to design furniture for Dunbar until his retirement in 1968. Following his retirement and the sale of the company to new owners, Dunbar fell on hard times, eventually ceasing operations in 1993. However, it had inspired and spawned a series of new furniture companies in Berne before it folded. Antique Dunbar furniture continues to be highly sought after today. (In 2002 the company's intellectual property was bought by a new corporation in North Carolina - DUNBAR Furniture, LLC - which has revived a few of Wormley's designs). Berne Furniture Company (1925-2008) Berne Furniture Company was incorporated on June 12, 1925, by Lawrence L. Yager, with Yager as the first President, Noah Luginbill as Secretary-Treasurer, and Alvin Neuenschwander as Business Manager. That first year they had 15 employees. By 1951 total annual sales exceeded $950,000. After several decades of success as family-owned, mid-priced furniture manufacturer, with a workforce that reached 125, Berne Furniture Company closed its doors in 2008. Smith Brothers of Berne, Inc. (1926-Present) Homer Manufacturing Company was incorporated on November 22, 1926, with Homer Niederhauser (1886-1973) as its first President (he was also President of Dunbar Furniture). "It began as a manufacturer of lower price point chairs to supplement the high-end furniture being produced by Dunbar in Berne." This chair factory was located in a 12,000 sq. ft. facility. After the company was purchased by brothers Orva "Orv" N. Smith (1890-1961) and Leslie "Les" B. Smith (1899-1969) in 1936, they renamed it Smith Brothers Furniture Manufacturing Company (November 23, 1936) and expanded its production into higher-end custom furniture. By 1951 total annual sales reached $1,000,000. When the Smith Brothers retired in 1960, they sold the company to Les' son-in-law, Carl Muselman and his brother Arthur "Art" Muselman. The Muselmans kept the company name but simplified it to Smith Brothers of Berne, Inc. as of January 16, 1967. Due to Smith Brothers running into difficulty in the late 1960s, the Muselman brothers brought in Fred A. Lehman as president in 1970 with a 50% ownership interest. Fred helped lead the company back to prosperity before stepping back in the mid-1980s to have his younger brother Steve W. Lehman take over as president. Smith Brothers currently employs over 525 people in a roughly 500,000 sq. ft. facility in Berne, producing over 2,100 upholstered pieces a week, with its products sold in over 30 states and Canada. For continuing to manufacture its