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38-441: Bernard Kornblum was a violinist who at the age of 19 emigrated from Vienna, Austria to St. Louis, Missouri. After working at a music store and as a necktie salesman, he purchased a shipment of instruments and accessories in response to a newspaper advertisement placed by German musical instrument wholesaler Seibenbrun. Due to falling exchange rates, Kornblum's purchase cost him less than anticipated and made it possible for him to offer

76-451: A conflict with management, he left, but then bought enough stock to restart the company independently. Between 1945 and 1975, the Chicago firm mass-produced about ten million guitars. The company reduced their output over the years, later focusing on student models sold through JCPenney . The Harmony brand peaked in 1964–1965, selling 350,000 instruments, but low-end foreign competition led to

114-759: A few of the historic buildings of the Rush ghost town. Most of northern Marion County is made up of water—most notably, the waters created by the Bull Shoals Dam . Eastern Marion County's border with Baxter County is marked by the White River . Water skiing, pontoon boating, and fishing are all popular summer activities at the Bull Shoals Lake and White River areas. Yellville is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Bull Shoals and serves as an alternate housing and tourist destination for those not staying at

152-476: A joint city/county law enforcement agreement. Yellville is popular for its proximity to the Buffalo National River , 16 miles (26 km) to the south via State Highway 14 . During the summer, tourists visit the area and Yellville becomes a hub for shopping and lodging for them. The Buffalo Point Ranger Station is located approximately 17 miles (27 km) south of Yellville. Activities and services in

190-493: A pageant, dinners, musical entertainment, a 5 kilometer run, a parade, and a nationally recognized turkey calling contest sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation . Crafts and tools related to the hunting of wild turkeys are also sold in streetside booths along the town square. Entergy Arkansas is the sole provider of electricity in almost all of Marion County, including Yellville. Natural gas service

228-538: Is a former guitar manufacturing company that is currently a brand owned by Singapore -based BandLab Technologies . Harmony was, in its heyday, the largest musical instrument manufacturer in the United States. It made many types of string instruments , including ukuleles , acoustic and electric guitars and violins . The company ceased in 1975, with the "Harmony" brand being relaunched by BandLab in 2018 to produce electric guitars and amplifiers . Harmony

266-555: Is also owned by BandLab. The brand has since been relaunched with American-made models such as the Rebel and the Jupiter. Yellville, Arkansas Yellville is a city in and county seat of Marion County , Arkansas , United States. Yellville is located in the Ozark Mountains along the banks of Crooked Creek , and neighbors the small town of Summit to the north. The population

304-718: Is offered by College of the Ozarks , a Christian liberal-arts college in Point Lookout, Missouri , and Lyon College , a private liberal arts college in Batesville . The nearest four-year public school is Arkansas Tech University in Russellville . The Marion County Library is located at 308 Old Main in Yellville. The library offers books, e-books , media, reference, youth, and genealogy services. Yellville and Marion County operate under

342-731: Is provided by the Yellville–Summit School District , which leads to graduation from Yellville–Summit High School . In 1890, Yellville College was established in the city along College Street. The institution was demolished in 1925. Today, neither Yellville nor Marion County contain any institutions of higher education. The nearest are Arkansas State University Mountain Home , in Mountain Home , and North Arkansas College in Harrison , both two-year public schools. Nearby four-year education

380-584: The Electra MPC (Modular Powered Circuit) Guitar, unveiled at The NAMM Show in 1976. SLM bought Karpowicz's service and repair shop and established the SLM Electronics division. While visiting a Crate & Barrel store in Chicago, Gene Kornblum saw products displayed using packing crates and had the idea of making guitar amplifiers housed in wooden cabinets, resulting in Crate Amplifiers first product,

418-510: The Mexican–American War . Yellville existed well before Arkansas became a state, though originally known as "Shawneetown". Marion County was formed in 1836, shortly after statehood. Shawneetown was then renamed Yellville. An old tale claims Archibald Yell offered $ 50 to do so, but never paid the money. True or not, Governor Yell's descendants heard the story and paid the overdue "bill" several years ago. Yell's name can be seen elsewhere in

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456-529: The SVT tube bass amplifier with original specifications and refinements. In 1987, the company changed its name to St. Louis Music, Inc.. In 1992, SLM opened a new 20,000-foot R&D facility, and a second Yellville, Arkansas manufacturing facility two years later. In 1996, a 3rd generation of the Kornblum family, Ted Kornblum, joined the company. In March 2005, after a two-year search for potential buyers, St. Louis Music

494-667: The ponderosa pine encased CR1 guitar amplifier, in 1978. St. Louis Music chose to manufacture the amps themselves rather than outsource manufacturing overseas, and the success of the CR1 grew into a full line of Crate amplifiers for guitar, bass, and keyboards. SLM Electronics moved into a dedicated facility in 1980, and a larger facility in 1986, while also developing the Audio Centron line of PA systems and mixers for live sound reinforcement. In 1986, St. Louis Music acquired pioneering bass amplification brand Ampeg from bankruptcy and reintroduced

532-718: The Harmony name. In the early 2000s, an unrelated company, the Westheimer Corp., based in Lake Barrington, Illinois briefly imported "reissue" Harmony guitars. In 2018, BandLab Technologies claimed to be "relaunching" the Harmony brand with a new series of electric guitars and guitar amps. Since being bought by BandLab, USA made Harmony Guitars are built in Kalamazoo, Michigan by the Heritage Guitar Company. Heritage Guitars

570-574: The Kornblum Brothers Music name, and the business flourished during the 1920s, moving into expanded facilities twice by 1927. In 1929, while Bernard and David established European distribution headquartered in Belgium, Erna acquired sheet music wholesaler St. Louis Music Supply, with Kornblum Brothers Music assuming the St. Louis Music Supply name. In 1938, Erna and her husband Jack moved to California, and

608-562: The Kornblum brothers ceased their efforts in Europe, returning to the US. St. Louis Music Supply, now 20 employees strong, expanded its product offerings to include band instruments, sheet music, and accessories. SLM survived the World War II-era by diversifying and selling paint, leather goods, and fine writing instruments. After World War II, the company expanded distribution of musical instruments with

646-650: The Mid-Marion County Rotary Club . Beginning in 1945 with the first turkey dropped from the roof of the Marion County Courthouse, the festival continues today. It is held every second weekend of October with the best-known attraction being live turkeys that are dropped from airplanes over the town square. The event has been criticized in the past by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and others. The Turkey Trot festival also includes

684-474: The addition of brands like Harmony guitars , Kay guitars , Regal ukuleles, York Band Instruments , Zildjian cymbals , and Turner microphones. In 1954, SLM became a distributor of Thomas organs . Bernard's son Gene joined the company full-time in 1961, and the birth of Rock and roll and the mainstream popularity of bands like The Beatles created unprecedented demand for products like drum sets and guitars. Under Gene's direction, rather than only distributing

722-552: The area include horseback trail riding, canoeing, and cabin rentals. Other area attractions include the more than 1,000 caves that exist in Marion County, and the famous "Rush" ghost town located in the Buffalo Point area—a turn-of-the-century ghost town from the zinc mining heyday of the area. Abandoned mines are visible along many of the hiking trails at Rush, but are fenced off due to safety concerns. Recent arson has destroyed

760-422: The city was $ 26,250, and the median income for a family was $ 31,793. Males had a median income of $ 26,000 versus $ 18,056 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 12,618. About 13.2% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over. Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary school students

798-445: The city. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,312 people, 535 households, and 356 families residing in the city. The population density was 515.6 inhabitants per square mile (199.1/km ). There were 599 housing units at an average density of 235.4 per square mile (90.9/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 97.71% White , 0.76% Native American , 0.23% Asian , 0.08% Pacific Islander , and 1.22% from two or more races. 0.53% of

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836-629: The company acquired exclusive distribution rights to the Elka Rhapsody string synthesizer and moved into expanded facilities on Ferguson Avenue. At the same time, St. Louis Music refined its processes for importing unfinished string instruments with final assembly and setup in the U.S.. When Magnatone went out of business in the mid 1970s, St. Louis Music worked to develop a new guitar amplifier business. In 1975 SLM partnered with local electronic technician John Karpowicz to develop an electric guitar with interchangeable signal processing modules, resulting in

874-441: The company's demise 10 years later. The pickups on almost all electric guitars and basses that Harmony produced were manufactured by Rowe Industries Inc. (later known as H.N. Rowe & Company, Rowe DeArmond Inc., and DeArmond Inc.) of Toledo, Ohio. Many of the instrument amplifiers badged with the Harmony name were manufactured by "Sound Projects Company" of Cicero, Illinois . The Harmony Guitar Company ceased in 1975, and sold

912-471: The early morning of July 17th, 2024; Marion County received just under a foot of rainfall in a considerable flash flooding event. During the event, bridges and homes were reportedly washed out in Yellville, including a nursing home due to the high waters. The National Weather Service in Little Rock promptly issued a Flash Flood Emergency for Yellville and surrounding areas. Yellville is still recovering from

950-475: The flooding impacts. Yellville is located in central Marion County. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km ), of which 0.02 square miles (0.05 km ), or 0.96%, are water. It is bordered to the north by the small city of Summit . Mountain Home is 20 miles (32 km) to the northeast and Harrison is 28 miles (45 km) to

988-409: The following year announced it would be doing business as St. Louis Music in the original SLM facility on Ferguson Avenue. In 2015, SLM acquired E.K. Blessing Brass and Hamilton Stands . In 2018, the company acquired Alvarez Guitars, DEG Music Products, Inc. and HW Products, and secured exclusive North American distribution rights for Antigua Winds . Harmony Company The Harmony Company

1026-407: The goods to music instrument retailers in St. Louis at exceptionally low prices. Following the successful sale of his initial shipment of inventory, Kornblum established himself with other manufacturers, and by 1922, he established a downtown office for his new import business and quit his other job. Within two years, the company also employed Bernard's sister Erna and his brother David, operating under

1064-447: The late 1930s, the firm began making violins again after a 19-year hiatus. They also bought brand names from the bankrupt Oscar Schmidt Co.—La Scala, Stella , and Sovereign. They sold not only Harmony products, but instruments under the Sears name, Silvertone , and a variety of trade names—Vogue, Valencia, Johnny Marvin, Monterey, Stella , and others. In 1940, after Kraus had

1102-704: The numerous resorts in Bull Shoals, along the White River, or at the confluence of the Buffalo and White rivers near Buffalo City . In 1999, Fred Berry, a former counselor and teacher at the Yellville-Summit School District, donated the funding to create an educational center at Kelley's Access on Crooked Creek , located near the Yellville City Park. With additional donations and a "conservation tax",

1140-558: The plan was put into action. On June 17, 2005, the Fred Berry Conservation Education Center on Crooked Creek opened. It is one of four education centers with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. It sits on 471 acres (1.91 km ) of land along a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) stretch of Crooked Creek that was once a dairy farm. One of the longest traditions in Yellville is the annual Turkey Trot festival sponsored by

1178-435: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 535 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

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1216-671: The same products as other distributors, St. Louis Music became the exclusive distributor for Trixon Drums and developed the Apollo Drums brand. Additionally, SLM became a regional distributor for Magnatone guitars and amplifiers. In 1968, Gene Kornblum met Japanese luthier Kazuo Yairi through a Japanese trading partner, resulting in handmade acoustic guitars produced under the Alvarez-Yairi brand and attracting endorsements from notable guitarists such as Roy Clark and Waylon Jennings , with Alvarez later expanding into electric guitars. In 1971,

1254-628: The state, including Yell County and Archibald Yell Boulevard in Fayetteville . Several biographies of him have been written, the most recent published by the University of Arkansas Press in Fayetteville. During the late 1840s, Yellville was the scene of several prolonged gunfights during the Tutt–Everett War . John A. Schnabel organized his Confederate cavalry battalion in the town in 1863. In

1292-549: The west via U.S. Routes 412 / 62 . Yellville, located in the Arkansas Ozarks , has a humid continental-subtropical climate , with cold-to-mild winters and hot, humid summers. Yellville's record high temperature of 110 °F (43 °C) was observed on August 29, 1984, and July 30, 1986, while the record low of −20 °F (−29 °C) was observed on January 11, 1977. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 1,178 people, 416 households, and 271 families residing in

1330-571: Was 1,178 at the 2020 census . The town's original name is preserved in the Shawnee Town Branch, a local creek. The town holds an annual Turkey Trot Festival ( turkey trot ). Yellville is named after Archibald Yell , who was the first member of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas and the second governor of Arkansas . He was killed at the Battle of Buena Vista during

1368-409: Was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.84. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males. The median income for a household in

1406-449: Was founded in 1892 by Wilhelm Schultz. In 1916, Sears, Roebuck and Co. purchased it, in part to corner the ukulele market. At the time Harmony was led by Joe Kraus, who was chairman until 1940. In 1928, Harmony introduced the first of many Roy Smeck models, and went on to become the largest producer in the U.S. They sold 250,000 pieces in 1923 and 500,000 in 1930, including various models of guitars , banjos , and mandolins . In

1444-568: Was sold to LOUD Technologies for USD$ 38.4M in cash and stock. At the time, SLM was generating USD $ 85M in annual revenue, and had 350 employees in its combined service and headquarters, warehouse, engineering offices, and manufacturing plants in Missouri and Arkansas. In November 2008, U.S. Band and Orchestra Supplies, Inc. acquired St. Louis Music and its divisions of Knilling string instruments and Austin guitars from LOUD Technologies, Inc., and in March of

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