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Lou Stevenson is another one of the many famed Pennsylvania turkey call makers. He grew up in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania and later went to college and took a job as a chemist for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY. In 1946, he switched careers and moved to Wellsboro, PA to work for the Dept. of Agriculture's FHA. This year also marked the beginning of his call making career.

Mr. Stevenson was also a well-known outdoor writer and was on one of the first outdoor hunting shows on TV. His status as an outdoor writer and TV celebrity gave him the opportunity to travel and hunt all over the United States and Canada.

Stevenson made 2 styles of box calls. The first, a small 1" wide by 6" long double-sided dugout box was called the Stevenson's Turkey Talker #425. His second style of box was the larger box called the Stevenson's Deluxe Turkey Talker #430. Both boxes came in a plain cardboard box with the callmaker information stamped on the end. They came with a mimeographed instruction sheet and small bottle of rosin to treat the paddle of the call. Lou died in 1972 but his family continued making and selling his calls for 6 more years until 1978.

He also made a small round slate with a hardwood striker. I have never seen one of these calls and if anyone has one for sale or could just send a photo of one, please let me know at bossgobbler@wildturkeyzone.com

 

Turkey Calls Produced
(Click on Images to Enlarge)	Years Produced	Description
	1946 - 1978	The Stevenson's Turkey Talker #425 was a very nice double-sided box call that was a small 1" wide. There are not any dates on these calls and there were several variations including a paper label, varnished ones like this vs unfinished ones, and ones which used an upright turkey logo instead of the feeding one on this call. They usually came with a small rosin bottle like the one pictured.
	1946 - 1978	This is another version of the Stevenson's Turkey Talker. This call is unfinished and features an upright turkey logo instead of the feeding one. There are also many unfinished calls with the feeding hen. My best bet on the ages of the Stevenson's would make this one of the newest calls. I believe the paper labeled calls were first, followed by the varnished ones with the black printing and logo followed by the unfinished ones like this stamped with a rusty ink. These calls usually came with chalk and not the rosin bottle of old.
	1946 - 1978	The paper labeled version of the Stevenson's Turkey Talker.
	1946 - 1978	The large box was called the Stevenson's Deluxe Turkey Talker #430 was a very nice double-sided box call that was a small 1" wide. There are 2 variations to this call that I've seen; varnished ones like this and unfinished ones with the new stamp color. I've never seen a paper labeled 430 model.
	1946 - 1978	The unfinished newer version of the Stevenson's Deluxe Turkey Talker #430.