NEWPORT — Jeff Ellis waited on his bicycle at the end of Magnolia Street in Newport and rode through the winding streets to his home.
His wife, Frances, wearing a white apron painted with the colorful handprints of her grandchildren, met him at the door. The aroma of the cinnamon rolls she had just popped into the oven for Thanksgiving dinner overpowered the senses.
Pointing at the coffee table, Ellis said, “I sit there and carve during timeouts and advertisements while I’m watching football.”
The carving to which Ellis referred is his award-winning waterfowl.
It all began in Dardanelle about 74 years ago, when Ellis’ family owned a hatchery. Ellis enjoyed taking the redwood blocks that were attached to the boxes used to ship chickens from the hatchery and carving small objects, mostly airplanes, out of the wood.
He got more serious about his carving while he was working for the Soil Conservation Service. He was doing rural-development work with 12 counties in Arkansas, and Mountain View was in his area.
Ellis said he met Jim Cushing, a “world-class” carver, and he showed Ellis the classroom where Cushing taught woodcarving in the back of his shop in Mountain View.
“I said, ‘I can do that,’” Ellis said.
And he hasn’t stopped since he took that first class in 1986. Since then, Ellis has attended seminars and classes across the country and even in Winnipeg, Canada. He began entering his carvings in competitions and has won several national awards.
Although waterfowl is his favorite, he also carves small birds, rainbow trout and American Indians.
“The hardest part of carving ducks was learning to paint them so they look real and not just like a piece of wood with paint smeared on it,” Ellis said.
It takes him anywhere from 100 to 150 hours to make a duck decoy.
“Each feather is carved; each feather is sanded; each feather is textured to make them look real; and each feather is painted,” Ellis said.
“I can do three ducks a year, and in Newport, no one wants to pay $500 to $1,500 for one,” Ellis said.
So instead of selling them, he gives them away as gifts to his family and friends. He said rather than sell the carvings, he would rather give them to those about whom he cares, and he said he has a long list of friends.
“I enjoy (his art); it’s a real talent,” Frances said. “I enjoy the shows, too, and we get to meet a lot of artists from all over the country. … I also clean up the mess all the time.”
Being an avid outdoorsman serves as inspiration for many of Ellis’ creations.
“He does beautiful work,” said John Minor, Ellis’ longtime best friend, then laughed and added, “I never knew he had it in him.”
The 85-year-old still has great eyesight and a steady hand, and he proved it as he plugged in his hot knife and demonstrated how he draws the feathers into the wood. He said he prefers Tupelo gum wood for carving; however, he said he also uses basswood sometimes. When he puts his decoys into a competition, they have to be able to float, and Ellis said the gum wood is so light that he doesn’t have to hollow out the duck.
Many people from Newport may remember Ellis’ voice booming from the press box at Newport school football games. For 35 years, he was the announcer for the games.
In addition to announcing football, Ellis also served as state commissioner of the American Legion Baseball Program from 1980-85, he was named outstanding State Conservation Professional of the Soil Conservation Service in 1988, and he is a certified lay speaker for the United Methodist Church.
“John has been active since he’s been in Newport,” Minor said. “He has originated a lot of things that have benefited the outdoor world, and he has been an asset to this town.”
Even though Ellis has worked tirelessly to serve his community through his work as a conservationist and his volunteer efforts, he said the No. 1 achievement on his list occurred on Nov. 11, 1951, when he married Frances.
“I’ve scaled back now from my community work,” Ellis said. “I’m only on three boards now.”
Ellis said he has no plans to stop carving, traveling and competing.