Pat Vincenti said. Before long, he said, they "didn't want to see me anymore — they wanted to see her." His wife had a personality that was perfect for the business, and he called her a "great partner."

The mayor commended the couple for their business savvy.

"Regardless of the decoys, anyone that can make it in business 25 years...that's quite an accomplishment," Martin said. About 85 percent of businesses fail within three years, he added.

The Havre de Grace Economic Development Advisory Board also presented the Vincentis with a proclamation thanking them.

"We always say that Havre de Grace is the decoy capital of the world, and these two individuals up here are part of the reason why," Council President David Glenn said. "You make Christmas shopping every year easy."

Pat Vincenti has been featured everywhere from Ducks Unlimited to "Good Morning America," the mayor said, reading a proclamation to Vincenti Decoys honoring it for 25 years in the community.

"If you live in Havre de Grace," Jeannie Vincenti said, "you almost have to have at least one decoy."

Vincenti Decoys is at 353 Pennington Avenue in Havre de Grace.

SEE ALSO: Pat Vincenti: Decoy Carver and Folk Artist