Variations On Theme

Mast Store, Valle Crucis, NC

Carmi's posts on Written, Inc. lately seem to have set off a landslide of photographic memories for me. The current discussion started with an old school building in London, Ontario (that's in Canada ya'll) that's been put out to pasture. Which reminded me of a couple of places in the mountains near Boone. (That's Boone, NC for those of ya'll that ain't from around heah.) The Mast Store (est. 1883) in Valle Crucis was the first one that came to mind. The town of Valle Crucis is roughly as large as a good-sized swimming pool, and you might not know it was there if you didn't pay close attention to the map. It's not an especially easy place to get to. The big multilane highways don't come through here. Just a quiet two-lane blacktop coming down from the mountain. Sequestered in between two ridges, it's one of those places you only see the signs for unless you're looking for it. You don't wind up here by accident.

But every town has its stories, its claim to fame, and in Valle Crucis that's the longest continuously operating general store in the country, known simply as The Mast Store. It's actually kinda famous in these parts, and at one time (legend has it) housed pretty much everything in Valle Crucis that wasn't somebody's home. In addition to being the all-purpose mercantile in town, the store doubled as the Post Office, and while I'm not sure they're still in use, the old postal boxes are still in place. The store itself is a byzantine array of practically anything you'd be likely to need. Clothing to candy to candles to furniture, if you stumble around in the place long enough you'll probably find it. The floorboards sag in places, and occasionally don't quite meet flush with each other. The entire structure creaks, and the aisles are so narrow that it's impossible to remain strangers with anyone you might pass there. Parents of young children should probably not bring their progeny along for the trip unless they keep their nitroglycerin pills handy. There's not enough space among the shelves, racks, barrels and stacks to keep anything "out of reach of children" and the curiosities that turn up at every corner absolutely demand exploration. Climbing the claustrophobic staircase to the second level, you can't quite shake the uneasy feeling that it wouldn't take but one more delivery to bring the place crashing down under its own weight.

In many ways the store reflects the people of the area. Yes, it's a little tired, a little bit down at heel, a little older than it was and maybe not real flashy. But it's kept standing, kept working, kept taking care of the good folks of Valle Crucis for 125 years. It's celebrated with them, suffered with them, marked their births, mourned their deaths. It's been a provider, an entertainer, and a refuge. It's seen 'em come and seen 'em go. It's welcomed visitors to town and offered them a chance to take a load off for a spell. And when those visitors have caught up with themselves and are ready to continue on their way, it hollers after them, "Ya'll come back now!"

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