BeLocal

10/14/2026

A few special events this week! 🍁 Let us know which ones you’re going to!! 🙌

10/09/2026

When the boxes are finally unpacked and the moving tape is cleared away, the real adventure begins: turning a new address into your hometown. 🏠✨

That’s where BeLocal comes in. Think of us as your insider guide written by the locals who know this community best. From the best hidden-gem coffee spots and family-friendly parks to trusted local businesses you can count on, we help you skip the trial-and-error and start living like a local from day one.

Welcome to the neighborhood 👋

10/07/2026

10/06/2026

October is here, and so are some of the latest BeLocal covers! 🍂

Every BeLocal is filled with the people, places, and local businesses that make a community feel like home. These covers are just the thing to entice new movers to flip through and enjoy the local stories and personalities featured within our issues.

Take a look at a few of our September covers worth spotlighting and see what’s happening in BeLocal communities across the country!

BeLocal Las Cruces | BeLocal Summerlin | Belocal Parker

10/05/2026

👍👍🔧

10/05/2026

10/02/2026

Connect with Your Ideal Clients

10/02/2026

Cozy up with a BeLocal or two. 📖

With BeLocal publications across the country, there’s a good chance you can find one in your area.

Not a new mover? That’s okay! You can still explore BeLocal and discover local recommendations, businesses, and things to do in your community. Every BeLocal is available to read virtually on our website.

Head to the link below, visit the Locations page, and find a BeLocal near you. 🏡

https://www.belocalpub.com/locations/

10/01/2026

WHAT’S INSIDE BELOCAL?

The Local Tips You'll Use
Recommendations to help you get settled faster.

The Businesses You’ll Need
Trusted local providers, all in one place.

The Places You’ll Want to Explore
Top attractions and local favorites worth knowing about.

09/29/2026

It’s ! Where did you grab your morning or afternoon Java? ☕️

Here’s our community coffee guide for local options. Notice we’ve added 2 new options in Waxhaw! 😃

Enjoy!!

09/29/2026

Inspiration is better when you can actually hold it in your hands.

BeLocal is your guide to the people, places, and businesses that make your new community feel a little more like home.

Grab a copy. Flip through it. Get inspired to visit your next favorite local spot.

09/24/2026

Coming Saturday…

🇮🇹 Experience the sights, sounds, and flavors of Italy—right here in Matthews!

Join us for Ciao Italia Matthews, a full day of authentic Italian food, w**e, b**r, spritzes, gelato, espresso, cannoli, live entertainment, an exotic Italian car show, pasta-making classes, Italian history, and so much more!

🎶 The celebration concludes with a spectacular performance featuring opera, folk, and traditional Italian music.

📅 Saturday, September 26, 2026
⏰ 12:00–9:00 PM
📍 Stumptown Park
120 S. Trade St., Matthews, NC
🎟️ FREE admission!

Bring your family and friends—and come hungry! We’ll see you in Matthews for an unforgettable celebration of Italian culture. 🇮🇹🍝🍷

09/22/2026

Fall has arrived and so too have the Fall Festivals… 🍁

🍂 Happy Fall, y'all! Celebrate the season with us at Autumn Treasures! 🍁💎

📅 Saturday, October 10
⏰ 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
📍 Downtown Waxhaw

Experience the sights and smells of fall, from mouth-watering barbeque to cozy, warm spices and baked goods. Autumn Treasures is your family-friendly fall festival set in our charming, picturesque downtown under the iconic Waxhaw water tank.

Where else can you shop hundreds of vendors, listen to live music, indulge in the best food and treats, and keep the kids entertained all day? Waxhaw has it all! Join us.

Full event details:
👉 waxhaw.com/autumntreasures

09/20/2026

👇👇

09/13/2026

A fast dirt track with a long history just down the road from Waxhaw and the other SE suburbs. 🏁

LANCASTER COUNTY HISTORY: BUSINESSES THAT LASTED
LANCASTER SPEEDWAY
ESTABLISHED 1954

Long before racing became a polished spectacle of enormous speedways, corporate sponsors and national television, Saturday-night racing meant red clay, roaring engines and families crowded into local grandstands.

For generations of Lancaster County residents, that place has been Lancaster Speedway.

The half-mile dirt track was built in 1954 by a group of local businessmen led by Herman “Hump” Poovey. The speedway was constructed on land owned by Poovey and quickly became a gathering place for drivers, mechanics and racing fans from throughout the Carolinas.

These were the early years of stock-car racing, when many drivers still built and repaired their own cars. Crews worked in backyard garages and local service stations, while fans gathered beside dusty tracks to watch ordinary automobiles transformed into racing machines.

Only three years after opening, Lancaster Speedway reached the national stage.

NASCAR’s Grand National Series—the forerunner of today’s NASCAR Cup Series—visited Lancaster twice during the 1957 season.

On June 1, drivers competed in a 200-lap race around the half-mile dirt oval. Paul Goldsmith took the victory, finishing ahead of future NASCAR champion Buck Baker and racing legend Lee Petty.

NASCAR returned on July 30 for another 200-lap contest. This time, Speedy Thompson captured the checkered flag, followed by Bill Amick, Marvin Panch, Buck Baker and Lee Petty.

Those names represented some of the greatest drivers of NASCAR’s early years. For one remarkable summer, Lancaster County’s little dirt track stood alongside famous racing venues across the country.

The years that followed were not always easy. Between 1958 and 1963, the speedway changed owners and managers several times. In 1963, cousins Ross Cauthen and Charles “Snooks” Cauthen purchased the track and returned it to regular operation.

Local businessman Coble Funderburk assumed control in 1968 and made several improvements, including the construction of a concrete wall between the front straightaway and the grandstands.

In 1975, local salvage-yard owner Jim Mahaffey became the speedway’s owner and promoter. He replaced the old lighting, improved the grandstands, extended the concrete wall around the track and introduced a six-cylinder racing program intended to make competition more affordable for local drivers.

Through changing owners, racing divisions and generations of spectators, the speedway endured.

For the people who grew up attending races there, the memories extend far beyond the winners and trophies. They remember the rumble of engines felt through the grandstands, red dust hanging beneath the lights, children choosing their favorite car and neighbors cheering for drivers they knew personally.

Lancaster Speedway was never simply a racetrack. It was a community gathering place, a proving ground for local drivers and mechanics, and a place where dreams of reaching NASCAR often began in a family garage. More than 70 years after that first season, the sound of racing remains part of Lancaster County’s story.

09/11/2026

09/10/2026

📣📣 Here’s our BIG news!! We’re growing and now helping new homeowners transitioning into the 28173 area - Waxhaw, Weddington, & Marvin. This is in addition to serving new residents relocating to Matthews, Mint Hill, Stallings, Indian Trail, & Wesley Chapel. 🙌 For all the locals, which businesses do you recommend introducing to newcomers? 😃

09/10/2026

Did you know?? 🤔

BUILT BRICK BY BRICK: THE McGEE BROTHERS STORY

Many of the brick homes, schools, churches, and businesses built across the Waxhaw and Charlotte region share an often-overlooked connection: the workmanship of McGee Brothers.

The company’s story began with a large Union County farming family. Six brothers—Harry Lee, Jesse Warren “Whitie,” Samuel Alexander, Robert Billy, Donald Ray, and Michael Reid McGee grew up with their three sisters on the family farm along Carriker Road. Farm life taught them to work hard, solve problems, and depend upon one another.

In early 1971, Sam and Don McGee began planning a masonry business. Don was an experienced brick mason, while Sam brought experience in sales and management. Each brother possessed something the other needed: Don could teach Sam the masonry trade, and Sam could help turn their skills into a successful company.

They chose the name McGee Brothers because they expected more of the family to join them and that is exactly what happened.

The company’s first recorded day on a job was April 26, 1971. After school, Sam’s son Jonathan “Doc” McGee and local teenager Nelson Welch came to help. That small beginning established a tradition that would become central to the company: teaching young people a skilled trade and giving them an opportunity to build a career.

Mike McGee joined the partnership later that year, followed by Bill. The brothers were also closely connected with the Huntley family, whose experienced masons helped train several of the McGees. The families were connected through True Light Church, marriage, work, and community life. McGee Brothers eventually acquired and merged with the Huntley masonry company.

Their first “forklift” showed the brothers’ ingenuity. Sam reportedly converted a Ford farm tractor into a homemade lifting machine that could move masonry materials around a jobsite. The restored tractor remains a reminder of how modestly the company began.

From a small, labor-only residential masonry crew, McGee Brothers grew into one of the country’s largest residential masonry contractors. A current Union County Chamber listing describes the company as having more than 125 masonry crews and approximately 700 employees.

Sam McGee also became a nationally recognized advocate for masonry education. He was inducted into the National Masonry Instructors Association Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Mason Contractors Association of America Hall of Fame in 2014.

The McGee Brothers story is more than the history of a successful business. It is the story of a Union County farm family, skilled tradesmen, teachers, teenagers learning after school, and generations of workers whose craftsmanship became part of the buildings surrounding us.

The next time you pass an older brick home or watch masons laying a new wall remember that one of this region’s largest businesses began with two brothers, a set of masonry tools, and a converted farm tractor.