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Changes at Our Shop

There have been some changes at our shop recently. We’ve trimmed down the store at 3 North Main Street to focus on books, cards, posters, and prints and we have moved our line of local gift items up to The Shops at the Senator’s House.

Porch of The Senator’s House
photo by Kathy Murphy

The Senator’s House, located across from the Alleghany Inn, now holds Kathy’s Kreations Bakery and The Parlor Ice Cream shop, as well as many art and crafts. (Check out some of Kathy Murphy’s beautiful baking on her facebook page.)

The house was built by Eugene Transou, who was a State Senator from Laurel Springs, first in 1917, a representative in 1929, a county commissioner in 1923 and a senator again in the forties. He built the house in town, so his wife, Laura Cheek Transou,  wouldn’t have to stay alone on the farm when he was in Raleigh. It’s a charming historic home, where visitors to our community can spend time snacking or relaxing. And with the large grounds, many rooms and catering options, folks can host private parties.

We love that Kathy has it open now, and we’re happy to be a part of the new chapter in the house’s story. Be sure to stop by The Shops at the Senator’s House the next time you’re in Sparta, and take a look at our updated and renovated website, Shop.StarRoute.net.

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BookFest – Downtown Sparta – June 29

Be sure to come to town Saturday, June 29!

From 3 to 5 in the afternoon, regional authors will be appearing for book signings at downtown shops. Preceding the event, from 2 to 3, Becca’s Backwoods will host a Young Writers’ Workshop.

At 5:30, Friends of the Alleghany Public Library will hold a reception at the library.

BookFest details will be added here and on the BookFest facebook page.

Books are great gifts (and re-gifts!), especially those that feature our region’s rich history, art and culture!

Libby Bagby
Lucky’s Plott
Sparta United Methodist Women
Faith, Food, and Fellowship
Books N Friends:
Kay Bodeen
Pat Crisp, Like a Moth to the Flame
Karen Hall
Building the Blue Ridge Parkway
Elva Sieg
Celebrating the Underdog by Tom Sieg
Mangum Cater Pottery on Main:
Ginger B. Collins
Writer & Reader
Doug Butler
After Appomattox: NC Civil War Monuments
Jeff Halsey
Star Route Books
Suzanne Mellow-Irwin
and illustrator Zach Hamm
The Stratford Oaks Tales
Touch of Grace:
 JoAn Stout
My Shepherd My Savior
Off to See NC
Twelve Gifts of Christmas
Sam Williams
By This Christmas Moon
Garden Snippets
Wanda Wingler
Only Mary
Una’s Naturals & Vintage:
Jim Akers
One Soldiers Story

Come and join the fun and consider “liking” The Sparta Store for updates on other events and new releases.

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Blue Ridge Music Trails at The Sparta Store

We’ve got a great new book in The Sparta Store –

Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina.

The book is a detailed guide to traditional music venues in Western Carolina and includes a cd with 26 songs by North Carolina artists including the likes of Ola Belle Reed, The Watson Family, The Kruger Brothers,  Flatt & Scruggs and many others!

The 280-page  book/cd set is a project of the NC Arts Council published in association with the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and was printed by UNC Press.

Read more about this exciting book at The Sparta Store.

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Four Brothers in Gray Available Now

The newest release from Star Route Books, Four Brothers in Gray, is now available! The book tells the story of Confederate soldiers Andy, Harrison, Calvin and Alfred Proffit. Star Route Books reprinted the book with permission from Wilkes Community College (who has copyrights to the 1975 work by Mary Alice Hancock.)


In it, Ms. Hancock tells about the Proffit family of Wilkes County, North Carolina, and the four sons of William and Mary Proffit that left home to fight for the South in the Great Rebellion. She uses the boys’ own words- excerpts taken from over 100 letters sent home to Lewis Fork by the boys and their cousins to trace their paths through the war.

Mary Alice Hancock began writing articles for magazines including the Saturday Evening Post, Sports Illustrated, American Legion Magazine, Progressive Farmer, Catholic Digest and VFW magazine. She wrote two fictional children’s books, Menace on the Mountain in 1968 which was eventually made into a two-part, television episode of The Wonderful World of Disney. Her second book, in 1969, was a non-fiction novel called Thundering Prairie about the Oklahoma Land Rush.

In addition to the narrative, transcriptions of 100+ of the brothers’ letters, which inspired Ms. Hancock, are included. Like other titles in the Star Route history series, Four Brothers in Gray includes contemporary photographs, drawings, illustrations and and period maps obtained from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, Virginia Military Institute, Harpers Pictorial History and many other resources.

Also included is family information, describing the relationships of the brothers, their cousins and in-laws, who are frequently mentioned in their letters. Their letters reveal the excitement of battle, the loneliness at the front, thoughts of home and their concern for family and nation.

The 320-page, black and white, softcover book, 7.44″ x 9.68″ (Crown Quarto size), is currently available at The Sparta Store in Sparta, N.C., and online at www.spartastore.com for $32, + tax and shipping. For more information on wholesale pricing, please contact Claire.