MARS — In 80 years, the Mars Kiwanis Club bell sounded countless times, signaling the end of the club's meetings.

On Tuesday, it rang for the last time.

After eight decades of service to Mars and its surrounding communities, the Kiwanis Club is ceasing operations. According to John Watson, a member since 1992, membership had dwindled to just six active members and 13 total.

“When I joined, there were around 26 or 27 members,” he said. “In the heyday in the '50s and '60s, there were 50-plus members.”

Those members would meet once a week in churches around the area, in addition to coming together for various community projects and fundraisers.

However, Watson and other club members said gaining and keeping members has gotten harder for the club, as well as similar service organizations.

Time once donated to community service and fellowship has now shifted to family activities, professional development and other pursuits. Meetings eventually decreased to once per month.

“Once you cut down, that's the end,” Watson lamented. “We saw it coming for years.”

The organization was founded in September 1938 during a time of poverty associated with the Great Depression.

According to Bill Swaney, a longtime member who joined in the early 1960s, the intent was to help members of the community facing hard times. The club filled a void that was later filled by government assistance programs.

“People didn't have this and didn't have that, so clubs were formed to help people get glasses or go to the dentist,” he said.

Swaney said it was that drive to give back, as well as an interest in learning more about his community, that drove him to join not long after moving to the area. He said at that time, interest was so high that membership was limited to two people from any one profession.

“They had so many people wanting to be in,” said Swaney, who served as treasurer of the club for many years.

Over time, the needs of the community changed, Swaney said, forcing the club to change along with it.

“There was less and less need for (charity), so our club turned into being a community club,” he said.

The club began focusing on hosting events and fundraisers for its causes.

They included Easter egg hunts, Night at the Races events and Halloween parades. The club also used to host a three-day flea market that was its biggest fundraiser for many years. It began giving scholarships to students and helping families who experienced a fire or other catastrophe.

Kiwanis helped build the first pavilion at the Adams Township Park and a new front door at the Mars Library.

“Whatever the community needed, we were there,” Swaney said.

As the club changed to meet the community's needs, it also changed in its makeup.

For a period, the club did not allow women. That eventually changed, and in the years following women came to serve as president. According to Shelly Watson, the first female president of the group, joining when she and John Watson moved to the area made it feel like home.

“It helped welcome us to this community when we moved here in the '90s,” she said. “It's meant great deal to me and my husband.”

John Watson said it was odd at first, joining a club where the majority of members could have been his grandparents' age. However, he quickly warmed up to the group and the work behind done.

“Too often we take from the community, but we don't often give back,” he said. “It felt good not doing something for yourself and just helping out and working with other people.”Watson said he also grew personally through his involvement with the club, as he became friends with the members and began learning about the history of Mars.“I probably learned something from each of them, and it made me a better person,” he said. “It made me more compassionate.”The family connections don't stop there. May Jo Phillips, Swaney's daughter, said she joined in the mid '90s after growing up around the club. As a child, she remembers serving dinner at the weekly meetings at Mars United Methodist Church, and serving pancakes at the Fourth of July breakfast. The decision to join later was an easy one.“I just kind of fell into it,” she said. “Anything where you're giving stuff away and helping someone out, that's a rush.”Phillips, a teacher at Mars Middle School, also works with the Key Club at Mars High School. The group has fundraising events of its own, and also has helped the Kiwanis Club with monthly bingo games.She said being able to serve the community alongside her father was something she cherishes.“I'm busy and my dad is a busy guy, so it was always nice to see him at least once a week at meetings,” she said.Though it officially disbanded Tuesday, the club's impact will continue to be felt in the community.John Watson said $700 will be used to keep the bingo game going at the St. John Community care center, with the help of the Key Club. Families in need will be given gift cards from a $2,000 pool, with additional money donated for local events. Remaining funds will be given to the Mars Historical Society, as will the club's records, banner and other items.Additionally, club members said they will continue to serve the community in the spirit of the club.“Just because we won't have a Kiwanis, there's still plenty of other things to get involved in,” Shelly Watson said.Swaney agreed.“I'm here to help out any time I can whether I belong to a club or not,” he said.