Albert’s Store

This store was located at the intersection of Route 10 and Everets Road in the Oakland community.  It was a general store that served the community for several years.  It was owned and operated by Albert and Winnie Glover.  The store was a two-story building with living quarters upstairs for the Glover family.  Dates of opening and closing are not available.  Scott Saunders says that he traded eggs with the Glovers for candy.  One egg would get him two pieces of candy.  This story must be true as it was retold at a memorial service for Al Saunders on February 26, 2011.  Ray Porter, living in Suffolk, was born and raised in Gloversville and passed along some of this information.

Duck Taylor’s Store

This store was located between Brown and Wren Roads on the right-hand side of the road from Suffolk, just before you reached Chuckatuck High School.  The store was owned by Mr. Frank Hall and run by him for a time, then operated by his brother, Henry Hall.  It was then rented to Duck Taylor.  Like most other stores, it was a general merchandise store that catered to the local African American community in the Chuckatuck and Oakland areas.  The store was opened in XXXX and closed in XXXX.  One particular point of interest was that it was the normal parking place for Buddy Chappel’s Taxi service from Smithfield.  On most Saturday nights, there would be dancing until the wee hours of the morning, as noted by Clarice Graves Whitfield, an active participant in the GCHF book project.

Oliver’s Store (Route 10 Near Oakland)

After helping to operate a family store in Longview, Bennie Oliver built this store in 1953 at the intersection of Route 10 and Moore Farm Lane. It operated as a grocery store until 1969, when Bennie began working for the highway department as an electrician, primarily servicing the Surry/Jamestown ferries. He reopened the store in 1973 as a part-time pool business, and in 1978, he left the highway department and opened it full-time. This proved to be a good decision and became a service to pool owners in the area, as it still is today. In 2025, Oliver’s Pools is operated by Travis and Tina Taylor.