Functional art: How Dan Wittenberg makes turkey calls that last

The old turkey call is lined with notches. Dan Wittenberg adds one for each legal turkey the call draws within shooting range. He’s careful to say he’s not the best turkey hunter in the world, but he knows how to talk to birds. While helping young hunters during youth seasons earlier this month, he called in 19 male turkeys. That’s 19 more notches for the old call. The call is a long box, made of Eastern red cedar and butternut. For 15 years, he’s been rubbing the lid against the...