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Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Mullen’s Auto Body Shop still in the family after 62 years
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
“We take the dent out of accident,” answered Kevin Mullen when describing what goes on at Mullen’s Body Shop in Winfield.
Kevin and his brother DeWayne are the sons of the late Junior Mullen who opened the auto shop in 1963. It was located on East Ash in a building that was known as the “checkerboard store” and has been demolished. Then the business was moved to E. Elm on the North side, then to its present location at 101 S. Locust in Winfield.
Junior and his wife Caroline owned and operated the business together for nearly 35 years. Junior performed the auto body work and Caroline oversaw the paperwork. Caroline retired in 1998 and passed away in 2006. Julie Hartman-Dedic was hired to take on duties as “Girl Friday” for Mullen’s Body Shop.
Junior and Caroline did far more than own and operate their business. Both were active members of the community, involved in a variety of community activities and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Fall Festival, and the Fire Department, just to name a few. A comment in the Winfield Beacon stated, “It would take more than one paper could print all they have contributed to the community.”
It was common for Junior to continue mowing a neighbor's yard after finishing his own. They were described as “caring and kind people.” In 1998, the Chamber of Commerce honored them for their contributions to the community.
When Junior retired, after 36 years in the Winfield Fire Department he was honored with a supper and ceremony for his 36 years of service. Through the years, he had held several offices in the fire department including that of Fire Chief.
Junior and Caroline were the parents of three sons, DeWayne, Kevin and Rick. Two of their sons, DeWayne and Kevin, now own and operate Mullen’s Body Shop. Both boys started helping at the shop as soon as they could hold a hammer, learning auto repair from their dad, who passed away in 2002.
Their responsibilities increased with age and experience. DeWayne and Kevin purchased the shop in 2003 and have kept up the high standards set by their father. Neither DeWayne nor Kevin have received formal training, relying solely on the knowledge imparted by their father and practical experience. Or as Kevin said, “The School of Hard Knocks.”
Mullen’s remains the sole business in Winfield that has been continuously owned and operated by one family for over 62 years. Other employees who worked at Mullen’s through the years include Marvin Crawford, Richard Lauderdale, Todd Davis, Ed Wright, Jim Lee and Julie. Regardless of who else was in the shop, there has always been a Mullen there, too.
“There were many days the shop would close up when the fire alarm went of ,” recalled Kevin as all three were volunteers on the Winfield Fire Department.
Prior to 2009, the Mullen’s services included a wrecker. In 2009, the wrecker was replaced by a rollback truck, one that can hoist a car onto a flat bed and haul it instead of towing it.
Kevin mentioned that a recent manufacturing change has made it difficult to remove dents from newer fenders, as they are now made of plastic. The entire fender must be replaced because it isn’t possible to repair plastic.
Towing, repairing and painting vehicles are the three services offered at Mullen’s. Of the services, Kevin said the hardest one is matching paint colors to the cars. It is done visually, adding paint in increments of a tenth of a gram.
When asked, the largest and hardest painting job he did was painting an airplane. He painted the wings and fuselage of an airplane located at the Washington airport.
"The painting itself was easy, but transporting the equipment to the site made the job harder," explained Kevin. Kevin declined the request to assist with removing a vehicle from a muddy road. He said their most requested service is repairing damage to cars.
When asked what advice they would have for someone wanting to start an auto body shop, Kevin replied, “They better want to work!”
Both Kevin and DeWayne live in Winfield, DeWayne resides in a house next to the home he grew up in. Kevin and his wife Jeanne recently purchased and moved into the former home of Richard and Cathy Lauderdale.
Thanks to Kevin and DeWayne for sharing the info for this article. Some quotes came from the Beacon archives at the Winfield Library.
