In the spring of 2004, we had noticed a new calico cat coming in and out of the car barn for food. Although she was, a little shy at first, that quickly melted away after she became friends with the museum President at the time, Art Martin, and the other museum volunteers. The calico cat then decided to stay and become a permanent Trolley Cat. This new calico was given the name of “Chessie”, named after the famous mascot kitten of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway whose slogan was you’ll “sleep like a kitten.”
Chessie soon became a hit with the museum volunteers and visitors alike. She would make every effort to greet everyone she saw and became a well-known greeter cat at the museum who would always solicit petting and loving attention. When she was not being a greeter cat, she would often find a warm lap or sunny spot to occupy. Our museum President, Bradley Martin was very fond of holding Chessie in his arms when she wanted loving attention, which our Trolley Cats get plenty.
For many years, Chessie was a big hit with visitors and became well associated with the museum for our repeat visitors. Chessie was especially a big hit with our children visitors. With her gentle easygoing nature, she would always have time to get loving affection from children and adults who were children at heart. She would often walk the museum grounds and go from one building to the next look for a warm spot in the sunshine or for someone she had not said hello to yet.
In 2015, our museum volunteers had started to notice that Chessie was losing weight. A trip to the vet revealed that she had developed an overactive thyroid condition that would require medication in the form of a pill every day to help regulate it. Now most cat owners know that trying to give a pill to a cat is not an easy task, but with Chessie, it was much easier than most other cats when it came time for her medication to be administered which was a blessing. This stabilized her weight and she got back to being healthy again.
Unfortunately, in 2016, Chessie, in her elder years, had started to develop kidney failure. Although she was not in pain, our volunteers could tell that she had begun to slow down and not be as active. That being said she would still greet everyone who approached her and would return the affection with a loving purr. Chessie made her departure from the world and started her journey to Rainbow Bridge on January 17, 2017. She had a long and dedicated life as a greeter cat for the Trolley Museum that cannot be replaced. Our museum, volunteers and visitors were very blessed to have a cat such as her and she will be deeply missed for a long, long time.