ShawneeDispatch.com

Becky Nicks' schedule is a bit overwhelming to the outsider looking in.

There's the three volunteer groups she helps with at work; there's another few she belongs to at church. There's her family, of course: two sons, lots of nieces and nephews and many family parties and get-togethers that must be organized.

In addition to her time she volunteers at Old Shawnee Town, Becky Nicks devotes her time and energy to many other Shawnee projects.

And of course, there's the planning committee, of which she is chairperson, for that little community festival known as "Old Shawnee Days" -- the one that last year attracted about 80,000 total visitors.

"So I keep busy," Nicks says with a smile.

But Nicks says there's a simple reason for donating so much of her time.

"I feel the need to stay active, and I enjoy being around other people," Nicks said.

Nicks grew up on a farm in Buffalo, Mo., a town just north of Springfield. She was active in church, FFA and 4-H, especially in horsemanship activities. Her roots on the farm and the values she grew up with are part of what compels Nicks to remain active, she said.

"It's how we were raised: to respect other people," she said. "So I guess that might have been instilled in me."

In 1975, Nicks moved to the Kansas City area to work for the Burlington Northern Railroad, today known as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Some of her first volunteering efforts once she moved to Kansas began at work; she became involved with the "Harvey Girls," a group of volunteers named for the women who once worked in the Fred Harvey restaurants along the Santa Fe Railroad.

Nicks also helps coordinate her company's efforts to contribute to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk held in the fall every year, and the annual Christmas Train Ride, organized for underprivileged children.

Through St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Nicks soon became involved in the Shawnee community after marrying her husband, Dan Nicks. She has taught children's liturgy classes, and since being moved to the afternoon shift at work, she's joined the church group that volunteers at food kitchens once a month.

Nicks is in her fourth year as chairperson of the Old Shawnee Days Committee. Normally limited to two-year terms, Nicks said she decided to carry on the position for two more years because the annual festival had such an important place in the community and her family.

Nicks first became involved in Old Shawnee Days in 1998, when the Shawnee Historical Society decided they could no longer run the weekend-long event by themselves and asked that the committee be formed.

Dan Nicks' fond memories of the event led the couple to join the committee for Old Shawnee Days.

"The Nicks family was born and raised here, and my husband said 'We can't let it die!'" Nicks said.

Nicks also began helping with Historical Hauntings and the Pioneer Christmas, now Christmas Around Town, at Shawnee Town.

But it's her lead role organizing Old Shawnee Days for which she may be best known. She organizes several subcommittees, and when there isn't a chair for one of them -- like this year for the booths -- she takes it over herself. And she heads the search for the grand marshal for the Old Shawnee Days Parade.

She says her job is mostly coordination, performing as a liaison between everyone else on the committee.

"I tell them mine is the easiest job, but they don't believe me," Nicks said.

The board will nominate a new chairperson for next year's festival, but Nicks certainly will still be around, helping out. She'll be spotted elsewhere in town, too.

Nicks has continued her allegiance to Shawnee history; last year, she began volunteering during school tours at Shawnee Town once a week. She shows the children how to do laundry on a washboard and how to churn butter at the Hart House.

"It's exciting to do things the kids have never seen before," Nicks said.

Nicks also plans to help out the Shawnee Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee once Old Shawnee Days is over. With a schedule like hers, it's not surprising that Dan Nicks wonders where his wife of 28 years gets her energy.

"My husband thinks it's overwhelming, the things I get into," Nicks said. "But I get to help with the things that are important to me."