Scrapbook store owner looks to future after fire

Dickinson's store is on the ground floor of the Hastings Building on Central Avenue, next to Set Free Ministries' building, which was ravaged by fire over the weekend.
Firefighters kept the flames off the Hastings Building, but Dickinson's store and the apartments upstairs were affected by smoke and water.
About 10 tenants are still homeless, said building owner Garry Hackett. It will take repairs and the insurance company's go-ahead before they can move back in.
Mountains of Memories Scrapbooks didn't suffer extensive damage, Dickinson said. Some ceiling panels on the west side were destroyed by water, along with paper products in one section, and the smell of smoke lingers in the air. However, that minor damage might be enough to ruin her sensitive supplies, Dickinson said.
Because scrapbook supplies are meant to be in contact with irreplaceable photos and other sentimental treasures, they have to be pristine, Dickinson said. Customers pay a premium for materials that are guaranteed not to damage those one-of-a-kind items. She doesn't know if she can still make that guarantee on products that may be tinged with smoke and water.

Hobby and business

Dickinson was scrapbooking before scrapbooking was cool. She's been into the hobby for 20 years, moving to Great Falls from Cheyenne, Wyo., to buy the store from the previous owner last July.
"I just loved the area," she said.
She and her husband moved into an apartment behind the store. That's where they were — fast asleep — as flames spread through Set Free Ministries' building next door.
As it happens, the scrapbook store's previous owner is Hackett's daughter. She learned about the fire from her brother, a firefighter at Malmstrom Air Force Base, and knew Dickinson and her husband were inside.
Dickinson turned her phone down when she went to bed that night because she and her husband had just returned from Glacier National Park and were exhausted. She didn't hear the first several calls.
When the ringing phone finally woke her up, she saw the list of missed calls, and knew it was serious. She answered, and learned of the fire from Hackett's daughter.
When Dickinson gets down about the damage to her store, she reminds herself that she and her husband are lucky to be alive.
The count
Now, she's waiting to hear from her insurance company. The adjuster said her situation, with the specialized products, is unusual, so it will take a little time to make a determination on whether the goods are salvageable.
In the meantime, Dickinson has a big job ahead of her. She has to take inventory of every frame, frill, decoration and doodad in the store.
"There are 100,000 different products in here," she said. "So it's pretty intense."

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