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sat10AM - 7PM
sun11AM - 6PM
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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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When Mast Store’s newest old location opened its doors in Winston-Salem in May of 2015, we had the pleasure of meeting a woman with close ties to 516 North Trade Street. Her father worked in the building that boasted one of the largest retail and wholesale companies in the South: Brown-Rogers-Dixson (B-R-D). Originally posted 12/2/2015
Mrs. Carter remembers, “My siblings remember [B-R-D] as a store that had everything that anyone would need. As the youngest child, I don’t remember any details of the store itself, but it always seemed like walking through the doors of a magical place because Santa was there. Santa always gave us candy canes during our visits with him. I always looked forward to that.”
Mrs. Carter generously shared beautiful photos and wonderful memories of her and her sibling’s visits with Santa at B-R-D in the 1940s and 1950s. The first and oldest photo [right] shows her brother, Jimmy, wearing a dark cap and talking with Santa Claus, who appears to be holding a doll in a box.
“In that same picture,” she continues, “notice the sign that was hanging in the store. The photographer cut the “C” out of the picture, but you can tell that Brown-Rogers-Dixson had the Shop Early for Christmas Lay-a-Way message posted in the store.”
The second photo [left] shows Jimmy visiting with Santa a few years later in around 1952 or 1953. In the last photo [top], taken in 1959, you see Barbara and her older sister, Judy, posing for their photograph on Santa’s lap.
“I remember asking Santa for a baby doll and a coloring book with crayons. My sister would always ask for a baby doll as well. My brother remembers asking Santa for a fire truck and an electric train,” Mrs. Carter reminisces.
“Having grown up in Winston-Salem and remembering the history of how it looked when we were shopping downtown as children with our parents has been so sweet. Seeing the transformation of our city as adults is quite amazing. We are honored that Mast General Store has chosen to be a part of our city and family. I believe you said that you were entertaining the thought or idea of bringing Santa back in to the store for the Christmas season. I know that it would be a big hit.”
We are very excited that we’re able to restore the Carter siblings' fondest Christmas memories for a new generation! Mr. and Mrs. Claus did return to the former B-R-D building at Mast Store Winston-Salem. And it is our intention to have them back next year to visit with good boys and girls to discuss their Christmas wish lists.
This blog was originally posted on December 2, 2015. We hope you enjoy the warm holiday memories of Christmases past.