John Clemon Wernette is best known for his photography business and studio, operating in Clay Center for decades. His pictures were used in newspapers, school yearbooks or annuals, and more.
Wernette was born in 1886 in Decatur County, KS. His parents and eight older siblings moved from Illinois and John was the first born in Kansas. Two more siblings were born to parents, William and Sarah Jane.
In 1908 he came to Clay Center when purchasing a photography studio at approximately 22 years old. John went on to create a lucrative photography business, hosting a gallery and portrait studio, and photographing locations in the area. His business was located at 710 6th Street, one door north of the Clay Center Carnegie Library.
The current brick building at that location was erected in 1930, and it’s assumed that Wernette’s business moved.
In 1911, John married Mary Esslinger; the pair lived in the photography studio building for a few years. In 1912, there was a fire. High winds were reported, and furniture was moved from the adjoining building, a personal residence to keep it from spreading. The upstairs tenants at that time were Mr. and Mrs. Fred Dowd. After the fire, the studio was remodeled/refurbished, and its gallery was reported as “one of the finest in this section of the country.”
In 1913, he put an ad in local papers offering a deal for high school students’ annual photos. The same year, he offered six Chautauqua portraits for 95¢. ($31 today.) In 1918, he went to Kentucky for six weeks for a photography course.
By 1920, they lived at the corner of 6th and Huntress with their three eldest children, aged 6, 4, and 2. By the same year, William and Sarah had moved to Idaho, along with some of their children and grandchildren. And in 1921, John and family took a trip “through Idaho and Yellowstone,” which was published in the local paper upon their return.
Wernette Studio also developed film, providing same-day services for film dropped by 9 am. He charged 25¢ per roll in 1937, while a cadet box camera could be purchased for 98¢. ($5.61 and $21.91 today.)
In 1923, the studio was repainted; it’s believed that John helped with the process but sprained his knee after falling from a ladder.
By 1933, they had five more children for a total of five girls and three boys.
At least three of their children worked at the photography studio in adulthood, including their youngest son, Charles Wernette. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Charles worked for the family business for three years from 1945-1948. He then founded his own company, the Wernette Turkey and Pheasant Farm. Charles’s oldest child, Mike, founded American Sealants Company, which remains in business in Clay Center today.
John died in December of 1955 after a car wreck. Sarah and their daughter, Florence, who also worked at the studio, were badly injured but survived. The family was headed to Linn to photograph a wedding when they crashed 16 miles north of Clay Center in their 1956 Buick Sedan.
Wernette Studio was still in operation until at least 1961 at 712 6th Street. By 1962 the business had merged with the Pat Ortiz Photography Studio.
