I remember begging my Daddy to let us take the ferry to cross the canal instead of going over the swing bridge. Sometimes he would give in if we had time to spare and were going to Ft. Kobbe. I remember that there were two ferries that ran every 15 or 20 minutes or so (I'm not sure of the turn about time, but one never had to wait long to cross). It was fun to see the other ferry pass us going the opposite direction as we crossed over. It made me sad when they discontinued the service. They built the Thatcher Ferry Bridge over that same spot. My students loved hearing about the two different signs that were put on the bridge approaches. For a time the sign on the Panama side read "La Puente de Las Americas". I'm not sure what it is called now, but that bridge changed things forever. The swing bridge stays swung open most of the time and is seldom used.




6-1-2000
© Carol Torstenson
CHS "70"
Coco Solo, CZ
There wouldn't be enough time to go through them all. I was born down home in 52 and left in 71. One of my fondest memories was packing up my motorcyle with my diving gear and head out to Galeta Island . That was absolutely the coolest place to dive, swim, just hang out under the bohios. You couldn't ride your bike too much when the red crabs were doing their ritual though!!! Swimmimg and playing down around the Breaker's Club, fishing all aroung that area behind the Elementary School and by the boat ramp pier #1. I've also heard alot of wind in my life but none like the beautiful Tradewinds blowing through the Palms. Coco Solo had a very tiny Club House in the Commissary and we used to terrorize it pretty good on Saturday Matinee days. The Good Life!!! txpanama




6-3-2000
© Barb O'Neal Braun
CHS "64"
"Having to walk through that little pool of "stuff" (disinfectant)? before getting into any CZ pool.
The vendors on bikes selling green mangos and those little brown paper packets of course salt out side the bus area at OLD Cristobal High.

The awesome all metal merry-go-round, 12 feet tall, behind Cana Place in Margarita where you could get up enough speed with 20 kids running around it and pushing to make it possible for at least eight kids to be hanging on up top with their full bodies flying out behind them.

Junior high kids having dance parties on someone's pation every other weekend -twisting the night away.

Running to cover your tropical fish bowls/tanks when you hear the DDT truck coming and then running out yourself to play in the fog and chase the truck.

The maid telling your parents you have the devil in you.

The blue crab migrations -- you'd be afraid to walk outside barefoot as they'd be in the carport, just everywhere, with huge claws.

The royal blue butterfly migrations -- amazing.

Playing Yankees vs Rebels, or cowboys and Indians, or just good guys -- bad guys, in the tall sawgrass in that giant field in the middle of Margarita. These games would go on for days on end. There was no TV and it wasn't missed.

Water-skiing on the Chagres with the Gilleys.

Going fishing with Poss Parker, on the breakwall, on reefs, down the coast on the boat -- wonderful.

Sliding down any hill on cardboard or a palm frond.

The most incredible Easter sunrise services of anywhere else in the world."




6-4-2000
© Liz VanZandt
I remember eating slices of pina until your mouth was full of canker sores. Or spending my entire allowance on tomatoes from the Chinese gardens and devouring one after the other. The stalk of bananas which cost 50 cents which hung outside the house in the laundry area.

Swimming in the drainage ditches in Curundu.

Girl Scout meetings in those old buildings just before entering Curundu. The squabbles between the leaders ended with us having no troop and disbanding.

A bunch of us catching the bus to go to a movie in Balboa. The bus meandered all through Albrook, a couple of stops by the gate at Ft. Clayton before turning around, crossi

The cool breezes coming through the windows in the sanctuary at Balboa Union Church. The pie socials on the grounds outside the church. Singing Christmas carols on the steps at night, holding candles, while Mrs. Thibideau played the church organ to accompany us. Potluck dinners in the church.

Going with my mother down into Panama City either to the open market down by the sea wall or stopping at that place when you could buy fresh made ice cream--two flavors--coconut or pineapple. Best tasting ice cream.

My mother bargaining in the Hindu markets with the man who always sang out, "Making friends! Losing money!"

My dad all for driving over to the Canal where we were allowed to stand right next to the locks and watch them fill up with water. Watching the ships going through. Wondering about them. Where they had come from and where they were heading. The ships that came into Balboa. The battleship U.S.S. Iowa. Being allowed to go on board. Also the aircraft carrier Roosevelt which barely squeeked through the canal. Standing on the elevator which lifted planes up top.

Standing in front of the Balboa Post Office waiting to see Queen Elizabeth drive by.

Picnics on Sosa Hill. Sunday afternoon concerts in the parks in Albrook, Amador, etc. Bear claws bought at the Balboa Clubhouse on a Saturday night for tomorrow's breakfast.

The woman who had a small shop out by the Balboa pool. She sewed and did alterations.

Walking barefoot everywhere and not worrying about stinger grass, lizards, snakes or anything. Walking along the sea wall in Panama City.

Trips to El Valle, Pononome, Fort San Lorenzo. Spending the day at Hotel Washington.

Buying jumpropes and doing DoubleDutch.

Trips to Barra Colorado Island before the Girl Scout troop disbanded.

Trips to Santa Clara, Toboga Island.

Dinner at the club in Amador.




6-4-2000
© Ernest S Laurenzi III (Mike)
CHS "86"

Did you ever play drop the dime to see who pays for the round. Taking a glass of water,dampen the sides and spread a paper napkin across the top and place a dime in the center. Now each one burns a hole around the dime with your cigarette and the one who's hole caused the dime to fall loses?

Did you ever have a bowl of chili at the outside bohios of the Atlas Garden before calling it a night to head home?

Did you ever go see and oogle Jade Rodora doing her Beauty and the Beast Act? It was known locally as the rape of the ape.

Did you ever park with a date on Miraflores Hill and the next day go with her to the Balboa Pool where every one laughed at how you both were covered by mosquito bites? At Easter time did you ever camp out on the sabanas near Penonome,Chitre and Santiago? Sleeping on cots,gazing in wonder at so many celestial bodies, and listening to the yodel calls of native horsemen seeking companionship with other riders as they wound their way home after a big night in town.

Did you ever enjoy a Chinese meal in that little 2nd story restaurant deep in Sal-si -puedes?. Chicken[Iguana] Chow mein of course.

Did you ever have the pleasure of quaffing the coldest beer in town at the Hotel Central after having walked all the way from "J"St.? Stand outside the Quarry Heights Theater and watch the movies through the large screen side?

Did you ever experience the powerful emotion of peace and quiet while a patient in the old Gorgas Hospital as you stood at the top of the stairs where the Gorgas plaque was while looking out over the lights of Panama City?

As a young aviation fan and very taken by the stories of aerial daring do over the Western Front did you do the monthly trek to Oller's Kiosk, at the Balboa RR Station, to buy the latest issue of "G-8 And His Battle Aces"? For some reason it was not sold in the Clubhouse? Did you ever wash your coveralls in 100 octane avgas and wonder why you had skin problems later?

In BHS when first learning social drinking did you ever spill a Sloe Gin Fizz[RED] down the front of your white Tux jacket.? For a beginner they tasted mild and sweet but one experience was enough so CC and Ginger didn't look as bad when fingers slipped.

smell of that Gardenia Coursage you gave your first true love, for the prom at the Tivoli, still waff back in your memory?........G.C.




12-21-2000
© Robin E. Harrison Walker
(In response to George Chevalier's posting above....)

Ah George, the corsage. Yes. Did you ever put a gardenia in blue or red ink and see what happened? Always have a gardenia plant even up here in the north. I love the fragrance.

Ever go to Morgan's Gardens for the St. Luke Carnival?

Do you remember clothesline rope and smell of drying clothes? Remember the maids draping stuff over bushes to dry or bleach them in the sun?

Remember maid's rooms?

Remember smelling rain. I vividly remember sleeping on the porch at 717 B Prado and hearing and smelling a downpour late at night.

I also later remember my sister Christine sleep/talking to me> Wow, was that funny! I remember being in my cousin Joan's wedding at Union Church to Francis Conover. I was about fifteen or sixteen and looked so grown up back then. Also skinny. (that's a dream of the past).

Do you remember getting the nylon net in color of your choice, the taffeta and thread and then going to the "dressmaker" behind the Balboa Pool? She had a collection of various things relating either to the Royalty of England and also the Dionne Quints (which were about six at the time).

I remember the OLD Balboa Theater and the open lattice-work for ventilation. My Granddaddy was projectionist. He also called Bingo numbers upstairs in the clubhouse. I remember going with my Grandmother and to this day, have her bingo buttons in a chamois bag. I remember hoping he would call my number because he was my grandfather.

I remember getting my first permanent upstairs in the Balboa Clubhouse. I remember Klim Shakes and cherry cokes with some wise-acre guy flicking his cigarette ashes in it to make "Spanish fly" whatever that was. It didn't work.

I remember the strong smell of chlorine in both the pool and also the Balboa girl's locker room and that long pool of stinky chlorine water. I remember getting those flour sack gym suits and hating them as the shoulder buttons were invariably missing or slipped open. This was in the days BEFORE Dr. Ben Casey made the open shoulder look popular on TV. (You younger kids wouldn't remember the early TV).

I remember Movietone News and watching film from the "front" and seeing the displaced persons. I remember realizing I could READ by being able to read the captions under them

I remember bouncing balls and singalongs in the movies, and short subjects (a thing of the past in movies now). I remember Saturday morning matinees for fifteen cents and watching marathon cartoon showings. I remember the Balboa Cry Room...always good to neck in....

I remember ushers with flashlights, cheap cigarettes, CC and Ginger or Scotch and Ginger (which I still drink much to the chagrin of the purists).

I remember Danny G renting a huge 12 cylinder Lincoln just so he could impress me. then turning back the odometer before turning it back in.

I remember Grace Joustra, Joanie Read and myself chasing all over Balboa in Grace's Nash Rambler (with the reclining seats). I remember my first Sci Fi Movie, "From the Earth to the Moon", I remember seeing my only movie on a base, "The Thing" at Amador. I remember Joanie's MG midget. Both these girls were class of '54, one year ahead of me, but my very best friends.

I remember scavenger hunts and Rainbow Girls rummage sales in Laboca. "Miss, could you set that aside for me?"

I remember only one earthquake when I was around thirteen. It cracked the wall of the admin. building a little.

I remember shifting manually and hating it. Hating driving and failing the test twice.............




1-02-2001
© Jim E Phelan
This is a joke regarding:
"When they were building the "new" Gorgas Hospital"....
When some doctors were told to contribute to the construction of a new wing at Gorgas Hospital, the allergists voted to scratch it; the dermatologists preferred no rash moves; the gastroenterologists had a gut feeling about it; the microsurgeons were thinking along the same vein; the neurologists thought the administration "had a lot of nerve"; the obstetricians stated they were laboring under a misconception; the ophthalmologists considered the idea short-sighted; the orthopedists issued a joint resolution; the parasitologists said, "Well, if you encyst"; the pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!"; the pediatricians said, "Grow up!"; the proctologists said, "We are in arrears"; the psychiatrists thought it was madness; and finally, the surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing. The radiologists could see right through it; the internists thought it was a hard pill to swallow; the plastic surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter"; the podiatrists thought it was a big step forward; the physiotherapists thought they were being manipulated; the urologists felt the scheme wouldn't hold water; the anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas; the cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no; and the otologists were deaf to the idea. Needless to say, the idea of contributing to a new wing didn't fly!




01-09-2001
© Dennis Tully
I am from the Atlantic Side and one of few but we had some good time too. I was the marbles champ on 6th Street in Margarita. I also played Mumbly Peg quite a bit. Terry Conley and I played a variation of the knife between the legs and it was with those big darts with the metal points. I had one stuck in my leg more than once.

We also thought nothing of going around barefoot in the stickers. They are killers now. OUch!!!! Roller skating was a blast. You never knew what was coming. There was an old grade school by the gym we would skate and ride bikes under. We came together more than once. Never did seem to bother us.

We would also build race boards with skate wheels or baby buggy wheels. Of course the only way they stopped was to hit something or run off into the grass where it stopped but you didn't. Oh, those were the days. How about playing Prince Valiant and riding under a tree and grabbing hold of the branch. That did not work to well sometimes.

I also remember all the good times going into the jungle. We would watch the military have their manuvers and they would never know we were there. We could also drink the water and not have it affect us. Both my parents got typhoid fever from Andy's farm and spent Christmas in the hospital. The Shipley's were suppose to take care of us. That did not work out to well. I do remember Julia Shipley very very well.

Well enough of memory lane for now from the Atlantic Side. I really enjoy hearing all of the memories whichever side they are from. Have a very happy Holiday Season.
Dennis Tully, Sr.
Old Cristobal
New Cristobal
Margarita
France Field
Now Bartow,FL




01-09-2001
© Bea Reyes/Gunn
I remember skating down the 4th of July sidewalk from the Instituto Nacional all the way to Calle Domingo Diaz, where I lived. That street was one block down from Morrison's. It's a miracle I didn't break my neck. I think all the kids got skates for Christmas as you will see umpteen kids on skates on Christmas day. I also used to skate at Ancon Post Office (inside). It was mighty slippery, but fun.

I also remember living on the third floor of this apartment building on Calle Domingo Diaz and my mother sending a bucket down to vendors what were selling tamales for Christmas.

Also, my brother's giving my mother a Christmas present of comparsas singing down on the street for her. Gosh, I really wish we were back to those times again. Age of innocens, playing marbles, racing toothpicks on the streets on the rain gutters after a good rain, the bomberos releasing the water from the fire hydrants and us splashing around. Skating in Ancon gym. Well, that's enough reminiscing. (lived in Panama until I was 14 so a lot of my memories are my happenings in Panama, then we moved to Balboa, Curundu, Diablo, etc.)




01-09-2001
© George Chevalier
Skating at the Admin in Balboa...

From the early 1930's until after WW11 started one of our greatest pleasures was rollerskating around the three sides of the Admin Bldg. We did not use the vehicle entrance side where the covered entrance arch was. This was a ritual Friday night affair during the dry season and school year. Starting at dusk and continuing up to around 11PM as I remember. Older skaters would start those ultra long crack the whip lines and us younger types would be hanging on for dear life to the rear and hope we didn't get projected airborne out over those steps and down that long bank to the school and Prado level. It was also common for lover boys to sneak off to the balcony porches of the bldg with their girls. I really wasn't into that for the skating absorbed me entirely[of course].

We enjoyed watching the Army Air Corps fighter planes passing at eye level by us on that side of the Admin as they were landing. I recall we would pause to watch as we dreamed of being a Richenbacker,Richtofen or a Billy Bishop. In the bright moonlit dry season sky we could clearly see the single stripe around the fuselages of the two flight leaders as well as the double stripe of the Sq. Cmdr. Then dreams over it was back to daring do on the skates.

With the wartime changes and the introduction to beer and girls in our final years in BHS we saw skating disappear from our social agenda. When I finally returned to the Zone in 1968 I don't recall any Admin skating and so some of you may be able to tell me when that great pastime faded out of the CZ scene at least as far as the Admin location.

I know that by 1968 my kids did not have the freedom of movement that I had growing up on the Zone. Fencing and guards as well as prohibited signs seemed to be every where. No more hiking up Sosa Hill, Balboa Docks bared you from sight seeing as we had freely done on our bicycles with those daring chicken rides across the dry dock gate looking down at the empty dry dock with all the water pumped out. No more going down on the flight line at Albrook and having the crew chiefs let you sit in the cockpits of those bi-plane fighters as you would dream of Dawn Patrol over the Western Front.

I know other fads of interest claimed the attention of my kids but I kind of think my young world was the better.




01-10-2001
© Dennis Tully
I remember going to the movies in Margarita and Coco Solo in later years. Liked to watch Commando Cody or Captain Video. Had great cowboy movies and some do remember the Durango Kid who was my favorite.

I saw War of the Worlds around "53." There also was a movie that starred Anne Margaret where she wore a bathing suit when she was in the witness chair in the courtroom. Don't remember the movie but watched it twice just to see her again. She became my idol after that and has been since.

It was nice to go to a movie for 15cents and take popcorn and soda for another 10 to 15 cents. You had world news, coming attractions, sometimes a cartoon and also a serial, then the movie. Boy, those were the days.....




01-10-2001
© George Chevalier

Ancon Clubhouses.....
The first was a huge two story wooden bldg. located behind the Ancon Commy fronting on Mamei Place. It caught fire and burned to the ground one evening in 1924 and my Dad said the glow was seen for miles and of course people flocked to the site the next day to oogle the ruins.

The seconed was another two story wooden bldg that fronted Ancon Blvd. and had Frangipani St. on it's right side. It had all the usual features with barber shop,icecream parlor and a small theater attached to it's rear side. Meanwhile up on Frangipani St to the right of the commy was the Ancon Restaurant. In time the 2nd clubhouse lost it's icecream parlor as this was added to the restaurant which incidently was identicle to the one in Balboa and Cristobal. With the tearing down of #2 the barber shop and pool hall were moved into the restaurant which was Ancon clubhouse #3 and served until it became an office bldg in the final days.

All the original clubhouses had ice cream parlors only. Meal services were in the three look a alike restaurants of Balboa,Ancon and Cristobal. In Balboa the restaurant became the Police Station and food service was moved into the clubhouse. In Cristobal the old wooden clubhouse was torn down and the restaurant bldg. had all. In Ancon things were also moved into the restaurant and only the little attached theater was still operational in the old wooden bldg. I recall in Ancon the empty space was used by other organizations for their activity such as Boy Scouts etc. I believe the Balboa Clubhouse had waiters when it first moved in from the restaurant but then it went to a cafeteria type line.




01-22-2001
© Dennis Tully
I was born in Margarita, Canal Zone in 1946. We lived in Old Cristobal at the time. Never heard anyone complain about living quarter. Lived in New Cristobal in a cottage and the same. We had a lot of fun there as kids. I especially remember running away from home with Patty Seaman and getting stuck in an elevator that was across from the post office. It housed the rainbow girls and the masonic lodge. Lots of memories and none unpleasant. We moved to Margarita and lived in an up and down on Cottage Place and loved that place. Now windows just big screens. Never did have a/c. Did not miss it either. Spent a lot of time in the jungle camping and enjoying. Misquitos and sand fleas did not bother me or my friends. Move to France Field and same there. Loved the weather and the climate. Only time I did not like it was when we had to leave in December of "61." Wish we could have stayed but things don't work out that way. Never been back but still would love to even though everything I knew of is gone. Still love the place though and there is no place like home. Panama is my home no matter who gave it away legal or illegal. It is a home I will always love and cherish as with the memories. Without them we have nothing. I wish I could have stayed longer. I left all my friends there. Never really made many here as a total different atmoshphere.

How many others remember everything so well and housing did not bother them. Just living and growing up there was special. Nothing and no one can deter that. Thank you Panama for those memories......Dennis
Old Cristobal
New Crisobal
Margarita
France Field




01-26-2001
© William J. Baldwin "BJ"
I grew up in Gatun....

Walked the tracks to the Gatun yaught club and would stop at the boathouse for a swim ....
Swam in Stilson's pond many a time.. sat on the culvert eatin piva/mangoes and fished...
You could see the pond from the Gatun club house...
I remember the large 2 story boat mansion that was moored in Gatun lake next to Stilson's pond...
Used to climb up and dive off into the lake...
I remember the boathouse in somewhat of a shambles..and thinking this is really a treasure....
This was in the mid 50's to early 60"s I don't remember when it was ever removed etc etc.. I do remember missing it...
Thought of the boathouse as a landmark....




02-04-2001
© William P. McLaughlin
Gorgona is probably my most favorite construction town. Maybe because I have walked the streets, sat on the foundations of the old buildings, looked into the graves and dug old bottle dumps on that great old island.

Gorgona today is divided into 3 different islands, but with careful study of the old topographical maps and photos, you can just about identify exactly what building was what. The old rail line ran just behind the main island. This exact rail line was part of the original 1855 Panama Railroad bed.

Gorgona goes back to the times of the Spanish and their hard crossing of the isthmus. During the rainy season, when the rapids between Gorgona and the town of Cruces were impossible to pass via dug out, they would get out at the town of Gorgona (probably just bohio type dueling at this time) and take the Gorgona trail over to Cruces and the pick up on the Las Cruces trail.

There is a ton of history about Gorgona. I loved to explore the islands and find great old relics and bottles. Dredging Division was clearing the island in the late 70's and hit a rather large horde of old coins. WOW...people went ape....I am sure there is still much treasure on those great old islands the once made up one of the oldest and most important towns of Panama's history.

John O. Collins writes in his book, "The Panama Guide" 1912:

Gorgona bears the name given by Pizarro to an island off the coast of Columbia, near Buenaventura, because he found around it such treacherous currents. It may be that this name was adopted arbitrarily, or that the Chagres River travelers found in the river at this place some eddies that reminded them of the currents at Gorgona Island. Of this place Otis says: "The native town of Gorgona was noted in the earlier days of the river travel as the place were wet and jaded traveler was accustomed to worry out the night on a rawhide, exposed to the insects and the rain, and in the morning if he was fortunate regale himself on jerked beef and plantains. In the French time large shops were situated here, at the point where the American shops now are, known as Bas Matachin.

Gorgona should not be classed with Gatun and Bohio as a purely jungle hamlet, because it appears to have been a settlement of some size long before the railroad was built. It was one of the places at which the river travelers stopped for the nigh, and all about it were cultivated farms. At the time of the first Canal Zone census in 1908 its inhabitants numbered 1,065 whites, 1,646 blacks, and 39 Chinese a total of 2,750. The population has increased owing to the expansion of work in the shops. The site of the shops and the lower parts of the village will be covered by water of Gatun Lake, and therefore, the shops will be moved in about a year to the site reserved for the permanent marine shops in Balboa.

"Gorgona" means - sea fan




02-20-2001
© John V. Brown
BHS 56

As a former CZP, I can remember when working by the Ancon laundry, the number of people that poured out of Panama City to work in the Canal Zone. I was told more than 14,000 a day came into the CZ to work. About the same number of ships that transitted the Canal each year. Many Panamanians had good jobs, a solid retirement system and good medical care. To make this more evident, all one had to do is walk around in the various parking lots at the Admin. Bldg. and notice the RP license plates.

The US presence in Panama gave Panama a good economy, not to mention a safe harbor from certain thugs in the Deni and the PNG. The CZ was that safe place to run when things got out of hand in Panama. Now all this gone. Thanks to Jimmy, Fidel and the liberal left in our government. If any nation has sawed on the wrong side of the tree limb, it is Panama.

Don't get me wrong, I hope Panama will have great success in the future. But like most small nations, their chances for success are very slim. Tourism and the rain forest are Panamas greatest treasures. Panama has to change it culture before it will succeed...no more drugs and thugs and no more deforestation with little education. Keep in mind, if the forest goes, so does the Canal. And if the Canal goes, Panama becomes just another banana Republic that sells drugs.




09-21-2002
© Kenneth Willis, Jr.

Ken Willis, Jr. is my name...I grew up on the Atlantic side (the good side).

Brazos golf course is the only place I know of where you can loose a ball, tee and club all in the same shot. (Club handle was slippery after it rained while on the 2nd hole). Lost them all on the 18'th tee.

Who can forget "Shark" rock.

The Christmas parade in the band float singing and playing music. and the tree burning ceremony. Santa's sleigh on wheels.

And what about Ginnupps? (spelling) You know, those little slimy seeds that tasted so good.

B,I,S badges at the pools.

And those wonderful empanadas from the school lunch lines.

The joining of Rainbow High and CHS and the new friends made because of it.

Puddle surfing on a piece of plywood.

I really miss the flocks of parrots flying overhead.

Oh yea, the military maneuvers we had at Fort Randolph after it closed.




11-15-2002
© Ken Johnson

I am 75 years old and was stationed at Fort Amador in 1946. I worked with cleaning, loading, planting, and controlling harbour mines in the bay of Panama. I was assigned to the 4th Coast Artillery, Battery D.

I shoveled TNT into mine cases with a brass shovel. I worked in the underground casemate on Naos Island and I worked on both the L Boat that planted distribution boxes for the mine fields and also on a mine planter. While in Panama, I spent a day on an island next to Toboga I think the name of the island is Taboguelia (probably wrong spelling) We had artillery pieces on the island. I was there on a work detail to clean a barge. There was a motley crew of about 6 men on the island, who as far as I could tell were assigned there to keep them out of trouble on the mainland. There was a road that went to the top of the island and the men had a truck which for intertainment, drove to the top and drove down as fast as they could without going off the road. One day in l946, I was in Panama City and when I got back to Amador, I found the sickest bunch I have ever seen. They had been sent to Tobago to help clean up after an airplane wreck.

I contracted diptheria while there. I had been on a USO tour to Chorea Falls where I went swimming. After a month of wrong diagnosis, I was sent to Gorgas Hospital where an older doctor diagnosed and treated me.

I loved to go down the causeway from Amador to the beach. It was such a beautiful place. I would like to see all that again.

P.S. While there I was a member of an honor guard for General Eisenhower at Albrook Field and stood in-ranks-inspection at Amador. I visit his burial place in Abilene which is 40 miles from my present home.




03-08-2003
© Jerry Loberg

I really enjoyed reading all the experiences that people had in Panama. Please add me to your list... I arrived in Panama in August of 1974. My first experience was trying to get my vehicle passed, as I had to live on the economy. I had to have my vehicle inspected and had to get a Pasae Salvo Stamp. Since I couldn't speak Spanish I had to find someone who did. I was able to find a young lad who helped me out. Well my vehicle passed and I got my paper work stamped and was issued my license plates beginning with the number 10. I was now part of the 10th Province. My job was in the Canal Zone. I was the Commissary Officer for the US Air Force at Corozol. I lived in downtown Panama, off Via Espania. Six months later, I was assigned to Howard AFB in the Canal Zone. I can still remember travelling over the Bridge of The Americas. The things that I remember most about my two years in Panama were: The National Lottery, seeing the Ruins made by Henry Morgan the Pirate, the Carnival, Gatun Lake, the Hotel Washington on the Atlantic Side. Meeting so many Panamanian People, getting robbed twice. Watching the US Forces Southern Command TV Channel, especially showing: T. Hewitt Edward. " The Cat Burgler". Going to El Viae and buying banannas for the commissary. Going to the San Blas Islands and visiting with the little people and buying some of their wares. I can remember them telling me that our actor John Wayne spent many hours on San Blass. I can even remember the snakes, the tarantulas and the sloths. And I guess my final rememberance was: The Hail & Fairwell. Of course, one will NEVER forget the Panama Canal. Oh, I even caught a Black Marlin. My best wishes to the golden frogs and to the monks at the church with the "golden altar" God Bless... Jerry Loberg






Remember the CZ matches?


***Do you have a memory of the Canal Zone that you would like to share? Please write to me, WonderlandWebsite@msn.com, and I'll be pleased to add your entry.








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