Lions Club comes together for pedal pull

BATAVIA ? While the Batavia Lions Club he?s belonged to for many years has recently disbanded and his once thriving hometown, like many rural, Midwestern towns, is now limping along, Neal McMullen won?t be deterred from enjoying Batavia Days this weekend.

The Lions Club traditionally has sponsored the annual children?s pedal pull. Sagging membership and poor attendance forced the club to disband July 1. However, members decided they?d come together once more to man the event for Batavia Days. McMullen believes it was a good decision.

?We?ve always sponsored the tractor pull in the past, and so we went ahead and sponsored it this year,? he said.

McMullen grew up in Batavia; he?s lived there all his life. A retired farmer, McMullen and his wife, Cheryl, raised two sons in rural Batavia. He loves his community, and he readily admits he likes being part of Batavia Days.

?Batavia Days is just a get-together where all of the local people get together and enjoy the social end of being together. You see people you haven?t seen for a while. It?s a local event,? he said.

?I think Batavia Days is wonderful,? he continued. ?There are a lot of fun activities for the kids ? the parade, kids? games, the tractor pull. There is good food, lots of food. It?s just good, clean, wholesome fun.?

In McMullen?s mind, it?s something the country could use more of, acknowledging that small-town America isn?t what it once was.

?If you drive through any small town now you can see that the businesses have left. They were some great supporters of small communities. When they leave, it makes it hard,? McMullen said. ?It?s not just a change in the rural towns of Iowa. It?s happening all over.?

McMullen said he?s no expert and if he had to explain why towns like Batavia are no longer the hubs they once were, ?it would just be a guess on my part.? He has a few theories, though.

?I?d say everyone works outside the small towns now. Small towns are just bedroom towns. People work in county seats, in bigger towns, in cities. Industry has gotten larger. Even farms are tremendous in size compared to when I started farming. You take all of that, and there are fewer people living in rural areas,? he said. ?It?s just a change of times.?

It?s a change McMullen admits he?s not happy about.

?I wish it wasn?t happening, but I can?t change time,? he said.

For now, though, McMullen is committed to hanging on. You?ll find him helping kids weigh-in at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the Batavia Pavilion for the pedal pull to follow at noon.

You can bet he?ll be smiling.