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What a difference a few decades make! The images of New York City were taken in 1970 (Bernard Gotfryd, Library of Congress) and in 2018 by Afif Ramdhasuma (from pexels.com). Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22 since it was established through grassroots efforts in 1970. It was a response to increasing concerns caused by smog (intense air pollution caused mainly by exhaust fumes), Great Lakes at risk of dying from pesticide runoff and waste dumping, and rivers that caught on fire (the Cuyahoga River in Ohio famously caught fire in June of 1969). It was also the year when monumental legislation was enacted to address all kinds of environmental concerns. ...read more
At Home | Inspiration
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If it’s true, as they say, that seeing is believing, then we at Mast Store would like to propose another entry to your quip collection: Doing is moving. “Doing” not only requires movement - “doing” moves you both physically and emotionally. ...read more
Local Flavor | Mast Family Favorites | Travel
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What is a library? It’s a big building with lots of books in it. But wait, it’s so much more. The library is a gateway to your wildest dreams, a place to learn, a place to imagine, a place to make friends. Today’s libraries are repositories of books, but they also are places to get help to learn to read or improve your reading, to improve your math skills, to listen to a performance by a string quartet, to watch a movie, to refine your crafting skills, and to gather with fellow writers. Yes, libraries are SO much more. ...read more
Adventure | Inspiration | Mast Family Favorites
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... Our favorite foods! Food is universal because everybody’s got ta eat! And the last two months of the year are filled with more than their fair share of family meals, work gatherings, special outings to favorite restaurants, tins filled with homemade cookies and fudge, and the anticipation of food traditions handed down from generation to generation ...read more
At Home | Recipes
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Even before we bought the Mast General Store, we were taken by the beauty of Valle Crucis. We’ve heard people describe the drive out Broadstone Road as traveling through a time portal. In the 1970s, fields in the river bottoms would be filled with tobacco, cabbage, or high with hay to feed cattle that were grazing in the summer pasture. ...read more
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The lucky few who have seen the Earth from a different perspective – astronauts - all echo the same viewpoint upon their return. Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut and the first human to go to space, commented, “Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it.”
Behind the Scenes | Inspiration
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Mark Twain once said, “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.” It stands to reason, that if they’re not making it anymore, then we should consider it rare and care for it as a collector’s item, making certain that it will be passed on to a new generation. In a nutshell, that’s what a land trust does, and why we should celebrate their efforts because we all benefit from them.
On June 2, for the 15th year, all Mast Store locations will host a local land trust partner to share information about their activities to protect land, watersheds, and family farms.
The operations of a land trust are often misunderstood. It is not a government agency; it is a non-profit organization that holds the deed in trust under the agreement reached between it and the landowner. This voluntary relationship includes the uses that will be permitted on the land in the trust, which can include recreational use, farmland, and even limited development.
"We believe in the work land trusts do in all our communities because we want to see children put their feet in the stream ..."- Lisa Cooper, president
While the landowner may benefit from tax incentives, we all benefit from having open space, wildlife habitat, recreational areas, and even cultural and historical preservation. Many of the greenways we enjoy are pieced together through land trust easements. Family farms are kept in the family by utilizing these organizations. Endangered species and ecologically important areas are preserved with these agreements. It could be said that a land trust speaks for the voiceless – for the gentle slopes of the Appalachian Mountains, which provide harbor for the tiny bog turtle and fertile soil for the Fraser Fir, which are endangered or species of concern, respectively.
The efforts undertaken by land trusts and the individuals who have easements in the trusts help us enjoy clean water, fresh air, and local food. They contribute greatly to an area’s quality of life with spaces where all can engage with, and in nature, where we can recreate and reflect.
These land banks are a healthy component of the community’s economic well-being, too. From helping to maintain the cultural and historical heritage of an area, they help create a sense of place that is important to residents because of their attachment to the land and also to visitors because of its beauty. If you’ve taken a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoyed the beautiful vistas or have traveled the winding road out to Valle Crucis, you’ll understand the importance of protecting our land heritage.
Lisa Cooper, the president of Mast Store, shared, “I believe when my parents happened across an old general store in a beautiful and remote valley, they fell in love with both. They were able to save the store, and then turned their attention to helping preserve the special place around it.
“We believe in the work land trusts do in all our communities because we want to see children put their feet in the stream and to experience the magic of watching tadpoles grow into frogs,” continued Lisa. “These are just some of the reasons we partner with land trusts and support their work with 20% of our sales on Land Trust Day.”
Land Trust Day partners include the New River Conservancy and Blue Ridge Conservancy in the Boone and Valle Crucis area, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in Asheville and Waynesville, Conserving Carolina in Hendersonville, Upstate Forever in Greenville, the Foothills Land Conservancy in Knoxville, the Congaree Land Trust in Columbia, and the Piedmont Land Conservancy in Winston-Salem. Stop by any store to learn more about how land trusts work and what new projects are happening in the local area. Your purchase on June 2 will make a difference, because 20% of the day’s sales are donated to our partners.