The Legacy Of Giving Lives On

“Anyone who knows her, knows she could talk to anybody.” That gift of gab allowed Allison Nichols, who passed away in April due to complications from cancer, to be an integral part of the community. She served on the board for the Northeastern Arts Network, the Fort Peck Summer Theatre and PEO, kept the feet of Milk River Activity clients in amazing condition, would participate in Cuisine for the Cure and Festival of Trees, while also supporting any and all fundraising events she could.

“Every time my grandkids would come and visit, they would ask where I gotten a particular item. The answer was always ‘I bought it at a fundraiser.’ It was always part of our fun,” explained Nichols’ sister, Beth Flynn.

In addition to being involved in fundraising endeavors, organizations and bettering the community, Nichols was also about supporting local.

“She didn’t stray from local. She sent money to the Combined Campaign. Even though Sunday was her day at home; she didn’t talk to you unless she called you, no one was over unless she invited you, she still donated to the church every month,” explained Flynn. “Between us we always joked what we would do if we won the lottery, even though she never bought a ticket. She always said if she won the lottery, she would build a new pool and called it ‘Big Al’s Fun Park.’”

As a way to keep her commitment to the community and Nichols’ legacy alive, family and friends have been working hard to keep any funds received in memory of Allison as well as distribute her belongings locally as much as possible.

“If you knew Alison, you knew she planned everything. So when her medical stuff came up, she stated we had to start cleaning out her shop,” explained Flynn. The shop, which was Alison’s Pedi Place located in Glasgow, was organized by family and friends and a sale was had, also including items from her house, which she provided permission to be included in the sale.

Over $2,000 was raised from the event and it was decided to donate the funds to Milk River. According to executive director of the center Michelle Eliason, the funds will be utilized to update the transitional living facility, which is an ongoing project. Items that didn’t sell were also donated to Milk River for them to utilize during their annual Children’s Christmas Store. When it was realized a pedicure chair was still available, it was also decided to donate that to Milk River to allow the ability for the next person to step in and pick up where Allison left off to take care of the clients’ feet.

“She volunteered her time at Milk River for over 20 years. She cleaned up their feet every six weeks. She had as many as 32 clients in any given time. They will certainly miss her the most,” stated Flynn as she explained why Milk River was decided upon to donate the funds and items.

“Allison was so good to us. She was always there for Milk River, volunteering or fundraising. She was very near and dear to Milk River,” explained Eliason. “We are so thankful and sad she is no longer with us.”

Another local cause that will be receiving a benefit from Nichols’ generosity is Valley County Hope Project. “When we had her service, people made cash donations. Those who didn’t provide a designation were pooled together. We will be donating $450 from those donations to the HOPE Project,” explained Flynn.

Nichols was a collector of whale figurines, ever since receiving a small whale from her cousin when she graduated from Frazer High School in 1975. Upon her death, Flynn located a box filled with all kinds of whale figurines and statues, ranging in material of glass, wood, ceramic and even some that were paperweights. Being inspired by a card that Allison had which stated “Whale Of A Time,” Flynn decided to reach out to Andy Meyers of the Fort Peck Summer Theatre to have a fundraiser for the theatre with that same theme, “Whale Of A Time.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans are still ongoing regarding the logistics of the fundraiser but Flynn hopes to be able to provide the community a glimpse of the collection, finding items of the collection with new homes while also giving back to a good cause.

“We loved to go to fundraisers whether it was the Chinese Auction, for Milk River, Cuisine for the Cure. If we didn’t donate something to the cause then we always bought something,” explained Flynn.

One of Nichols’ last acts of community involvement before her passing was being a part of selecting the musical acts that would be a part of the 2020-2021 Northeastern Arts Network Concert Series. In January of this year, she attended the consortium in Fort Benton and was involved in the process of selecting the acts. The acts were just picked before the COVID-19 pandemic hit resulting in the cancellation of the season.

“The biggest part for her was the schools and providing them access to the arts. She loved going to the schools to see how the acts interacted with the students. She then reported back the students’ responses and the more excited the kids got, the better the choice it was for the area. She was just so comfortable talking to everyone. She really lit up the room,” explained Flynn.

Allison was known not only to help the community she loved, but also always had things readily available for family and friends, even if they didn’t know.

“Every time we got together, someone would explain how they didn’t make a specific dish because they didn’t have a particular ingredient or the right dish, and Allison would say ‘But I did!’ and the response would be ‘Of course she does!’ Why would a single person have so much!,” laughed Flynn.

Allison Nichols loved the community she was a part of and the community loved her involvement, her generosity and her ability to make things better. Though she is no longer physically with us, her involvement and spirit lives on.