Louise Maddox runs a bait shop near Cherry Creek State Park that her mother, Virginia Elliot, opened nearly 70 years ago.
Catch up quick: Maddox, 76, took over Valley Country Tackle and Live Bait on South Parker Road in the 1980s and keeps it stocked with rods, reels, flies and bait.
- During this interview, Maddox paused to order leeches — business as usual.
Zoom in: “My mom always called this place her living room,” Maddox tells Axios.
- “My parents weren’t rich, but they had an Army barracks they moved here, and we lived in that — and then my mom saved money and built this business.”
Her father, Walter Staack, farmed 40 acres near East Quincy Avenue and South Parker Road — across from the Aurora shop.
The big picture: Maddox and her siblings must decide what to do with the business.
- Their mother’s will mandates that they sell it within 30 years of her death. She died nearly 21 years ago.
“I guess Mom wanted us to enjoy our lives.”…