Lester Wagner

Lester Wagner began in the woodworking and sanding department of the C.F. Martin & Company before World War II. He moved from the North Street Plant in 1964 to the bigger manufacturing plant in the current location on Sycamore Street in Nazareth, PA. Lester was assigned to the ukulele department at the height of the instrument’s boom in the 1950s. He attributed the boom to the popularity of TV host Arthur Godfrey, who often played the ukulele on his show.