Wiley’s Store

A small town general store grew into a thriving family business built on hard work, adaptability, and a love for serving the community.

Words by Micah Harrison | Images courtesy of Roberta Sides

Most people in East Walker County are familiar with Sides Furniture, but many may not know that it is the progeny of a general store that opened in the 1940s.

James "Buck" Wiley, born and raised in Dora, Alabama, found work at Jim Green's Grocery on Main Street. For several years, he worked there and as a butcher at the local commissary. In the late 1940s, Wiley decided to start his own business. He found a suitable building on Burnwell Road across from the railroad tracks, rented it, and opened Buck Wiley General Merchandise. True to its name, the store offered a variety of goods: groceries, fresh-cut meat, tires, animal feed, and Emerson televisions, among others.

After several years in the Burnwell community, Wiley began looking for a more central location. In 1955, he purchased a building across from the old Dora High School and moved his business there, renaming it Wiley Shopping Center. The new location provided additional space, allowing him to expand his inventory.

"He was always one to add to," Wiley's daughter, Roberta, says. "I think he just liked selling. He would sell anything he got his hands on."

Buck Wiley at the butcher counter

Along with groceries and hardware, the store carried shoes, fabric, and other essentials. An icehouse was added where customers could buy blocks of ice, and a café opened on one side of the building alongside Bobo's Barbershop.

Running a store quickly became a family affair. Wiley's wife, Willie Mae, worked alongside him while raising their children—Roberta, Paula, and Don. She cleaned, stocked shelves, and worked the counter. As they got older, the children pitched in, often helping with stocking and cleaning. Roberta, the oldest, learned bookkeeping at a young age. She began by double-checking the addition on account receipts, and by high school, she was managing the store’s books and credit accounts.

When Buck Wiley was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he eventually sold the business to Roberta and her husband, George Sides. The couple continued running the store, adapting it over time. Today, more than six decades later, they operate Sides Furniture with the help of their son, George Jr., and daughter, Gretchen.

Looking back on her years working in her father's store, Roberta recalls them fondly. "It was just the old-fashioned way of doing business," she said.

What began as a small general store in Burnwell has grown into a place where hard work, adaptability, and a commitment to the community have been passed down through generations. For Roberta and her family, it’s about carrying on the values her father built all these years ago. 78