Feline Residents of the Fort Smith
Trolley Museum
Katy
Katy was the
first "trolley cat" to
make her home at the Fort Smith Trolley Museum. She was a beautiful
stray calico who showed up at the car barn in December of 1997, quickly
winning
the
heart of museum founder Art Martin (who already had two cats at
home) with her affectionate ways. After much debate, she was dubbed
"Katy" in honor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Company (MKT),
which used the name "Katy" in its logo. This began a tradition of
giving all the feline residents rail-related monikers.
Katy was very outgoing and loving, and made sure
that every visitor to
the museum was offered a chance to pet her. Children delighted in her
presence there, a feeling which was no doubt mutual. Whenever
a school group came for a tour, Katy would be found in the midst of
them, meowing and purring. Because of Katy's popularity, the museum
began selling coloring books and other souvenirs adorned with her name
and likeness, making her the museum's official mascot.
Sadly, Katy disappeared in 2002. After two weeks, a
passer-by found her
collar in a ditch with the buckle mashed flat, and turned it in to the
museum. Since there was no sign of Katy, we assume that someone must
have taken her.
Frisco
Frisco, a dark
gray tabby, arrived
at the car barn a few months before Katy vanished. The two cats took to
each other before museum volunteers even noticed he was around, and he
was soon part of the trolley "family." He's the only male cat at the
museum.
It's easy to see that Frisco was named after Frisco
Freight Systems,
whose memorable motto was "Ship it on the Frisco!" The company's
namesake, however, does limited travelling and even less toting. He
spends most of his time hanging out
in the office with Casey.
KCS ("Casey")
A calico like Katy, Casey had the
good fortune to be
brought to the Fort Smith Trolley Museum from elsewhere, by choosing
just the right house at which to solicit food. Dr. Martin's daughter
Nancy had
been leaving food out for the stray at her home south of Fort Smith,
but decided she couldn't add another cat to the household, and asked
her father to take it. This was shortly after Katy had vanished, and
Dr. Martin thought Frisco
might like a replacement companion.
She was officialy named KCS for the Kansas City
Southern Railway, but
is called Casey (like the famous engineer!) for "short." She enjoys
spending most of her time in the office upstairs at the car barn, which
admittedly has the most comfortable seats. Casey should be approached
with caution, as she doesn't like too much attention, and will scratch
if provoked!
Smoky
Smoky arrived at
the museum in
December of 2003 and took up residence in the Frisco steam locomotive
#4003. Dr.
Martin
tried to give her a home inside the car barn, but she would scramble
madly for an exit each time she was brought in! Smoky
likes to keep lookout from her favorite spot high on the engine,
choosing to come down only
after she feels safe with her prospective visitor. She was named Smoky
for her dark gray coloring, and for her 199-ton iron home.
Smoky gave birth to four kittens in
May 2004, and
started
coming
in the building a lot more, for food and "to get away from the kids,"
as one volunteer put it. She was spayed once her kittens found good
homes.
Chessie
Chessie, the
newest feline
resident, is a mostly-black calico who arrived in the Spring of 2004,
slipping in and out for food for a couple of weeks before making
friends with Dr. Martin. She was named for the Chesapeake Railroad,
which was fondly known as Chessie.
Of the four, Chessie is the most approachable and spends the most time
in the car barn, slipping in and out of sight of the visitors.
With 4 trolley cats, the museum is now operating at "maximum capacity."
The cats are well-settled into their routines by now, and tolerate each
other well.
Back to Katy's
Crossing
Copyright © 2004-2006 All Rights
Reserved, Fort Smith Trolley Museum
Fort Smith Trolley Museum
100 South 4th Street
Fort Smith, Arkansas, 72901
(479) 783-0205
info@fstm.org
Owned and Operated By:
Fort Smith Streetcar Restoration Association Inc.
2121 Wolfe Lane
Fort Smith, AR 72901