During this time, Vrest became known as an authority on typography and book collecting and published many articles about various American writers.

He married Mildred Ellen Wilcox in 1936 and founded a book publishing company, The Countryman Press, the same year.

In the fall of 1945, Vrest and Mildred officially entered the mail-order business with a catalog, "The Voice of the Mountains".

As its catalog mailing list grew, the store gained national attention with the publication of a 1952 article in the Saturday Evening Post by Edward Shenton entitled, "The Happy Shopkeeper of the Green Mountains".

At the time, The Saturday Evening Post had a readership of several million people and was one of the most widely read publications in America.

The location features a mill pond, an authentic gristmill with a water wheel, and a restored covered bridge.