In the late 1700's, the young town quickly expanded from a meek 7 houses to 40 houses in a 15 year span. This, coupled with it's prime location just about an hour from Baltimore, made it an excellent candidate for the Capital of the United States (according to another hand-typed fact sheet with a header typed in A-Team military font, so rather official, if not accurate). But with a close vote in 1789, a tie that was actually broken by the vote of the Speaker of the House, Havre de Grace lost it's bid for the U.S. Capital to Washington, D.C. A devastating loss, one would initially conclude, but one that would pave the way for another proud American center.
Suzie, a pleasant grandmotherly volunteer at the visitor's center, skipped most of this back story in her helpful and proud description of her town. But she made sure that I knew what it was famous for. Havre de Grace is the "Decoy Capital of the World". Or so they claim, but who would dispute it? She explained her 2-part reasoning: existence of a Decoy Museum + an annual festival that draws several skilled artisans. My confused reaction, however, was why so much time and expense was put into crafting little fake ducks that would later become target practice. But I soon found out that the hunting aspect became prohibited, in part due to Uncle Sam / Uncle MD regulations. This thankfully preserved the artistic investment, and set the stage for the hand-carved models to be become revered for their ability to attract humans rather than live ducks (as successful as that purpose has become).
I collected up some additional reading material and, once safely at home, noticed even more amazing decoys in the town. There is a lawn service that carves frolicking dogs out of your bushes. This must be to either ward off foxes or to thumb a nose at Mr. Scissorhands. There is also a puppet show with a convincing humanoid at it's center. This must be to attract real people to the show rather than just other puppets. Check them out below.
While it's a shame that Havre de Grace lost the chance at Capitalizing as the US headquarters, they have certainly seized the opportunity to instead lead the world in what must be a dying art. And while the bullets may now be blanks, the proud American dominance is real. And nobody messes with a rogue, elite group of American bad asses. Whether the A or De Team.
