Neil Cost Call

[idaho Al]

Howdy Folks,
I'm a 'Newbie' to this forum and was wondering if I could get a little information on a Neil Cost call I recently acquired and also a little biographical info on the man himself. It might be easier to tell you what I know about Mr. Cost since I know so little. What I know is that he was 'THE' man in regards to calls and is sometimes credited with actually starting the custom made call industry. He was prolific in his call making and also it seems a very personable and generous friend to many. Thats about all I know or have surmised from my reading.
The things I'd like to know are when did Mr. Cost pass away and at what age. When did he start the 'Gobbler Shop' and is it still running and finally was it Mr. Cost custom to hand sign all the calls he made. Of course I'm interested in any other tid bits that you might know.
The call I acquired is a 'Hen Tricks' and although the call itself does not have a box it came to me in the shipping box from the Gobbler Shop with the instruction sheet. The post mark on the box is 1986.
I've browsed around some on this great site you have going and am positive that if any one of you accidentally get cut you bleed turkey blood. So who better to ask my questions to than the experts. Thanks for the great site, its a lot of fun.
Idaho Al

[TarheelTurk]

It's plenty of guys on here that should be able to help  you get your answers . I would say try posting this in the OG call collector part of this forum also that portion help me ALOT a few months ago on a call that was given to me

[idaho Al]

Tarheel Turk,
Thank you for the reply and sorry for the delay in getting back to you. To be honest when the views got up to 100 or so with no replies I just wasn't feeling the love. So I haven't checked back in a few days.
In any event I have listed the call on E-bay and it will run through August 4  Check it out, nice call.
Thanks for the advise.
Idaho Al

[shadetree callers]

Neil Cost began making calls in the late 1950's and named his shop the "Gobbler Shop " in 1976. He passed away in 2002 at near 80 yrs of age. Neil signed most of his boxcalls but it was not always custom for him to sign every call he made , such as his bootheal slates, scratchboxes and Hentricks calls . Neil gained popularity when he morphed a hewn out call with a Lynch design but his biggest addition was the use of checkering to lighten the soundboards and give them that familiar rasp.
Bob

[idaho Al]

Bob,
Thanks for the info on Neil Cost. Hope you check out the call I have for sale on E-bay, its a HenTricks signed by Neil and has the original shipping box from the Gobbler Shop and a little note from Neil on the instruction sheet. If you check it out, can you shed any light on the single word 'Turmoil' that Neil wrote on the instruction sheet. It sounds very cryptic to me but maybe he did this all the time.
I recently read somewhere that only about 50 of these calls were made, do you know if there's any truth to that?
Thanks again for the info.
Idaho Al