While having access to a world of information at our fingertips isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as that information is verified and used responsibly, it has taken away some of the reliable sources – organizations, people, and places – that many generations counted on for news.

One such place where people caught up on the latest local happenings, sought advice and recommendations, and even indulged in a bit of light-hearted community gossip (“Have you seen the size of the tomatoes in Mabel’s garden this year?! What on Earth is she putting in that dirt?”) was the local general store.

This has been – and, fortunately, still is – the case in the Front Room of the Original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis for more than a century and a couple of scores. Neighbors gather around the pot-bellied stove on cold winter mornings to sip five-cent coffee, collect their mail, maybe set up a game of checkers, swap stories and pleasantries, and catch up on news, opinions, and politics extending from their backyards to the farthest corners of the world.

For more on the history of the Original Store’s iconic centerpiece, take a look at one of our past blogs, “A Hot Spot to Gather,” HERE.

On summer mornings, the exchange of information – even the friendly bout of checkers – might migrate to the rocking chairs on the porch just behind the Front Room.

Wherever news spread through the store, it spread from neighbor to neighbor, person to person, face to face. No scrolling required.

While the way we get our information has changed drastically only within the past decade or so, the questions people want answers to and the topics they want to know more about haven’t transformed too drastically from the days of news gatherings around the old stove.

The Mast Store took a look at Google’s trending topics across several of its communities in 2023. If you head into one of these stores today, you might overhear chit-chat about a few subjects you might have heard about 100 years ago while others reflect the changing nature and current interests of their towns.

Pull a rocking chair next to the stove, sit a spell, and let’s gab!

Did you hear that Roanoke was the only area in the entire United States where “arts near me” was a top-trending search? Makes sense if you’ve ever visited the breathtaking Taubman Museum of Art! Not only is this stunning structure the perfect contemporary counterpoint to the Tudor Revival-style Hotel Roanoke in the city’s skyline, but it also garners first-class international exhibitions year-round, which makes Roanoke an arts destination any city would admire. The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center boasts its own impressive art collection, including beautifully restored murals in its lobby depicting the history of Virginia. You’ll also discover public art throughout Downtown Roanoke, fine art galleries, and plenty of pop-up art and craft galleries in City Market.

With all that walking and gallery hopping, it’s no surprise that “podiatrist near me” showed up at number five on Roanoke’s 2023 Google searches! As it turns out, a good podiatrist is in high demand in several Mast Store towns. It appeared as Columbia’s second most-searched entry and the third-most in Knoxville.

Foot issues are as old as the hills and are apparently as prevalent as ever. It’s a good thing that the Mast Store has a large selection of footwear – shoes, boots, socks, and insoles – to fit any foot and accommodate most nagging foot problems. Better still, there’s a knowledgeable, trained staff in every Mast Store who’ll listen to you describe how your feet are ailing you, direct you to the proper shoe, recommend extra support if necessary, and let you try on and test out as many pairs as you’d like in the store until you find just the right one. Learn more by referencing our blog "Do Your Feet Hurt?"

In many cases, you’ll want to take your new shoes outdoors for a true test spin. While all of the Mast Store region is filled with gorgeous scenery, the folks around Western North Carolina pride themselves on their fishing waters. The Asheville area, including Waynesville and Hendersonville, is the only part of the country to have “fishing near me” as a top search in 2023. We hear that those cold, fast-moving mountain streams near the Great Smoky Mountains are prized for their trout!

If you head that way, stop in one of our Mast Stores not just for waterproof boots but also a variety of gear handy for any fishing excursion, like pocket and filet knives, broad-brimmed hats, sunglasses, and quick-drying, water-resistant, and UPF protected apparel like vests, shirts, and pants. We also highly recommend L.L.Bean’s Quest Four-Piece Fly Rod and Guide Lumbar Fly Fishing Pack available at Mast Store Online and in selected Mast locations to complete your fishing adventure.

Furthermore, if you intend to extend your fishing trip with a few nights under the stars, you’ll find all that you’ll need for camping in the Mast Store’s Outdoor section like tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, inflatable pillows, and an assortment of gear and other necessities.

Once your outing comes to an end, perhaps you’ll take refuge in the ways of city life. Should that be the case, or if you’re simply in need of a decent cup of joe, embrace the café culture in Columbia, which led the nation in Google searches for “coffee shops near me.”

Indah Coffee, whose flagship location is on Sumter Street, offers an inviting atmosphere and has been awarded “Best Coffee in South Carolina” by Food & Wine Magazine. You can also grab a cup of their fresh-brewed java every Saturday morning at the Soda City Market. Sweet Cream Co., on the same block of Main Street as the Mast Store, is a dessert café that’s an ideal spot for date nights, family afternoon treats, after-dinner indulgences, study breaks, or no particular reason other than to please your sweet tooth. There you can enjoy your coffee poured over tantalizing, handcrafted, small-batch ice cream in an array of unique and traditional flavors.

If you prefer to have your coffee at home, drop by the Mast Store and pick up a bag of Mast Store Provisioners Coffee to-go. Locally-roasted, Fair Trade Organic varieties bring the mountains to your mug like the Appalachian or Smoky Mountain blends and showcase seasonal Southern tastes like Toasted Carolina Pecan and holiday favorites, such as Frosted Pumpkin Roll.

All those fresh flavors remind us of a farmer’s market, and what better place to sip a hot coffee as you peruse booths packed with produce, flowers, and homemade wares on a chilly morning? If you were wondering where to find a farmer’s market in the vicinity of a Mast Store, you’re not alone. The Google search “farmers market near me” ranked second in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad, home of the Winston-Salem Mast Store, and third in the region that includes the High Country, which contains the Original Mast General Store, the Mast Store Annex, and the Boone Mast Store.

In these areas, you can explore the Cobblestone Farmers Market located nearby Old Salem on the edge of Downtown Winston-Salem. This market closed for the winter with the New Year but will re-open in April 2024. If you don’t mind driving a few minutes down the highway, you’ll come upon the massive Robert G. Shaw Piedmont Triad Farmer’s Market in neighboring Colfax. This is one of only five farmer’s markets owned by the State of North Carolina and operated by the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. There, you can also pop in the Moose Café and enjoy a truly farm-to-table meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner in the midst of your shopping.

In Boone, make the most of a winter weekend morning with a visit to the King Street Farmers’ Market operated by the local non-profit group Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture. This market’s seasonal hours are Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., now through March before moving to Tuesday evenings in May 2024. If you can bear the wait, the long-running Watauga County Farmers’ Market, considered to be the town square of the High Country, re-opens in April with Saturday hours of 8 a.m. – Noon. If you can’t stand waiting until spring, however, or don’t care to brace yourself for the chill of early-morning outdoor strolling this winter, check out any Mast Store location for a wide selection of locally-produced foods like Blue Ridge Apiaries Honey, which is partially sourced from the bees buzzing through fields right behind the Original Mast Store in Valle Crucis.

These and other farmer’s markets throughout the region remind us of how lucky we are to have such a bounty of food grown and produced so close to home. In many cases, though, making that food accessible to all of our neighbors remains a challenge, especially when it comes to making certain children have sufficient, healthy food. In the Triad, for instance, “food banks near me” was the third most-searched phrase.

The Mast Store is thankful to partner with local food security agencies in each of its hometowns as we work with them on initiatives like Food for Kids, Be a Sweetheart, and occasional in-store Round Up 4 a Cause campaigns. In this New Year, please consider supporting one of our food security partners or one in your home community as we join together to fill a critical need throughout our region and ensure our neighbors, especially the youngest among them, can lead happy, healthy lives.

We hope these bits of information find you well in the New Year and give you a look into some of the most discussed topics and oft-asked questions relevant to you and your community.

Wherever you’re reading this, it’s likely that there’s a Mast Store down the road a piece. We invite you to drop in anytime, wander around at your leisure, sit down a spell to take everything in, and strike up a conversation with the old friends and new folks you might encounter. Stop scrolling and set aside your phone as you exchange kind words and a polite question or two face-to-face. You never know just what answers you might find here where life – and news – moves at a refreshingly slower pace.