Our favorite Charleston (S.C.) Chapter members, Captain John M.
LeCato and his wife, Maurine, joined the Charleston Chapter in 1967. They
received 25-year pins in 1993 and were active members of the NRHS until the
time of the captain’s passing in 2004. Mrs. LeCato was offered an honorary
membership in the Charleston Chapter at that time and has continued to follow
the chapter activities.
A recent phone call from Mrs. LeCato
informed us that she wanted to rejoin the chapter and NRHS to lend her support.
It seems that a new record has been set for the Charleston Chapter and the NRHS
as Mrs. LeCato is rejoining NRHS at the age of 90. She may have been quietly
celebrating her 90th birthday on January 31, 2008 at her home in Charleston where she lives with her beloved
12-year-old cat, Pushkin, but the chapter is celebrating her rejoining a little
more flamboyantly by claiming bragging rights to her membership. After reading
about the Charleston Chapter’s involvement with the loan of the Best Friend of
Charleston to Norfolk Southern and
the chapter’s involvement with the design of Lionel’s 2007 model of the “Best
Friend,” Mrs. LeCato decided to make her support of the chapter more active by
rejoining NRHS.
Mrs. LeCato’s membership is a welcome
addition to our roster, not only because of our love for the LeCatos, but also
because of the memories that are called to mind when we remember the days when
the LeCatos were regular fixtures at out meetings and activities. Captain
LeCato was the editor of the chapter newsletter for 25 years. His articles
about the railroading adventures the LeCatos shared filled the pages of our
newsletters. Many of these articles are reprinted on our website http://www.BestFriendofCharleston.org
and are as entertaining today as they were originally.
After meeting at Maurine’s place of
employment as a stewardess aboard the passenger steamer, Berkshire,
in 1939, the Captain and Mrs. LeCato shared a remarkable life, full of love,
fun and adventure. They married in 1942 after the Berkshire
was converted to wartime use and they happily spent their favorite vacations on
the steam powered paddle wheeler Delta Queen. The LeCatos chose Charleston
as their home prior to his retirement from the command of the U. S. Naval Ship,
Victoria, in June 1973. Although he captained a ship, Captain LeCato never
learned to drive a car, so the LeCatos resided in the middle of downtown
Charleston where they were within walking distance of all of their activities
and their home was in a location where their friends could stop by for the
entertainment to be found there among the stories and collections the LeCatos
willingly shared.
We extend our best wishes to Maurine
on her 90th birthday and we welcome her into our family of railroading fans.
Thank you, Mrs. LeCato, for your continuing support of our cause.