Jim Begley, a Boy Scout from Cato, is trying to pay a permanent tribute to the deceased volunteers of the Cato Fire Department. Begley is working on the requirements for his advancement to the rank of Eagle Scout.

With help from the fire department, Dorothy Southard, the town historian, and Margaret Sweeting, the president of the Cato Cemetery, Begley will be placing special bronze plaques on the graves of all the identified firefighters.

“I thought this would be a great way to honor the firefighters,” Jim said. “I'm pretty much done with my research. Since 1919, 372 people have been members of the fire department; 100 have passed away and 54 of those are in Cato Cemetery. The whole idea of the project is to place the plaques on the graves.” The Cato Fire Department is paying for the cost of the plaques.

Jim's connection to the fire department goes beyond his Scout project. His father, Tom, has been a volunteer for 40 years.

“Jim's original intent was just to identify the department members who are buried in the Cato Cemetery,” Tom said. “An Eagle Scout project has to have a community impact. The scouts have to use organizational skills and put a lot of time into it. It's a substantial effort. Jim's in a good group with a good leader, Dave Barnello.”

Begley is a member of Troop 50, which meets at St. Patrick's Church and is sponsored by the Cato Rotary Club.

Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout is achieved by fewer than 5 percent of all scouts across the country.

The Eagle must live up to the principles of scouting, serve in positions of leadership or responsibility within the scouting organization and have earned 21 merit badges. Twelve of those badges must have been from scouting basics such as first aid, personal fitness, emergency preparedness and camping. After completing those requirements, the scout's performance is reviewed by a special scouting committee.

Begley has been an active scout since he was in the second grade. He is now also a member of the Order of the Arrow, a scouting honor society whose mission is “to crystallize the scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.”

According to Tom Begley, “The Cato Fire Department is one of those classic, small-town American organizations. It's a lot more than an emergency response team. It's a community focal point.”

Dorothy Southard agrees with that assessment. Referring to both the Cato and Ira fire departments, she wrote, “these departments also put on chicken barbecues, fish dinners for families after funerals and whatever else is needed in the community. And the auxiliaries keep the fire fighters in hot or cold drinks, sandwiches, etc., at fire scenes.”

The Village of Cato was originally called “Jakway's Corners,” after Dr. Jakway, the first permanent resident of the area who came here from Vermont in 1809. In 1918, a suspicious fire burned down most of the businesses in the downtown section. The buildings were replaced and the need for a more formal fire fighting operation became apparent. The Cato Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1919.

Jim said that some of the highlights of his scouting career have been his attendance at the National Jamborees, and he is looking forward to going to New Mexico this summer for a 50-mile backpacking adventure.

He has also requested anyone who has information about Cato Fire Department members who are deceased but are buried in cemeteries other than in Cato, to please contact him in care of the Cato Fire Department, PO Box 252, Cato, NY 130333-0252.