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Congressional Daily Record
This section is a tribute, commemoration, or district-facing statement. It mentions members such as Frederica Wilson. Extensions of Remarks are statements submitted for the official record, even if they were not spoken live on the floor.
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October 9, 2026
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Extensions of Remarks
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Download official Extensions PDFReturn to issue contextHON. FREDERICA S. WILSON
of florida
in the house of representatives
Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following proclamation to commemorate Mrs. Bessie Mae Cato on her 100th Birthday:
Whereas, Mrs. Bessie Mae Cato was born on August 15, 1924,
in Quitman, Georgia, to Paris Holland and Mary E. (Williams)
Wright, and received her grade school education in Tampa,
Florida, where she was inspired by the great educator, Mary
McLeod Bethune; and
Whereas, Mrs. Cato moved to South Florida in the 1930s,
where she graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in
Miami in the 1940s, and went on to have an illustrious career
working at the legendary Sir John Hotel and the famed Harlem
Square Nightclub, where she served as head waitress, meeting
and befriending iconic figures such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah
Vaughn, Flip Wilson, Jackie Robinson, Sammy Davis, Jr., and
Sam Cooke; and
Whereas, Mrs. Cato was present during the historic
recording of Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square Nightclub
in 1963, a night that remains etched in music history as one
of the greatest live performances ever captured; and
Whereas, alongside her husband, Mr. Paul Cato, who served
as a personal assistant to Jackie Gleason and later became an
entrepreneur, Mrs. Cato herself became a successful Black
businesswoman and entrepreneur, opening and operating her own
hair salon, the “Gay Peree,” in the Overtown neighborhood
of Miami, where she served her community with grace and
dedication for more than 40 years until her retirement in
2002; and
Whereas, Mrs. Cato, now a centenarian, continues to be
celebrated as a matriarch, a trailblazer, and a beloved
figure in her community, who has witnessed and contributed to
a century of history, progress, and cultural evolution; and
Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Frederica S. Wilson,
a member of the United States House of Representatives,
representing the 24th Congressional District of Florida, am
proud to honor and celebrate the extraordinary life of Mrs.
Bessie Mae Cato, and we extend our heartfelt wishes for her
continued health, happiness, and blessings.