[Willie Green]

I recall reading once that superstitious association of cats with witchcraft and the devil led to their persecution in Medieval Europe, and was a contributory factor in the spread of rats, fleas and the Black Death. Granted, our modern sanitary infrastructure helps prevent similar plagues from occurring. Just the same, at a riverside location such as a junkyard, rats can indeed still be quite a health hazard if allowed to spread. The cats fulfilled a useful role in keeping these vermin in check.

Back in my college days, a buddy of mine had a summer job as a night watchman at a barge repair company down on the river in Pittsburgh. We'd occasionally go down to visit him at night, since his duties were actually pretty boring. As we'd walk along with him on his rounds, we'd assist him in one of his responsibilities: taking pot shots at the rats with .22s. (The owner's of this small company didn't mind that we visited, although they were somewhat concerned about safety and liability. Apparently we made a favorable impression as responsible young adults, and they were happy with our efforts against the rats. Those river rats get BIG!!!)