BARNUM — Since January of this year, Cassie Dillon has been mayor of the town of Barnum, population 191. She’ll tell you she’s still a “little wet behind the ears,” but that myth is soon dispelled if you’re lucky enough to catch her for a conversation between her mayoral and teaching lives.

“I served on City Council for two years first,” said Dillon. “The mayor position became open, and I was already pretty involved, so I thought why not mayor?”

Indeed — why not?

“My roots go deep here,” said Dillon. “I was born in Gilmore City and grew up around the Pioneer area. My grandparents were lifelong residents of Barnum. My grandpa, Joe Collier, was the mayor of Barnum for many, many years. I know that my grandfather had an article written about him in a newspaper, so it’s kind of funny how life takes a similar turn a generation later.

“There are five generations on my mom’s side who have lived here, and my dad’s parents lived here. He went to school in Barnum,” she added. “Long story short, I’ve spent a great deal of my life in Barnum before moving here. The man I married lived in Barnum his whole life. It was meant to be.”

Dillon has been married to her husband, Eric, for eight years.

She has a specific memory about her Grandpa Collier — during his tenure as mayor — getting phone calls about dogs running loose in town.

“When we’ve dealt with zoning questions, it’s been neat to see his signature on documents he worked on back in the 1990s,” said Dillon.

Apparently, his term was not relegated entirely to canine crime.

“While I was on City Council, it was easy to see the potential in this little town,” said Dillon. “When you come to Barnum, you’ll notice right away that we are a vibrant community; we are not allowing our town to be anything other than the best it can be. We have friendly neighbors and safe neighborhoods. I love this town, and I wanted to be in a position of leadership.”

Being proactive, Dillon said, is the most important aspect of being mayor.

“My main goal is to provide a safe and loving environment to raise our kids,” said Dillon. “On the block where we live, kids can ride up and down the street on their bikes because people know to drive slowly. There’s no better way to live.”

The coincidence of Dillon and her grandfather both having articles written about them may be “funny” to Dillon, but it’s easy to see why she is garnering as much attention.

“This is our sesquicentennial year, so it was easy to get involved quickly,” said Dillon. “We’re celebrating our 150th year as an incorporated town. We’re making some renovations to the park and toys there, making improvements to the playground, painting the shelter, and working on signage. All of this is taking quite a bit of the community’s time.”

In the end, Dillon sees her position as gathering the community together for the benefit of Barnum as a whole.

“With the current generation of people, everyone seems to be behind their phones,” said Dillon. “We need to know our neighbors as well as we did back in the day, so I’m looking forward to creating community events beyond the sesquicentennial.”

Dillon said that a portion of her mayoral position is just like that in any other town.

“We spend time on payroll, approval of minutes, and responding to citizen complaints — it’s all part of the city service,” said Dillon. “A lot of time in small towns, we don’t have black and white ordinances; a nuisance isn’t a nuisance until somebody complains. With the transition of me as the new mayor, some of the previous complaints are resurfacing again. Reworking ordinances to make them as concise as possible will help to solve some of those issues.”

Dillon has been a teacher in Gilmore City for 13 years.

“I’m a teacher-leader within my building as well,” said Dillon. “I have a lot of experience with events and functions. My teaching experience has prefaced being a mayor in that I have led meetings and gathered people around an important purpose and cause before. It’s made community leadership a natural fit.”