Ownership change ushered in new era of U.S. 129
It was 1975. Peter and Doris Leary, residents of Sanibel Island, Fla., were searching for a mountain retreat.
Recently retired, former owners of a remodeling business, the Leary’s wanted an escape from the south Florida sun, but Pete had a requirement.
“There was an ad in The Sun Sentinel (a Fort Lauderdale-based newspaper),” daughter Cathy Mathews said. “My dad loved to fish. He wanted to be able to walk out the front door and be at the lake. He had to have water close by.”
The Learys found a property to rent in Swain County, near the intersection of U.S. 129 and N.C. 28. And, yes, a lake sat just beyond the Learys’ reach, but it was Pete’s visits to the store on the corner of the intersection that would eventually lead to a 20-year proprietorship.
“We would go up there for summer and Christmas vacations, and stay at the house,” Mathews fondly recalled. “My dad would always walk over to the store and try to get to know the locals.
“My mom would have to call the store to get him to come home and eat dinner.”
Changing of the guard
Over the next five years, Mathews estimated that ownership for the Deals Gap store changed hands 3-4 times.
The proximity of the store, and his love for the area, gave Pete an idea. Following Cathy Mathews’ graduation from high school in 1980, the Leary’s purchased the property adjacent to their part-time residence in Swain County and began a new marketing strategy.
“He decided he was going to market it as a place to selling fishing licenses, equipment. He also catered to hunters; he had ammo and guns for turkey shooters,” Mathews said.
Simply called “Deals Gap” when the Learys took over, Pete renamed the store “Cross Roads of Time,” a nod to two geographical areas that could not be more different: another former business the family operated in Florida – an antique shop – and a recognition of the oft-traveled intersection where the store sat.
Read the second part of this feature in next week’s edition of The Graham Star.