Unique bait and tackle shop opens

ELIZABETHTOWN – Growing up in Wisconsin, there were a lot of relatives who loved to drink and as one thing led to another, there were many who opened taverns. And also opened bait shops. Because they also loved to fish. There are many advantages to opening up a small business – especially if you intend on being a customer, which is what happened at 307 E. Broad Street in Elizabethtown. The Ugly Duck Bait & Tackle shop was opened. It is beginning to be a one-stop bait shop with fishing gear, bait, tackle, and even a clothing line. It is few and far between to find a bait shop in Bladen County with the exception of Walmart. In 1953, taking his first breath, there is no way that all could be written about Michael Dunn, born and raised in Long Branch area of Lumberton, NC “It was a country life,” Dunn said. “And it was on the farm and it was a good life where my grandparents raised me. My father was killed in the Korean War and my mother was the second oldest child of 13 siblings. When she moved out, I just stayed with my grandparents from when I was 4-years-old.” Jack Allen Dunn left his life in Korea and his mother, Cletus (Dale Fipps) who was brokenhearted in America. Michael Dunn was left living the simple and good life on his grandparent’s farm. He left Littlefield High School in 1970 and joined the Army under the Delayed Entry Program which required guardian consent. He took to the U S Army and was enlisted for 24 years where he wore many hats and retired as a 1SG. “I did many things,” he said. “I jumped out of airplanes, flew in helicopters and was on the trail as a drill sergeant. I started at Ft. Polk, La and later stationed at Ft. Jackson, SC after that time I moved to the active reserves, I ended up at Ft. Bragg and work in various capacities as instructor and administrative jobs. Somewhere around the start of the new millennium he met his wife and they are now getting ready to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary next July. “Actually, I met her about 30 years ago and had lost contact with her,” he said. “About five years later, I found her again.” Best thing that ever happened to me …. Crystal L. Connor was raised in the vicinity (Bladen County) and it wasn’t very long before she became Crystal Dunn. She graduated from Tar Heel High School in 1975. “I was working for an attorney in Lumberton when I met my future husband,” she said. “When I first met him, we were handling a (personal injury) case for him. We settled the case and then kind of lost contact with each other until about four or five years later.” Although there was not much interest the first time around, the second time was a charm and the couple got married while she was still employed at a local Law Firm located in Lumberton. “We’ve been together ever since,” she said. “I still work,” she said. “I’ve worked for an attorney for over 28 years. He (Michael) retired from the NC State Highway Patrol before going to work for a trucking company for approx. three years as a safety operations director at which time we decided to start our own business simply because he was on the road every week.” The couple used his experience with the highway patrol and trucking company and her experience with workman’s comp and the law firms to open their own safety consulting company which has been going since 2011. Within five months, she began to do the books and turned it into a full-time business, retiring from the law firm she was working at in Fayetteville, NC. “We started in a 9×12 spare bedroom, back-to-back, in 2011” she said. “Today we have eight people working for us.” Their daughter, Melissa Cooper and son-in-law Tommy Cooper who have gained a lot of experience in various areas on their own are not only family, but also business partners with the Dunn’s in the Bait and Tackle Shop.. Melissa Cooper graduated from Tar Heel and walked the same hallways as her mom while growing up. She said that the close-knit nature of the town lent to the feeling of family and that everyone knew everyone in town. Melisa is now a manager at Bath & Body Works and gained a lot of experience in the retail business which lends a lot of experience that she is heading into with the Ugly Duck Bait & Tackle Shop. Her husband, Tommy grew up in Lumberton and graduated from Lumberton High School. “I had no idea what I wanted to do after high school,” he said. “I spent some time at Robeson Community College and gained experience in criminal justice before I then went to work for the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. I started in the back, in the jail. I didn’t think I was going to make six months and then ended up going nine years.” After the sheriff’s department, he went to work for the State of North Carolina. As for how this whole family team got together to start a business from all their different areas came from a family think-tank of sorts. “We were just sitting around one day and talking about some things,” Cooper said. “We got a little pond right by the house we sat there talking. He (Michael) already had the building for a while and he wanted to put something in there and do something. I mentioned that I really don’t know anything besides commercial motor vehicle laws and fishing. That’s all I know.” One thing Tommy and Thomas do know is Fishing… They also started to talk about how it was so hard to get live bait nowadays and kind of tongue-in-cheek suggested that they should open a bait and tackle shop. “I thought we were just talking,” Cooper said. “When he said that he was getting ready to do it, I thought, ‘Uh-oh.’ I gave the OK and said we’ll try it.” The family doesn’t own the building where Ugly Duck is located that is owned by Mac Campbell. “What happened was the license plate agency was here for a long time,” Dunn said. “We tried to get the tag office, but we were not successful. We did, however, lease the building. I figured that as long as I have the building, I must as well use it for something.” Things were working out, until they weren’t and Dunn found out that he was facing some pretty steep medical problems. “We were talking with Tommy and Melissa and I knew he liked fishing,” he said. “I’d always liked it, but I’d just never done a lot of it. I don’t know. Just one day out of the blue I thought about opening a bait and tackle shop. I said that if we were going to do it, let’s do it.” Specialized bait stores are few and far between and to have one specialize is something that has gone by the wayside over the years. One has memories from “Chuck’s Bait” in the movie “Grumpy Old Men” to fully appreciate the mystique it once had in society. The family came in and did some remodeling while Dunn and Cooper have done most of the heavy lifting at the brand-new Ugly Duck Bait & Tackle Shop came to life. “The name was something that just came out of the blue one day,” Dunn said. “My granddaughter Hayli Cooper did have something to do with it. I gave her a list of names and she said she liked ‘Ugly Duck.’ I said, well, “Ugly Duck” it is. Hayli Cooper, already stepping into family input with ideas and ingenuity, goes to Tar Heel School and she is also the North Carolina State Secretary for Jr BETA Club. The business officially opened Aug. 1 although not many people have found it yet. The business is growing into a full-service, one-stop shop for everything fishing. From live bait to artificial bait, poles, rods and fly fishing. Also, there is a line for clothing including scent and color for the ladies who may or may not participate in the sport. Also, anything you can’t find there, they can order for you. A grand opening is still being planned for the little bait shop and it’s exciting for a community that has opened a new business that nobody else has. “We’ve got a grandson who is 19-years-old,” Thomas Cooper. Dunn said “He would fish 7-days a week if he could.” When he comes home from college, which is Wesleyan College up in Rocky Mount, he works at the bait shop, our granddaughter Hayli works here also. So, it’s something I’d wanted to do, but it’s something I wanted to leave them – because I just wanted to do it.” In the uncertainty of health issues, the family has bound together for a common thread or “monofilament” if you will. They have big ideas, too much left to do and a full inventory of top-of-the-line equipment and trendy wear to look good while you are out catching supper. “The health was just one of those things that caught us all off-guard,” Dunn said. “We’re dealing with it and each day is a little different, I have very good doctors at Chapel Hill and God is looking after me. “We take it day-by day,” Crystal Dunn said. “We are thankful we have him here one more day” and feel very blessed. Even in the midst of threat to the Dunn’s health, he was already looking for a way to take care of the family for the future which remains uncertain, but very hopeful.