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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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The city of Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee, but that was some 250 years after Hernando de Soto scoured part of the area in search of El Dorado. The plat for the town was surveyed by Charles McClung and included provisions for a town common along the waterfront, a church and graveyard, and a school, which was chartered as Blount College in 1794 (and was the beginning of the University of Tennessee).
Described as an “alternately quiet and rowdy river town,” Knoxville for a time was indeed part of the Wild West. The infamous Kid Curry, a member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, was arrested and held in Knoxville’s jail. He later escaped and galloped out of town on a horse he stole from the sheriff.
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Manufacturing and distributing became an important part of the local economy for Knoxville – and the Tennessee River and rail lines made much of the city’s growth possible. Gay Street was the center of commercial development and was lined with stores, warehouses, stables, and more. And then came the Million Dollar Fire of 1897.
It was 4 a.m. in the morning when flames were seen leaping through the roof of the Hotel Knoxville located right where the Mast Store is now. The fire department scrambled and got as many boarders out as possible.
Knowing that the fire could get out of hand, the fire department in Chattanooga was contacted and made the journey to Knoxville aboard a train in record time (at speeds topping 90 miles per hour). One building had to be dynamited to control the blaze. By the end of the day, only five lives were lost, the Chattanooga fire department returned home to cheers, and two blocks of Gay Street lay in smoldering ruins. The losses were valued at $1 million and the cause is yet undetermined.
Out of the ashes arose the building you see today, which was constructed in 1898.
Read less ...The Knoxville store has been a retail landmark in Downtown Knoxville since 1898. The building was constructed after the "Million Dollar Fire" in 1897. The fire started in a nearby hotel and destroyed the entire block on our side of the street. The flames spread so fast and were so intense that the Chattanooga Fire Department was called in to assist. They put their pumper on a train that left for Knoxville approaching speeds of 90+ miles per hour.
When the building was rebuilt, it was home to the McNulty Grocery and Dry Goods Co.
In 1901 M. M. Newcomer's Department Store made the move from across the street into the building at 402 South Gay Street. It was one of Knoxville's bigger stores.
Read more ...
The Knoxville store has been a retail landmark in Downtown Knoxville since 1898. The building was constructed after the "Million Dollar Fire" in 1897. The fire started in a nearby hotel and destroyed the entire block on our side of the street. The flames spread so fast and were so intense that the Chattanooga Fire Department was called in to assist. They put their pumper on a train that left for Knoxville approaching speeds of 90+ miles per hour.
When the building was rebuilt, it was home to the McNulty Grocery and Dry Goods Co.
In 1901 M. M. Newcomer's Department Store made the move from across the street into the building at 402 South Gay Street. It was one of Knoxville's bigger stores.
As an interesting aside to the history of the actual building, the Original Mast Store in Valle Crucis had a long relationship with Knoxville, which makes the store on Gay Street even more interesting. In perusing the invoices for goods purchased for the shelves from 1902 until 1920, numerous invoices had Knoxville addresses. One of the addresses is just down the street at what is now the Downtown Grill and Brewery. In the early 1900s, it was Woodruffs, a wholesale and retail house for all kinds of goods. There are also a number McClung Wholesale invoices. The McClung Warehouses are just a short drive from the store and are near the rail yard. Farm implements, barbed wire, and other items were stocked from this business.
In 1932, the Knox Dry Goods Store replaced M. M. Newcomers. Through the years it provided all kinds of goods and services including a beauty shop on the second floor. Knox Dry Goods modernized its name in 1954 becoming known as The Knox. It was a mainstay in the downtown area until 1977 when The Boston Store moved into the building.
In the late 1970s, many retailers had left downtown for the suburbs. The store was vacant until the White Grocery Store moved in in 1982 and operated until 1988. After that, the building was used for storage including sewing machines and all other items.
The Mast Store opened in August 2006.
Read less ...Fall is here! The bridge between summer and fall is full of delicious possibilities: the last heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn linger, pears and sweet potatoes start to arrive, and more apples than you can name can all be found at your local farmers’ market. ...read more
Local Flavor | Gardening | At Home
Asheville | Annex - Valle Crucis | Boone | Columbia | Greenville | Hendersonville | Knoxville | Roanoke | Original - Valle Crucis | Waynesville | Winston-Salem
Nature has the power to heal, challenge, and connect. It can transport us to a place that is far away from our stress-filled world. It can help us see our world from a different perspective, and it embraces us in a manner that technology cannot. It connects us in ways both physical and mental to the earth and to each other. Where is the prescription for this magical elixir? It’s as close as your favorite local trail. ...read more
Adventure | Inspiration | Local Flavor
Columbia | Greenville | Knoxville | Roanoke
They say that Halloween is the spookiest time of the year. Legend warns it’s when the veil between our world and the afterworld is thin and spirits can easily pass from one side to another. We don’t know about that, but we do know it’s one of the “funnest” times of the year. Check out these family-friendly events in our local communities. ...read more
Local Flavor | Travel
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Fall is here! The bridge between summer and fall is full of delicious possibilities: the last heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn linger, pears and sweet potatoes start to arrive, and more apples than you can name can all be found at your local farmers’ market. ...read more
Local Flavor | Gardening | At Home
Asheville | Annex - Valle Crucis | Boone | Columbia | Greenville | Hendersonville | Knoxville | Roanoke | Original - Valle Crucis | Waynesville | Winston-Salem
Nature has the power to heal, challenge, and connect. It can transport us to a place that is far away from our stress-filled world. It can help us see our world from a different perspective, and it embraces us in a manner that technology cannot. It connects us in ways both physical and mental to the earth and to each other. Where is the prescription for this magical elixir? It’s as close as your favorite local trail. ...read more
Adventure | Inspiration | Local Flavor
Columbia | Greenville | Knoxville | Roanoke
Today is Arbor Day, and we’re celebrating the beauty and symbolism trees lend to our world. Take a look at this tree-themed trivia from across our region. We hope the facts will inspire you to hug a tree or, especially, plant one in honor of all that trees do for us and our environment! ...read more
Inspiration | Gardening
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