On Aug. 31, 1982, the Selmer Company of Elkhart, Indiana announced they would be opening a “Stanly Division” of their company that would produce clarinets. This new company division was located on Hearne Street in a building that had most recently been the home of Yett Millwork Corporation. The company expected to hire 45 to 60 employees who would be trained through an agreement with Stanly Technical College. By late 1985, the Albemarle plant had expanded to include the production of trumpets, cornets and trombones. Unfortunately, Selmer’s parent company was purchased in late 1988 and the new owners decided to move the operation from the Albemarle plant to a recently expanded factory in Elkhart. The employees in Albemarle were laid off in phases over the following months, and the plant was closed for good by mid-summer of 1989. Thanks to Mark Stephenson for sharing the photo of Albemarle’s Selmer plant. {Lewis Bramlett – Stanly County Historical Society}