In 1936 I believe, in this region there were severe spring floods that had major impact on pretty much every town in the area. This is a scan of an old postcard. In the foreground is what was called the Ella bridge, destroyed by the flood. However it is the background that is relevant to this thread...
The building behind the boxcar, with the cupola on the roof, is the "crutch factory"; that being what was called Kearsarge Woodcraft at one time. Mike P. sent me a photocopy a few years back of a letter with Charlie Wendell as the signature on it, a letter from Kearsarge Woodcaft, to the offices of Smith & Wesson.
The building, which must have been heavily damaged by the same flood, remains standing in this photo, and this is about the best shot I can come up with, for a mid-1930s era (when the ads shown above were being run in
The American Rifleman), which shows literally the building Charlie Wendell was working and advertising out of at the time. Though no doubt much of his work was also done at his home in Warner, this would have been his base.
The heart-breaking thing is, for me anyway, I haven't yet determined where in Warner Charlie was living, though believe me I have tried to. The family I have contact with can't remember where the home was (they were too young), and the few old timers still around here in Warner don't remember him at all. Local tax records are a bust so far, as is the NH Secretary of State's office (he apparently never registered Kearsarge Woodcraft as a business with the State). I don't know what to do next, if anything, but I would sure love to know where he lived, and be able to show you all that too.
Today, Warner Power, a high tech/high voltage transformer manufacturer, occupies the site that Kearsarge stocks originated from.