Lococo House Finds a Way to Help Military Families

A few years ago when Rhona Lococo heard from a young couple who were discussing whether the husband should sign up for another combat tour in Iraq, she was sympathetic. After all, it was a hard choice, one many military families agonize over.

“They had children and she was just frazzled,” Lococo recalled of the wife. “They were spending a couple of days alone, away from everything, making this decision whether he would go back for a third deployment.”

So Lococo, co-owner of Lococo House, a family-owned Fifth Street bed-and-breakfast, did what came naturally to her.

She offered them the room for free.

“It just seems like the thing to do,” said the 70-year-old.

It still seems that way and now Lococo wants to do more. On May 20, her establishment will set aside free rooms for four wives, fiancées, sisters or daughters of soldiers serving in combat. The offer is also open to those taking care of an injured soldier. Participants will be provided with dinner, an overnight stay and breakfast the next morning. They will also receive a number of extra gifts including specially made candles from ScentFromHome, a massage from Massage by Diane and a facial from Facials by Peg.

The whole package is free of charge.

In fact, Lococo is still working with other local businesses to secure even more complimentary gifts.

She originally came up with the idea while watching popular daytime television host Oprah Winfrey, who was speaking with First Lady Michelle Obama about ways to help military families.

“There is a lot of emphasis on military guys but there is a lot of pressure on the wives too because their husbands are in the service so they are being both momma and dad to a family,” Lococo said. “They sometimes have husbands who come home injured physically or mentally and require care, maybe for the rest of their lives. It’s a big responsibility.”

She said she was also inspired by Winfrey’s own well-known generosity, something she said is “contagious.”

“I thought this would be a way to thank the women and to thank the men too, by thanking the women,” she said.

But Lococo’s new concept wasn’t just drawn from prominent figures. It also owes a great deal to longstanding traditions at Lococo House itself. Starting with that first young military family, Lococo, who runs the establishment with husband Leo, son Lenny and daughter-in-law Dolores, has been giving free or discounted rooms to military personnel in need wherever she can.

The military thank you night for wives also draws on similarities to another idea Lococo had, a pajama party-style evening dubbed “Girl’s Night Out.” That promotion became so popular it now represents a sizable chunk of the bed-and-breakfast’s income. She thought the concept could be expanded.

“I thought what about a pajama party for military ladies,” she said. “It would be 24 hours away from caring for someone, giving them a little R and R.”

But while Girls’ Night Out brings in income, the free-of-charge military appreciation event is to give something back – specifically, time away from worries and problems. She said she’s noticed that so many of the women who stay at her establishment comment that it’s “back to reality” when they depart.

“The whole house is theirs while they are here,” she said. “We just want them to take a little break from reality.”

She said her business model was originally inspired by European-style bed-and-breakfasts.

“You actually share the house with your guests,” she said. “You don’t have special quarters or live next door. When they’re in the dining room, you’re with them. If they are in the living room you might be with them. You are actually sharing. It’s like having friends over.”

Those friends often include people from all around the nation and even the world. A visiting tourism expert from Russia, medical students from Kenya, a woman from the Philippines in for computer training. As Lococo sits in the dining area of one of the bed-and-breakfast’s two stately buildings on Fifth Street, she is full of stories about the guests who have passed through over the two decades during which the operation has run in St. Charles.

She also enjoys dealing with the bicycle enthusiasts who come to ride the Katy Trail. The Lococos have even driven out with a few of them to the other end of the 225-mile route to drop them off with their bikes for the ride back to St. Charles.

“We’ll say ‘Alright, we’ll race you home,’ jokes Lococo with a smile. “We always beat them.”

She said so far she’s only had one booking for the May military event but believes the other three spots will fill as word gets out. Meanwhile, she said she’s been distributing flyers to area businesses and working with a host at a local radio station, the and a military wives group called Shadow Warriors to promote the idea. She’s already planned future military appreciation evenings for once every other month setting dates through January, though she’d be willing to do it once a month if interest warrants.

She’s also open to hosting a similar idea for men with wives serving overseas.

All of it may seem like a lot of work and effort but there’s no doubt why she does it.

“There are lots of things going on in the world and I just want this to be a haven,” she said.

For more information on Lococo House, call 636-946-0619.