The Lodge Adds New Art

May 23, 2018—

Founder Paul Schock and member Todd Heidelbauer have a connection that spans decades.

“My grandfather was a world-famous duck and goose call maker,” said Todd. “He was good friends with Paul’s father Al [Schock] and uncle Ozzie. So we’ve known each other a while.”

Todd’s grandfather was Frank, a man with a knack for creating world-class, handmade duck calls. Frank made calls for over 40 year, into the mid 1990’s. He passed away in 2002 and passed his knowledge and skills to grandson Todd. 2018 represents their 66th year in business.

Todd, a member at The Prairie Club, now carries on the family tradition, along with adding various verticals to the woodworking business. His business creates the custom window shutters used throughout The Prairie Club lodge.

In the world of wood, Todd has developed quite the network. It led him to a connection with two incredible artists from Arkansas.

Daryl and Michele Freed have been carving art into driftwood for over 20 years. Their art is varied in subject, with a focus on animals and wildlife.

The Freeds—along with Todd—are very active in the organization Ducks Unlimited, a non-profit focused on wildlife conservation. It’s where they connected.

After seeing one of their duck carvings into this natural driftwood, Heidelbauer had an idea. He called Paul to see if he would be game for it.

“Oh, absolutely,” said Paul. “Go for it!”

The idea was to have the Freeds work on a project they’ve never tackled before— a Sandhill crane in driftwood.

With just a few logos of The Prairie Club for inspiration, Michele Freed began her creative process. It took over a month, on-and-off, to complete the project.

Todd received a phone call from them that the project was complete and made efforts to coordinate delivery. After mounting it on a background, the crane was ready.

See the final product below. 

Please note, the picture does not do it justice. Wait until you see it in person.

If you’d like to get in contact with the Freeds, Todd has openly expressed that he would love to connect. Give him a call at 605-359-5393 or email him at todd@heidelbauer.com.