Mars Kiwanis sounds bell for final time
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.
Read the full story in the Butler Eagle.
