Call Maker - Charles E Pottorff

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Name: Charles E Pottorff

City: Fort Myers

State: Florida

Country: USA

Company Name: True Tone Hunters Favorite

Born: 1883

Died: 1972

Description

Charles E. Pottorff was born May 17, 1883 in Hampton Pennsylvania and Passed away on June 17, 1972 in Fort Myers Florida, at the age of 89.  Mr. Pottorff was a skilled craftsman.  He learned the carpenter trade at 19 and for many years made a living as a carpenter and cabinet-maker.  In 1925 he built a home in Fort Myers Florida. He opened his woodworking shop on Anderson Ave. in 1944.  He is also known for making handmade guitars, which sold for around $175, fruit/salad bowls and the “True Tone Hunter’s Favorite” Turkey call.  He originally made calls for his own personal use, but as others heard about them the demand increased.  Hunters use to say they couldn’t tell the difference between the call and a hen turkey.   

Calls were made of black walnut and red cedar shipped from his native Pennsylvania.  The True Tone Hunters Favorite call is small enough to fit in a king size plastic cigarette case and the striker, a small rectangular piece of slate, would fit into the space for matches.  Twenty-one separate operations were required to make a complete call with approximately 2 hours of work to assemble each call.  Calls in 1961 originally sold for $4.00 each.

Most of the information is from the Fort Myers News Press, 24 Sept 1961 by Ima L Evans