Remembering two community leaders

I’ve always thought there were two kinds of community leaders: those who do things but delight in taking credit for them and those who work not necessarily behind the scenes but in a quiet manner, rolling up their shirt sleeves to just work for the community.

I would easily place John Nickle in the latter category.

When Susan and I moved to Lovell in 1984, the first people to welcome us to town and have us over for a barbecue were John and Lynda Nickle. I believe John was on the town council at that time, but with the death of Mayor Herman Fink, he quickly assumed the role of mayor.

And what a great mayor he was.

Though not a native, John believed in the future of Lovell with all his heart, and he planned for that future. As he worked on utility projects, for instance, he planned for growth, figuring that it would be easier to lay the groundwork for population growth at that time, rather than scrambling to catch up later.

He was perhaps the major player in the effort to develop the Shoshone Municipal Pipeline, providing drinking water to many area communities from the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. Again, John planned for future growth.

Though not a gushing promoter, John had great vision. He saw the incredible potential of the Pryor Mountain wild mustangs and the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, and he worked hard to promote and support both through the Big Horn Canyon Natural History Association and the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Association. He and Lynda were later major backers and leaders of the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center.

John helped organize the many volunteers who built the center just east of town, and he was on site daily working on the building.

As for the park, whenever Senator Cal Taggart would host an event to promote the hoped-for Bighorn Canyon Parkway to Fort Smith, John was right there with him. I always thought of him as Mr. Lovell.

John’s quiet manner belied a true community leader. He was incredibly effective at the local level, and soon the state luminaries noticed, as well. John became president of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities and was named to the Wyoming Economic Development and Stabilization Board. And while he worked at the state level, he always had our community in mind and often brought members of the boards on which he served to Lovell to show them around, proud of his community.

One of the great things John did as mayor was to hold an annual summer event honoring one of our local industries, figuring that, if a plant in a corporation’s chain of facilities had to close, they wouldn’t close the one in Lovell because of local ties. The Town of Lovell honored Georgia-Pacific, the bentonite plants and Western Sugar, as I recall, bringing officials in from places like Atlanta and Chicago to show them the area and fete their facilities and employees.

He developed Lovell Cable TV from the ground up and supported the Lovell American Legion and Little League Baseball programs. I could go on and on, he worked in so many areas.

In short, John worked hard to make Lovell and the north Big Horn Basin a better place to live. We need more John Nickles in our communities.

John T. Nickle. That name has a familiar ring to it for anyone working on community development in our area in years gone by. As leaders like John grow older and sometimes move to be close to family, as he did, I feel it’s important for us to remember the legacy they leave.

John was always one of my favorite people, a true gentleman who didn’t seek the limelight but rather worked hard to share his love of his community and make it a better place.

I will always remember John and what he meant to Lovell.

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And speaking of a fine gentleman, a word about Frank Hinckley. I was shocked to hear of Frank’s death about three weeks ago. I always considered Frank to be the sage of Cowley, a fascinating man who I could converse with on myriad topics, especially history.

Cowley folks will remember that Frank led the initial effort many years ago to renovate the historic buildings in Cowley, notably the Log Gym, Big Horn Academy Building and the former Academy Administration Building that became town hall and the Cowley Museum. He was right in there battling for Cowley history with the likes of Roland Simmons.

I can’t begin to top the wonderful obituary penned by Frank’s sister Maurine two weeks ago, but I will simply say that I really liked, appreciated and enjoyed this quiet leader, an erudite, fascinating man with many talents. To hear him sing was something special, as was his work for his beloved community.

Rest in peace John T. and Frank.