Soup-er Sunday: The Legend of Chessie the Railroad Kitten

Name: Soup-er Sunday: The Legend of Chessie the Railroad Kitten
Start: 2025-02-23T12:00:00-06:00
Location: J. F. Glidden Homestead & Historical Center

Schedule

Sun, 23 Feb, 2025 at 12:00 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

J. F. Glidden Homestead & Historical Center | Dekalb, IL

Learn more about Chessie the Railroad Kitten, an adorable and popular corporate symbol, during the next Soup-er Sunday program at the Glidden Homestead.
At 12 p.m. on Sunday, February 23, at the Glidden Homestead, 921 W. Lincoln Highway, railroad and train enthusiast Bill Cummings will share the story of Chessie, a popular cat character used as a symbol of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). The image first appeared in the September 1933 edition of “Fortune” magazine and quickly captured the hearts of the nation.
Admission is $5 per person, free for Homestead members, and includes the program, a bowl of soup, and a house tour.
Cummings’ enthusiasm and passion for railroads and trains started when he was a young child and received his first Lionel train set. After retirement from Northern Illinois University, he joined the Blackhawk Model Railroad Club in Oregon and has been an active member since 2008. His program will cover how the railroad developed an advertising campaign around the kitten image and chose the name Chessie as a derivation of the railroad's name. The promotion proved widely popular and, in addition to national print advertising, grew to include calendars, clothing, and even children's books.
“Railroads are unfortunately not as big as a part of our lives as they were 50 years ago,” Cummings said. “So it’s important to share these stories and enjoy them.”
Soup-er Sunday programs support the J.F. Glidden Homestead & Historical Center in DeKalb, a not-for-profit organization working to preserve the home and barn, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, call 815-756-7904, visit www.gliddenhomestead.org or email [email protected]