Alley's General Store

Sitting a Spell With the Porch Pals
Thursday July 12, 2018

It’s called Squid Row, and it is the harbor’s number one repository for gossip, stories, memories and fishing tales of questionable veracity.

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Alley’s Store, West Tisbury Institution, Passes to the Ulfelder Family
Tuesday July 15, 1986
Polly Woollcott Murphy
This week for the second time in less than a decade, Alley’s Store, a venerable West Tisbury institution, is changing hands. Howard and Susan Ulfelder of Hingham are buying the store from Charlie and Teena Parton, who bought it from the Alley family six years ago.
 
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Historic Emporium Where Hitching Posts Lined the Road
Friday June 22, 1956
Charles W. Tucker
“Anything from a toothpick to a road wagon.”
 
This slogan was appended to the sign of a general store in a crossroads town in the mid-west. In fact, it was owned by a relative of the writer.
 
There isn’t much argument about the toothpicks. You can buy them in almost any store. But when it comes to a road wagon - farm wagon, that is - there is quite a bit of room for discussion. However, in a shed back of the store was a brand new Studebaker farm wagon.
 
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It’s “Sanderson’s” Still
Friday September 7, 1945
Vineyard Gazette
The sale of the S. M. Mayhew Company general store in West Tisbury, reported as in progress by the Gazette some weeks ago, was completed last week and the business formally changed hands Saturday night. Charles A. Turner, proprietor, turned the business over to Albion A. Alley, long his chief clerk, and thus the establishment, conducted in the same building and on the same site since 1858, changed hands for the third time in its history. The several proprietors who have owned and operated the store were Nathan Mayhew, the founder, blacksmith and Forty-niner, his two sons, Sanderson M.
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Up-Island Civil Positions Filled
Friday March 25, 1927
Vineyard Gazette
Official notification of their respective appointments as postmaster of Chilmark and West Tisbury have been received by Carl M. Whitkop and Charles A. Turner. Mr. Whitkop’s appointment for Chilmark was dated March 11, while Mr. Turner’s was dated March 19.
 
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West Tisbury
Thursday May 21, 1914
Vineyard Gazette
Miss Helena L. Athearn of Oak Bluffs is the guest of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Athearn.
 
West Tisbury people seem to be making changes this spring. Mr. Fred B. Athearn who has been employed as clerk in the store of G. G. Gifford has left for other employment. Mr. Walter I. Jenny has finished clerking the store of S. M. Mayhew & Co. Mr. Charles Turner of Bryantville and Mr. Benjamin Woodeman from Cambridge, have bought out the business of S. M. Mayhew and Co., and will carry on the same at the old site under the name of S. M. Mayhew & Co.
 
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Historic Transaction: Alley’s Store is Sold
Friday December 10, 1993
The Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust formally took ownership of Alley’s General Store yesterday, ushering in the beginning of a new era for the renowned Dealers in Almost Everything in the heart of West Tisbury.
 
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Graphic Report: Morning at Alley's General Store
Thursday August 17, 2017
Paul Karasik
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Smells Like Summer; Baby Skunks Hold Court on Alley's Porch
Tuesday July 1, 2014
Alison L. Mead

While Rhonda Backus was working inside Alley’s General Store last weekend she noticed a crowd gathering outside.

“It was a vibe of when the president drives by,” she said.

But instead of watching a motorcade, the crowd had gathered to see a procession of black and white baby skunks.

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Alley's General Store: 150 Years Dealing in Almost Anything
Thursday October 9, 2008

Three dollars can buy one hologram postcard, 12 atomic fireballs, or three peacock feathers at Alley’s General Store.

For those willing to shell out a bit more, the dealers in almost anything can provide nearly everything: organic pet shampoo, a clam rake, a Nunchuck (used for lassoing nuns up to 15 feet), pickled ginger for sushi, or a gallon of milk.

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