[gentle music] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend", join us from the Mast General Store in Winston-Salem, as we venture into the great outdoors.

We'll go on a Smoky Mountain retreat, go trail building in the Uwharrie, and learn the fascinating story of the Mast General Stores, coming up next.

- [[Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our State's natural scenic beauty, unique history and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our State has to offer.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend" everyone, I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week we are gearing up to head out into the great outdoors from the Mast General Store in Winston-Salem.

What began as a general store in Valle Crucis in 1883 has grown into a family own business success story.

Here, you can find everything; from candy, to cast iron, to hiking boots.

[upbeat music] Now, if you've ever wanted to soak in the magic of the mountains but still enjoy the comforts of home, boy, do we have a treat for you.

Let's join Chelsea Goodnight as she goes deep in the heart of the Smokies.

[soft music] - Luxury might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about reconnecting with nature, but the Turner family is hoping to change that.

Welcome to Huffman Creek Retreat, a private mountain oasis with one of a kind cabins and scenery that rivals even the most popular parks in the area.

Let's chake it out.

[upbeat bright music] - The one word that people use to describe Huffman is magical.

People continually say that this is a magical destination.

The amount of discovery that can happen in exploration in nature here is unrivaled to many places in the world.

- Huffman Creek, to me, is a private national park.

It's very similar to camping but you don't have to crawl in a sleep bag.

You have the best kitchens, the best bathroom, from the outdoor showers to the copper soaking tubs, it's stuff that you are not expecting.

Presently, we have seven cabins, we're close to 1,000 acres, it's all stream related, it's your own special paradise.

It's camping in a luxury environment.

[upbeat bright music] Well, we are approaching our newest cabin, it's actually a tree house, and as we walk up to it, you can see how it just totally blends in to the woods.

- Yes.

- So, what's unique about this is almost like building Lincoln Logs.

- Yes.

- And that's kind of fun that it's transmission lines and they're on stone foundations, so there's no concrete, it's totally sustainable and recyclable.

In here, when you're looking at it, the right is the cookhouse, and then to the left are two different pods and each one's its own bedroom.

You'll see the rope on the bridge, we did that to give it the feeling of a Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

- [Chelsea] Yes, something for everybody.

- Something for everyone, that's part of the magic of Huffman Creek that each one you build you say, "Okay, how you gonna top that one?"

One of our philosophy is, we've never done anything for money.

You'll never see two things duplicated here.

My career started at Disney and I've been in the business of making people happy my whole life.

It's the little things that make it special.

When we start on a project we're constantly thinking, "Okay, what little thing can we do here "to bring the outside in?"

This is the Woodshed Number one upstairs, and this is the best of the best.

- [Chelsea] This is your favorite, what makes it your favorite?

- Only because you're up in the trees.

If you look at our ceiling, it's all the poplar bark.

This one's really special in that the wood in here is hemlock wood that we milled off the property.

And then when you come in here, this was one of our first outdoor showers.

- [Chelsea] Oh, it's the Huffman Creek signature outdoor shower.

- [Robin] And we make 'em, it's fun to do.

- Huffman Creek Retreat actually started out as our family getaway.

We truly love it up here and that's the reason, I just wish that I could share it with everybody.

Everything that we've done at Huffman Creek is from inspiration of our travels and our businesses that we've done before.

We kind of all think outside of the box.

And once you build something, you let that property or that cabin talk to you and tell you what it needs.

And I want to do something that is not what people would have in their own homes.

- If you go up in here is the bunk room, - [Chelsea] Oh, cool!

- And then they have windows that they can look down into the living room and they slide and open up.

- Can yell at mom and dad?

- Oh yeah.

- [Chelsea] Bring us some cookies and milk.

[upbeat music] - Much like the experiences that you'll have at Huffman Creek, that they're so unique, each of the cabins has its own personality.

And so a lot of times when I'm talking to a guest for the first time or I'm trying to introduce them to the property I try to match the personality of the family with actual structure.

So for some of our guests, being at Huffman Creek is the first time they've actually had the opportunity to really interface with nature, to experience the changing of the leafs or their first snowfall or their first time around a campfire.

- And by the time they leave they have made a personal connection with mother nature, I mean, that's what we strive for here, is to reconnect people with nature.

And most Airbnbs you are renting just a cabin, and we want to remind our guests that when you arrive to Huffman Creek Retreat, this is isn't just a cabin, this is a whole outdoor playground that is yours to explore while you're a guest with us.

- It's just so different than being anywhere else in Robbinsville, I think because we've created an atmosphere that we cherish and that just is like a slice of heaven on earth, I think.

And so to me, being able to share this with people is what this is all about.

- None of this was ever planned.

We never knew, when we started, that we would end up with 1,000 acres and this many cabins.

We never knew it would become a little business.

To me, it's a dream come true.

It's very enjoyable to have created this and then see how other people enjoy it.

We want you out to explore.

It's a magical place - To book your cabin at Huffman Creek Retreat in Graham County, visit their website at huffmancreekretreat.com.

The Mast General Store is an outfitter where you can find gear that makes it easy to enjoy the outdoors and stay fit.

And now in Rutherford County there's a 13 and a half mile trail that was designed for fitness, friends and family.

Let's join Clay Johnson on the Thermal Belt Rail Trail.

- [Jimmy] I've been cycling for about a year and a half.

I actually officiated basketball for about 20 years and I actually retired and I was looking for an opportunity to continue some cardio and to kinda somewhat stay in shape and as well, spend some time with my family, and this track just gave me all those answers that I was looking for.

- [Clay] Jimmy Poole cycles the Thermal Belt Rail Trail at least twice a week.

- It's very family oriented.

Someone is very safe where I can bring my grandson and my family and we can come in and enjoy the track and not worry about looking up our shoulders.

Just a great opportunity for a family to come in to enjoy a track like this.

- [Clay] The trail runs through Rutherfordton County, from the community of Gilkey Southeast to Forest City.

It's 13 and a half miles long, 12 feet wide, paved and perfect for cycling, rollerblading and walking.

- It's had an enormous impact on our communities.

- [Clay] This used to be a railroad quarter, mostly serving textile mills along its route, then the textual industry loved and the mills closed.

- The local businesses wanted to keep the railroad here when Norfolk Southern was gonna sell it and they actually created an entity and bought the corridor locally, and kept it going for a while as a railroad.

- [Clay] When that fizzled out, local leaders decided to pull up the tracks and turn it into rail trail.

It was just gravel at first, then the county and towns decided to upgrade it.

- The towns and the county they had an idea that it would help the economy for sure.

- [Clay] They got money from the RHI Legacy Foundation of Rutherfordton to pave the trail.

- And their interest was in local health and wellness.

- [Clay] It opened as the Thermal Belt Rail Trail in 2019, named for the temperate zone where the trail is located.

- Every sector of our community is using it.

- [Clay] The Northern portion of the trail is more rural.

- [Jerry] It's peaceful and quiet and shady.

- [Clay] The Southern portion runs through the towns of Ruth, Rutherfordton, Spindale and Forest City.

- [Jerry] We've got these may main street communities that are perfect to visit.

- [Clay] And the trail is attracting visitors.

- I've been to parking lots on the trail and I don't see a car from North Carolina.

- [Clay] Nearly 130,000 people use the trail every year, that helps bring more business to places like Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria in Spindale.

- I would describe it as kind of like suit and tie meets tie dye.

We just kind of try to provide an environment where anyone can come here and feel welcome and feel like it's their living room.

We've seen a lot of increase of cyclist.

Yesterday, we had a group of ladies that came in, they drove all the way from Charlotte just to come and ride the rails and trails.

It's definitely added a little bit of extra oomph to what we are already doing.

- [Clay] It's added a little oomph to Jimmy Poole's life too, he discovered the trail soon after it opened.

- And ever since then, me and this trail is actually being connected to the hip.

This track actually gives you that open mind, that peace of mind to come out and to be with nature.

[gentle music] - The Thermal Belt Rail Trail runs through Rutherfordton, Spindale and Forest City.

To find out more, visit the trail website at thermalbeltrailtrail.com.

At the Mast Stores, you'll find shoes for all kinds of outdoor activities.

I'd probably want something really rugged but cute like this for our next story.

We are heading to one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world.

In the Uwharrie there's a group of Trailblazers who are giving back through their love of the forest.

[soft tranquil music] - I like that the Uwharrie are within an hour drive of a lot of us that live in the Piedmont or even in the Western part of the state.

For me personally, I like the hiking, it's beautiful.

It's also a good place for people that are new to backpacking to kind of get their feet wet.

[upbeat music] - I did the Three Rivers LandTrust Thru Hike last April, some of the trail crew were there working, and it was like, "Oh, this isn't just here, "people maintain it and people have made it "so accessible and take care of it."

And honestly, joining the Trailblazers was another excuse to go camping once a month, but also have met some really amazing people.

So I'm out with my friend Robin, it's her first time today.

It's a great place to introduce people to be an outside because it is accessible.

[water running] There's a lot of water sources, and it's a great place to test out gear and just kind of get away for a night or a weekend without having to drive super far.

- [Male] No, it's gonna be decades, probably.

- So great having these national forests in these places that we can go and be in the outside and really take it all in is such a beautiful gift.

And so, oh, I could tear up.

So it's just so lovely that we can come in and really help out and contribute back to the community and the people who came before.

[bright upbeat music] This was the first time I got to get on a cross saw and be part of a team doing that, so that was really fun.

- I work with kids outdoors so we do a lot of work through our primitive skills, we do wood crafting and things like that.

And so joining the saw crew was kind of a natural extension for me to work with more cutting tools.

- It'll still ride, yeah.

- It'll still go?

- And your hands will go lower.

- Okay.

- Cool.

- [Kathryn] So pull towards you.

- As other volunteers kind of move through, they get to learn the things that I was learning eight months ago, a year ago.

It's just a great experience, even for them, even for me, whether it's the teaching part or the learning part.

I enjoy both of 'em immensely and I still got a lot to learn.

- [Steve] You can let that go if you have to and move and Kathryn will hold the saw.

- They're so knowledgeable and can tell us all the things they just look at it and know what's going on.

- Ready Matt?

- Yep.

- We ran up on one and it was so daunting and it felt like it was so big and they were like, "Nope, we just put it all together and make it happen."

And so I really feel accomplished, I feel like I did something today, I went for a beautiful hike but I also did something, so that feels really, really good.

- [Steve] Watch yourself.

- Nice.

- Yeah.

- Woohoo.

- Okay.

[upbeat music] - You don't have to be in the White Mountains of New Hampshire or in the Tetons.

You can enjoy a hike out here almost to the same extent.

It's just beautiful, and it changes all year round.

[indistinct crowd chatter] - The generation before us that worked on conservation and land management, and so big thank you to the Boy Scouts and Three Rivers LandTrust for all of the work they have done to protect these woods, because it could all have been logged and be subdevelopments.

[soft music] - If you're interested in helping to build a trail in the Uwharries, visit you uwharrietrailblazers.org.

Check this out, bear cheeks.

This is a union suit, isn't this cute?

They tell me that this is one of the most popular things that sold here at Mast General Stores.

And this union suit represents what makes this store so unique, there are so many items here that are reminiscent of the past, but when you're ready to step into the present they've got you with just about everything you need.

Right now, let's meet the family behind this amazing group of stores and learn their fascinating story.

[upbeat music] It's a brisk January day in Asheville, a Wednesday in fact, but the floors of the Mast General Store are full of shoppers.

And it's that way in Waynesville, Hendersonville, Winston-Salem, and Boone.

And while all Mast General Stores have their differences they share one common trait, they seem to all have one foot in the present and one in the past, and how they got that way is an interesting story that takes us to a quiet secluded spot near Boone called Valle Crucis, around 1978.

- I was here with a friend that was looking for land and we stayed at in Valle Crucis and the fellow said, "You gotta see this store."

And I literally just about had to be dragged out, I was fascinated with it, 'cause it was a step back in time.

- [Deborah] The original Mast Store was built in the 1880s when this valley was full of farmers needing to sell and trade.

Soon it had a post office, hardware, even a doctor's office and it flourished for nearly a century.

- Then it closed and at that particular point in time our friend came and said, "I hear it might be on the market."

- [Deborah] The Coopers took the plunge.

- We thought it's gonna take a full time attention, so we configured a way to make an apartment on the back of this room, - Where we're sitting.

- in the attic.

And we were able to begin and bring the store back to life and put inventory on the shelves and keep it on the shelves.

- [Deborah] In 1982, bursting with goods, the Coopers bought a nearby store and called it the Annex, they filled that with candy and outdoor gear, more on the candy in a moment.

A few years later, the Coopers got a call from the town of Boone.

- And they said, "We want the Mast Store there.

"You really need to come to Boone, "we need your store were in Boone."

And we resisted, but when we looked at it more closely we decided that was a good opportunity to really expand our presence in high country.

- The couple that owned the Annex building, they're the ones that initially started the Candy Barrel and eventually decided that they didn't wanna move with us everywhere we went and decided to sell it to us, so the Mast Store actually bought the Candy Barrel, and then we were able to put Candy Barrel areas in all of the locations.

- [Deborah] Soon other towns began calling.

- This is such a great draw for many, many people.

You have to hit Mast and see all the wonderful things they have to offer here.

- And that's been the pattern for us that the towns would come after us when they needed more retail presence and they would see us as a, maybe a solution to helping bring other retailers and create more vibrant downtown.

But we've been very fortunate to go to places like Waynesville and Hendersonville and in Nashville, which was a big city, bigger than anything we were in, but that is now our most popular store in terms of volume and customers.

- We started in the toy section and just kind of appreciating all the penny candy and those types of things that are there.

And yeah, we're upstairs in the mercantile section and there's just, I think we could be here the entire day looking at the variety of things that are here.

- [Deborah] Another success story is their willingness to innovate with product.

COVID-19 has pushed people outdoors and the Mast General Store has responded with more high demand items like hiking shoes, packs, and knives.

[upbeat music] - We've had a couple pretty crazy days, yesterday seemed a little bit crazier than Saturday might have been.

- [Deborah] This is the 10 at 10 meeting at the Mast General Store in Boone, it's just one way the staff prepares to enhance the customer experience.

But another foundation the Mast Store provides is company ownership for its employees, and it's made all the difference.

- Yeah, in 1995 my parents came to me and said, "What do you think about "the employees owning stock in the business?"

And I thought, "That's a great idea."

And there were all the fancy people talking about the benefits to John and Faye for sharing stock with the employees and they were like, "That's not the purpose of this program.

"The purpose of this program is so employees can see "the value of taking care of the customer "and the hard work that they do."

- You can work for somebody else and do a great job, get a paycheck, do a mediocre job, get the same paycheck.

But here, when you do a great job, you are increasing the value of the stock that you own that contributes to your retirement.

So there's a great motivation to do well and there's a great motivation for teamwork because we all sink or swim together.

- Chances are, if you go into one of our stores, you'll find an employee that's been there, many employees that have been there a long time, and they're vested in the ESOP program as well as the 401k.

And they understand that their role, they're an owner and that they look after the customer because that's where we either meets the road or not.

[both laughing] - [Deborah] That customer first philosophy, created by the Coopers, permeates the culture of every Mast General Store.

If you need something quick, their online team, led by Tiffany, ships overnight, but to truly get the Mast General Store experience take time to wander.

[soft music] Play checkers with your young daughter, and don't forget the popcorn.

The original Mast General Store is in Valle Crucis but their other stores can be found in Boone, Asheville, Waynesville, Hendersonville, and Winston-Salem.

For more information, give them a call at [866] 367-6278 or visit them online at mastgeneralstore.com.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

We wanna thank the folks at the Mast General Store in Winston-Salem for hosting us, you really can find everything here.

And if you missed anything in today's show, just remember you can always watch us again online at PBSNC.org.

Have a great North Carolina weekend everyone.

Goodnight.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[gentle music]