Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Albert Styron's Store

Albert Styron’s store, established in 1920 by Albert Monroe Styron, was one of several general stores on Ocracoke Island.  The store served the needs of people living Down Point. Long wooden counters stood in front of wall shelves that held beans, flour, rice, cereal, canned milk, and every other staple sought after by island cooks. Irish potatoes (referred to as “iced taters” by locals), vegetables, soft drinks, milk, eggs, and even fresh meats rounded out the selections.

Albert Styron was lost at sea in 1956. His son, Albert Styron, Jr. continued to operate the store. He died in 1975.

Photo courtesy Ocracoke Preservation Society













After Albert, Jr. died, the property stood empty for a number of years.

Photo by Henry Raup














Today, Albert Styron's Store sells T-shirts, lighthouse gifts, Christmas ornaments, flags, soft drinks, and assorted other items.

Photo courtesy OcracokeNavigator.com












This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is a reproduction of a 1960s booklet titled The Great Ocracoke Cat Hunt. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news092115.htm.
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11 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:55 AM

    I remember going in there in years gone by and it was a neat general store type place...had a little bit of everything. The last time or two I was there, sadly, I was not impressed. Seemed to be largely empty...t-shifts and a few souvenirs, and of course the three-letter oval stickers proudly proclaiming the initials of the Albert Styron Store...

    Is that a "for sale" sign out front?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Philip9:43 AM

      For a short while the store was on the market, but I don't think it is now.

      Delete
  2. DC12:37 PM

    "Lost at sea"--such a sad phrase.
    My great uncle, Rayford Garrish died that way too.
    I would guess there were many other islanders as well.
    Not to be morbid, but is there any record to commemorate those unfortunate victims of the sea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Philip5:24 PM

      I am not aware of any comprehensive list of those lost at sea, but I will start compiling one! Thanks for the suggestion.

      Delete
    2. DC6:29 PM

      I am sure there are many descendants of the settlers of OI who would find that quite interesting.
      Don't thank me--THANK YOU!

      Delete
    3. DC11:52 PM

      Oops--Make that Rayfield (not Rayford)
      He was born to Alexander & Epherena Garrish in 1898, and died in 1917.
      I found brief accounts of the drowning in 2 newspapers.
      There were several others who died, including another from OI.
      If you're interested, I wrote down the URLs.

      Delete
    4. Philip8:02 AM

      Yes, please post the URLs. I mentioned Rayfield Garrish to Blanche yesterday. Immediately she said, "That was Epherena's son." Unfortunately, she had a difficult time coming up with the names of other islanders who were lost at sea, although as my visit progressed she came up with a half dozen more. I will do some more research.

      Delete
    5. DC8:38 AM

      You certainly went to the best source of information about families of OI. Blanche Is amazing.
      She very kindly wrote to me about my grandfather's family and mentioned that his brother had tragically drowned.
      Here are the URLs I found
      http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/38595338/

      http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/91951287/

      Delete
  3. Julie S.8:03 PM

    Whenever we visit we always notice the variety of shore birds but I'm wondering if there are any robins or cardinals, wrens, chickadees etc. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Philip11:33 PM

      This blog post should answer your question: http://villagecraftsmen.blogspot.com/2013/06/birdsong.html

      Delete
  4. Anonymous7:58 PM

    hope the store is open on monday last time i tryed it colesd at 3pm

    ReplyDelete

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