7?-/-J?/5-(c./)

Gift ofthe Panama Canal Mux,

Vol. 6, No. 5 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, DECEMBER 2, 1955 5 cents New Emphasis Placed

On Employee Training

By Personnel Bureau

A reorganization of the Personnel Bureau was made effective last month which

will permit a more concerted effort in the promotion of employee training and other

similar programs. The principal changes were the combination of the Central Labor Office Division as a branch of the Employment and

Utilization Division, and the establish- ment of a Personnel Programs Staff as a

unit of the Personnel Director's Office. Leonard M. Brockman, formerly Assist- ant Personnel Director, has been appoint- ed Coordinator of the new Personnel Programs Staff. The Personnel Programs Staff will be

responsible for training and employee development functions, the incentive awards program, employee counseling and grievances, performance rating, and

for a wide variety of community pro- grams and relations with the Canal

administration. The principal members

of the staff assisting the Coordinator will be two Training Officers, the Employee

Counselor, and a Personnel Assistant. Few Personnel Changes The reorganization involved relatively few personnel changes in the bureau. With the combination of the two divi- sions into one, A. L. Wright, Chief of the Central Labor Office Division, became

Assistant to the Chief of the Employ- ment and Utilization Division. Under

the new arrangement, this division is composed of six principal units, the Employment, Records, Central Labor

Office, and Utilization Branches, the

Cristobal Labor Office, and the Non-U. S. Citizen Records Section . Disability relief work will be handled by this division. No changes were made in the Wage

and Classification Division which is divided into three units, the Classified, Local-Rate, and Wage Board Sections. The Washington Office of the Personnel Bureau will continue as a separate

unit reporting directly to the Personnel

Director. In addition to widening the scope of assistance given to employee training and

programs, the reorganization is designed

to provide an improved work flow under

changes which are being made to combine

the two Panama Canal payrolls into one and eliminate any practices which may

seem to differentiate conditions of employment opportunity. The unified payroll will become fully effective next month and with the changes made in the Personnel Bureau, the handling of all employment functions will be done jointly for the U. S.-rate and local- rate rolls by the individual personnel units concerned.

Committee Seeks Testimony

On Several Vital Subjects

Testimony on several matters of vital interest to the Canal administration and

to employees will be invited by the Congressional Committee at hearings scheduled to open Monday at Balboa Heights.

Principal among the subjects scheduled

for consideration will be the proposed abandonment of the Panama Railroad, and pending legislation relating to the

allocation of tolls and redistribution of the

costs of Canal Zone Government.

In an announcement from the Committee before members of the group sailed last week from New York, the committee said

it hopes to hear testimony from Governor

Seybold and his staff as well as employees and employee groups. Seven members of the Panama Sub- committee of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee are to attend the hearings which will be conducted under

the chairmanship of Rep. Edward A. Garmatz, of Maryland. Other members

are Reps. T. James Tumulty, of New

Jersey; John J. Allen, Jr., and William S.

Mailliard, of California; William K. Van

Pelt, of Wisconsin; James A. Byrne, of Pennsylvania; and Francis E. Dorn, of New York. The Chairman and Congressmen Byrne. Van Pelt, and Tumulty arrived Thursday

aboard the Panama liner Ancon. Also aboard the Ancon were Bernard Zincke and Mrs. Frances Still, Counsel and Chief

Clerk, respectively, of the Merchant

Marine and Fisheries Committee. Congressman Mailliard arrived on the Isth- mus several days ago, while Congressmen

Allen and Dorn were to arrive Thursday

by plane from the States.^ The Committee announcement called attention to the fact that a number of

bills are pending in Congress "vitally

affecting the welfare" of Panama Canal

employees and that it has become important for the Committee to have employee views on these subjects. The

announcement of the Committee follows: "At least once each year individual members of the House (See page is)

ATTIRED IN WINTER CLOTHIXG, these members of the Congressional group arriving yesterday were photographed soon after boarding the SS Ancon last week in New York. Seated, left to right, are: Rep. Edward A. Garmatz, Chairman; Mrs. Frances Still, Clerk; and Rep. William K. Van Pelt, Standing, left to right, are: Bernard Zincke, Counsel; and Reps. T. James Tumulty and James A. Byrne. Other members of the House Committee arrived by plane for the hearings.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 2, 1955 HOMAGE TO DE LESSEPS PAID AT BALBOAJEIGHTS

A dream was re-lived and a reality was

observed in the Canal Zone on November

23 when a bust of Count Ferdinand de

Lesseps was dedicated and participants

in the ceremony inspected the waterway

which he visualized 75 years previously. The bust is a gift of the Suez Canal Company to the Panama Canal CompanyCanal Zone Government. It has been

placed in a niche of 'the rotunda of the Administration Building where the cere- mony was held as a part of the sesquicentsnnial observance of his birth. The impressive program was attended by a group of distinguished guests headed by President Ricardo Arias and Minister

of Foreign Relations Alberto Boyd of Panama. Others attending or participat- ing in the program included the special French Mission for the ceremonies, members of the diplomatic corps, and officials of the Canal and Armed Forces. At the conclusion of the program the

visiting French delegation and others were guests of Governor Seybold for an

inspection trip to Miraflores Locks and

through Gaillard Cut, and a luncheon in the Tivoli Guest House.

Although the number of spectators was

necessarily limited by the space available, the program was broadcast over a public address system and over CFN, the Armed

Forces radio station. The warmth and

cordiality of the ceremony was best demonstrated from the following brief quotations from the principal speakers: "The friendship of the nations of Pan- ama, France, and the United States has been indelibly written in history. That

kinship has been tried in the past in the

crises of two world wars and is today

tightened in a clear cold war of ideologies. The Panama and Suez Canals, the physical developments and productions of the genius and spirit of these three great

countries, stand as bulwarks in the life and future of the free world—monuments

to their builders and to those who through

nearly a century have carried the burden

of the political, economic, and operational

responsibility for the survival and safety

of these two world public-service units. "May this bust stand as tribute to the memory of Count de Lesseps, and to the memory of those associates of his and

those of a later date who conceived,

planned, and won the victory of the Isthmus of Panama."Governor Seybold "De Lesseps may perhaps have under- estimated the difficulties of the task, but he was not blind to them when in 1879

he agreed to head the new enterprise. "Thanks to the Americans who took up where De Lesseps left off, they have made possible this magnificent realization. The Panama Canal has been compared

by my friend Mr. Andre Siegfried to a modern workshop with a machinery as accurate as that of a clock. American

active technique and organization has not rendered the French attempt useless." Jean Marie

Pres., France-Amerique, Committee, Paris "The erection of this bust in this house

is another tribute you are paying to my

great-grandfather and I wish to express my deepest gratitude for this friendly gesture. "This day, I know, is devoted to the memory of Ferdinand de Lesseps. I wish

it to bp also the day of (.See page 15)

THREE VIEWS of the De Lesseps ceremony appear above. At the top, ( iovernor Seybold welcomes

the French Mission, Count de Lesseps at the far left; in the center the bust is unveiled; and at the bottom Count de Lesseps opens a valve at Miraflores Locks as the Governor and others watch.
December 2, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW The Canal Zone Begins Preparations

For Christmas Holiday Celebration

With Christmas only 23 days away, the holiday spirit is already beginning to appear throughout the Canal Zone. The

red "call for package" cards are showing up in greater than usual number in Canal Zone mailboxes and postmasters are

issuing their annual "please empty your

mailbox" plea. At the commissaries, clerks began about

the middle of last month to take orders

for the over 16,000 trees which will bring

a touch of the Canadian north woods to the tropics this year. At the schools Zone boys and girls are practicing for their annual Christmas concerts and pageants and sometimes, to judge from what one hears, are continuing

their practicing at home. The schedule of Christmas programs

for the secondary schools is all ready, subject of course to the vagaries of the

weather. As plans stood when this issue of The Review went to press, the secondary school programs will begin at 7:30

p. m., Dec3inber 15, when the boys and

girls of Balboa Junior High School present

their Christmas program in the lower gym. Dates, places, and times for the other secondary school programs are: Rainbow City: 7 p. m., December 16, Rainbow City gymnasium.

Balboa High School: 8 p. m., December 20, Balboa Stadium. La Boca High School: 8 p. m., December 21, Study Hall. Cristobal High School: 7:30 p. m., December 22, Auditorium and campus.

Several new touches have been added

to the Christmas programs this year,

especially at Balboa High School. There, the setting of the Christmas program will be changed this year from

the campus to the stadium where parking and seating facilities are considerably more ample than on the school grounds. The school choirs will make a ceremonial

entrance into the darkened stadium and

will continue their program from a plat- form, in front of which the orchestra and

bands will be seated. A narrator will tell the story of Christmas and this will be

acted in pantomime by some of the drama

students. The program will be concluded

with a community carol sing. Cristobal High School, whose girl carolers appear in the large photograph on the right as they started their candlelight procession last year, will again have

a two-part program. Because of the

Atlantic side's uncertain weather, the

school begins its Christmas program in the auditorium with carols by the choir and orchestra and continues outside, if the weather permits, with tableaux to the music of the school band.

Less elaborate programs, designed

primarily for the parents, will be given in each of the elementary schools. The usual outdoor decorations, includ- ing the Canal's "official" Christmas tree

the pyramidal pandanus near the Balboa

Railroad Station, will not be put in place

for another couple of weeks, although some householders had started as early as November 18 to get their outside lights up. The overhaul at Gatun locks, due

to start about January 7, will not inter- fere with the usual decorations there and

on the Pacific side the Miraflores Biidge and the Pedro Miguel control tower will be decorated for the holiday season.

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing 6' er the plain

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their Joyous strain

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

tf^*^*^*^ *^J^4^*^4*^
THE [PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 2, 1955 What Will Power Conversion Mean To Zonians?

Engineering Forces Answer Frequent Questions

normal processes, operations, functions

or work. Will all the frequency - sensitive equipment he owns on the day

when his household is changed

to 60 cycles be converted with- out charge? Not necessarily. There will be what is called a 90-day "cut off period." The

householder will be notified 90 days in advance of the date when his household

is to be converted. Frequency-sensitive equipment he acquires within this 90-day

period will not be converted at Company

expense. To give Review readers a more

specific example of what conversion will mean in a typical Canal Zone home, the engineers cited the situation of Joe Public, who lives in Margarita. Margarita

is in the Atlantic conversion area. Bids

to convert all industrial and domestic

frequency-sensitive equipment in this area were advertised several months ago and are to be opened December 15. The

exact date on which Joe Public's household will begin to operate on 60-cycle current will depend on the work schedule

of the contractor. This schedule must

be submitted to the Contracting Officer

for his approval prior to the beginning of the work. It may be soon after the first of the calendar year but it could be as

late as the end of June 1957. To Be Converted

In Joe Public's house, there are two

groups of electrical equipment. In the

first, or frequency-sensitive, group are: A refrigerator, an automatic washing

machine, a record player, a table saw for

his hobby shop, electric fans, and electric clocks, including a chiming electric clock. The refrigerator, washing (See page is) NEW COMPTROLLER

DOMESTIC EQUIPMENT surveyors, Thomas S. McKibbon, right, and John M. Hansen, seated, check household equipment at the Diablo Heights home of Mrs. Henry E. Falk. The survey is part of the conversion of the power system, which is being made in all Canal Zone quarters. What will the conversion of the electric power system in the Canal Zone from 25

to 60 cycles mean to the Zone householder? What will happen to his refrig- erator and washing machine and all of the rest of the frequency-sensitive household equipment which numbers into the

tens of thousands? What will the conversion of his household appliances cost the average Zonian? To answer these and other questions which have been raised by Canal Zone

residents, The Panama Canal Review

went to the people of the Engineering and Construction Bureau—the Designing Engineer's Force, the Power Conversion Staff, and the Contract and Inspection Division for clarification. Here are their answers, put as simply

as possible, plus an example of a typical Canal Zone household. What will the conversion mean?

In the first place, Zonians will no

longer be annoyed by flickering lights but, more important, they will — most of them for the first time be able to outfit

their homes with any of the refrigerators,

air conditioners, deep freezers, or washing machines they see advertised without

worrying whether they will operate on, or can be adapted to operate on, the

25-cycle electrical system. What will happen to the Zonian's household equipment? When the area in which he lives is fed by 60-cycle current, he will probably have the same refrigerator or washing machine that he now has, but their fre- quency-sensitive parts will have been

changed to operate on 60-cycle current. On the other hand, at his option and

under certain conditions, he may have a new refrigerator or washing machine. The latter is possible since he may

make an agreement with the conversion

contractor by which he accepts a cash allowance—the amount to be mutually

agreed on between contractor and householder instead of having the refrigerator or washing machine converted. He could

• then, if he wished, use this allowance to apply on the purchase of a new appliance.

If the householder chooses to accept a

cash allowance in lieu of conversion of any piece of equipment, he may retain the appliance. In such a case, however,

the contractor will either remove the

frequency-sensitive parts, or immobilize them and mark the nonfrequency-sensitive parts in a permanent manner. If the householder does not wish to retain the

appliance, the contractor will remove it from the premises at no cost to the householder except that he relinquishes his ownership. And what will the conversion of his household equipment cost him?

Nothing, for the actual conversion. He

will make no expenditure unless he

elects to change equipment. However,

in order to be converted, the frequencysensitive equipment must be "regularly used" and in operating condition. Spare

parts which are considered a reasonable

reserve supply will also be converted without charge to the owner. The term "regularly-used" means equip- ment, appliances, etc., which are con- nected to the power system continuously or periodically for use in performing

THE APPOINTMENT of Philip L. Steers, Jr., above, as Comptroller of the Panama Canal Company

was announced last month by Governor Seybold. Mr. Steers has been with the Canal Company since January I'.I'p.'!, when he came here from Austria where

he had been Comptroller for the Mutual Security Agency. He Bucoeeda Lindaley 11. Noble who resigned from the Canal service in September.
December 2, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW Hunting Semi -Precious Stones Is Hobby

Of Canal Zone Gem And Mineral Society

The Canal Zone is a veritable treasure- house of gems, if one knows where to

look. Best of all, a good part of the dig- ging has already been done for the local gem hunter. The greathearted excavator was the Isthmian Canal Commission. The areas on which spoil from the Panama Canal

excavation was dumped years ago are to- day the best possible hunting ground for those who collect the semi-precious stones

of the quartz family such as jasper and

agate- which abound here. The section around Farfan Spillway, Balboa Flats, Albrook Field, some sections

of Cocoli, the causeway from Fort Amador

to the Fortified Islands, are among the

places where Canal Zone collectors have

found stones of good quality. Gem or mineral collecting is not new

on the Isthmus but a society of gem col- lectors is. The idea of a society of this sort was conceived last summer by several of the collectors who had been swapping ideas and methods for some time;

in August the Canal Zone Gem and Mineral Society became a reality. The names

of 24 charter members are listed on the

society's register. Several of them are husband and wife teams, like Mr. and

Mrs. 0. K. Worley of Los Rios, Mr. and

Mrs. Arnold J. Landreth of Gamboa, or

the Pat Ryans of Cocoli. How They Started As many of them as possible get toge- ther at the Society's regular meetings the

fourth Friday of each month. At present they have no regular meeting place and

are shopping around for a permanent

clubhouse where permanent exhibits can

be kept and machinery installed for cutting and polishing the gems they find. There is no sure recipe for becoming a gem hunter. Some of them are men who

picked up pebbles when they were little boys; some of the women became inter- ested through their husbands; others have

been infected by the enthusiasm of their

friends, or have developed the gem hunting fever from reading books. Two members of the Society are in jobs

_ ««!*lfi.-vf.|

OFFICERS of the Canal Zone Gem and Mineral Society look over a chunk of quartz which was found

in the Canal Zone. Left to right are Burton E. Davis, president; Bruce Morrow, and Walter R.

Lindsay, directors; and L. H. Stroup, vice president. Other officers not appearing in the picture are Mrs. Mary Worley, secretary-treasurer, 0. K. Worley and A. J. Landreth, directors.

•JEWELRY made from stones she has collected, slabbed, cut, polished, and mounted is modeled for The Review by Mrs. Pat Ryan, of Cocoli. Her earrings and pendant are carnelian; her bracelet is made

from agates mounted in silver; and the pendant she

is holding in her hand is from pearl gray quartz.

which tend to make them authorities on

the geological background of the Canal Zone and Panama. They are Robert H.

Stewart, a geologist who worked on the Contractors Hill project and is now with

the Engineering Division, and George C. Felps of Gamboa, who does a lot of the

test boring for various Canal projects. Collectors And Lapidaries Some of the members of the Gem and

Mineral Society are collectors only; some

are lapidaries who cut and polish the stones they find. And some go as far as

to mount in silver and gold the gems

they have collected and cut and polished. Mrs. Ryan is one of the latter. The

other night when the Society met at the Diablo Heights Service Center, she was

wearing a striking pair of pendant earrings made from deep red agates. She

found the stones near Fort Amador,

slabbed them, ground them to the shape

she wanted, polished the stones to a

mirror-like finish painstakingly by hand

on a powered buffing wheel, and finally mounted them in silver settings. That particular project was simpler than some she has done. Too often, she

says, she finds a gemstone which has all the earmarks of being a fine piece. But

cutting will disclose some flaws and pol- ishing may bring out others, and she may

have to try again and again before she can get two perfectly-matched pieces for a set of earrings. Stones which the collectors have found and want to use in jewelry—not all they

find are set but remain in loose collec- tions—are cut either into cabochon shapes

or are faceted. Cutting And Polishing The cabochon shapes are worked by hand on powered grinding, sanding, and

buffing wheels and, in general, they all have domed or curved surfaces. Faceted

stones, on the other hand, are made with machines which index the facets in specified number around the stone and maintain predetermined angles for each row

of facets. Stones may be either hard-polished or tumbled. Burton E. Davis, the Society's President, who has been collecting gems

for several years, believes in the handpolishing method. He works with wet and

dry leathers and part of the time with a few drops of liquid detergent. It is a long and arduous process. Hours and hours of hand rubbing are needed to bring out the sheen in a jasper or a quartz. The tumbling method of polishing stones was developed within the past few

years as a method by which natural pebbles or broken fragments of gem stones could be brought to a perfect finish. These naturally shaped polished stones

are called baroques. Several of the Gem

Society's members have sent sample

batches of fragments to the United States

for processing in this manner, and have

considered getting tumbling machines for themselves, but have given up the idea because of the noise. Noisy Process

Stones to be tumbled are placed in a round, hexagon, or octagon-shaped barrel together with prescribed quantities of sil- icon carbide grit, clay flour, broken pieces

of carbide grinding wheels, and water. The barrels are sealed and rotated for hours until the grit has sanded each piece

all over. The stones are then washed and

reloaded into the barrel with finer grit carborundum. This process is repeated through possibly four changes of grit to the final polishing compound.

Nature has duplicated this method in forming some of the pebbles one finds on

the beach which are the result of wave,

water, or glacier action. Tumbling a stone takes at least 48 hours of contin- uous motion; it cannot be called a quiet process nor one well suited to the Canal

Zone's open air hobby shops. One of the most popular stones col- lected locally is the jasper, which is comparatively easy to work (See page 12)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 2, 1955

FOR YOUR INTEREST AND GUIDANCE IN ACCIDENT PREVENTION

LDML JUL (&.

Most of us consider ourselves safe drivers and safe pedestrians. We cer- tainly don't expect to be involved in an

accident. Accidents only happen to the "other guy." We never stop to think

that "the other guy" might sometime be

us. Last year there were close to a thousand automobile accidents here in the Canal Zone. Five people were killed and

nearly 200 injured. Most of all this was

unnecessary and could so easily have been

prevented if the drivers and p?destrians had used common sense and courtesy, if they had had a little regard for the safety

of themselves and the other fellow. Safety is everybody's business—and

very serious business, too. It is not an

on-again, off-again proposition; nor does

it recognize class, creed, or color. The man in the street and the man in the car

are universal types—"Mr. Everyman"—

and it is his responsibility to be safe and

to be concerned for the safety of the other

fellow in the street or on the road. The basics of safe driving and safe walking are simple enough, but the im- portant thing is that they be deeply HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

OCTOBER

ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Community Services 6 Engineering and Construction 4 Health 3 Supply 3

Civil Affairs. - 2 Transportation and Terminals 1 Marine

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES OCTOBER

SERVICE CENTER DIVISION MAINTENANCE DIVISION DREDGING DIVISION ELECTRICAL DIVISION INDUSTRIAL DIVISION GROUNDS MAINTENANCE DIVISION MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION SANITATION DIVISION HOUSING DIVISION AIDS TO NAVIGATION AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Aids to Navigation 9 Housing 9 Sanitation 9 Maintenance 8

Electrical 7 Grounds Maintenance 7 Industrial 7 Motor Transportation 7 Service Center 7 Storehouses 6 Dredging 5 Railroad 5 Commissary 3 Hospitalization and Clinics 3 Locks 1 Terminals j 1 Navigation 1

SAFE DRIVING

ingrained in your subconscious—and

followed. FOR SAFE DRIVING . . . 1. Obey speed limits. Slow down at

night and for hazardous road, traffic, and

weather conditions.

2. Respect the rights of other motorists. Be ready to yield the right-of-way

at all intersections.

3. Yield the right-of-way to pedestrians approaching or within crosswalks on your

side of the road. Do not pass a car that has stopped to permit a pedestrian to

cross.

4. Come to a complete stop at stop

signs and observe stop-and-go signals.

5. Heed signs and pavement markings warning of grade crossings, no passing

zones, pedestrian crossings, curves, hills, and intersections.

6. Be especially alert at railroad crossings. Look, listen—and stop if a train

is approaching.

7. Overtake and pass other cars only on the left side on two-lane highways. Be sure the road ahead is clear.

S. Stay on your own side of the road at

intersections, grade crossings, no passing

zones, and on hills and curves where the view ahead is not clear.

9. Stay in line on wide highways, changing lanes only when necessary to pass or turn. Do not straddle lane lines.

10. Make all turns from the proper lane—right turns from the lane nearest

the curb, and left turns from next to the canter lines.

11. Use arm signals or your directional

lights for right and left turns and for stopping or slowing down.

12. Start from a parked position only

if way is clear.

13. Follow other vehicles at a safe dis- tance. Allow at least one car length for every 10 miles per hour of speed.

14. Watch for school zones. Be especially alert for children who may dash into

streets in residential districts or from

behind parked cars.

15. Keep your brakes, lights, windshield wiper and other safety equipment

in good condition. Check them often.

16. Do not increase your speed when

other cars want to pass you.

17. When you stop on a rural highway,

pull entirely off the pavement.

IS. If you have an accident, notify the nearest police station immediately.

19. If you drink, don't drive; if you

drive, don't drink.

20. Devote all your attention to your

driving. Look well ahead. Expect the unexpected at all times. FOR SAFE WALKING . . . 1. Obey traffic signals and signs.

2. Cross streets only at intersections and stay within crosswalks.

3. Look carefully all ways before step- ping into the street or highway, and keep

alert all the way across.

4. Be doubly careful where there are parked cars or other obstacles to obscure your view or that of drivers.

5. Don't leave the curb until you have

plenty of time to get all the way across before approaching traffic can reach you.

6. While crossing, don't read a news- paper or obscure your view with an

umbrella.

7. Use painted crosswalks, safety is- lands and other safeguards, where available.

8. Do not walk behind or in front of a

car or bus immediately after alighting; take time to be safe.

9. Don't depend entirely on the motorist's seeing you at night. Wear light- colored clothing or something that will reflect light.

10. Where there are no sidewalks, walk

to the left of the roadway, facing traffic.

OCTOBER 1955

Engineering and Construction Bureau

Community Services Bureau

Civil Affairs Bureau

Marine Bureau

Health Bureau

C. Z. Govt.-Panama Canal Co. ( This Month)

Supply Bureau

C. 1. Govt.-Panama Canal Co.( last 3-Year Av.)

Transportation and Terminals Bureau

Number of Disabling Injuries 15

Disabling Injuries per 1,000,000 Man-Hours Worked

(Frequency Rale)

.'

',

12

1

1 . 1—

1 .:-:]

1 £3

1 v+XvX-Kfl IB

Iff EJ

^

Man-Hours Worked 2,284,765 LEGEND J Amount Better Than Canal Ziino Government —Panama Canal Company Last 3- Year Average

1 Amount Worse Than Canal Zone Government Panama Canal Company Last 3-Year Average

Accumulative Frequency Rate This Year
December 2, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

J-nsL,

Official Panama Canal Company Publication Published Monthly at BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE

Printed by the Printing Plant Mnunl Hope, Canal Zont

John S. Seybold, Governor-President H. W. Schull, Jr. Lieutenant Governor William G. Arey, Jr. Public Information Officer

J. Rufus Hardy, Editor Eleanor H. McIlhenny

Assistant Editor

SUBSCRIPTION—$1.00 a year SINGLE COPIES—5 cents each On sale at all Panama Canal Service Centers, Commissaries, and Hotels for 10 days

after publication date. SINGLE COPIES BY MAIL—10 cents each BACK COPIES—10 cents each On sale, when available, from the Vault

Clerk, Third Floor, Administration Building, Balboa Heights.

Postal money orders should be made payable to the Treasurer, Panama Canal Company, and mailed to Editor, The Panama

Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. Z. Probationary

Fireman

INTRODUCING Sparky II. His friends at the

Pacific Fire District, where he is stationed think

that's too much of a name for a three-months-old and call him Smoky. They're sure he has the making of a very fine fire buff. He was given to the

District by Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Kirk of Las Cumbres.

MEMBERS of the fifth Rapid Reading group, which meets in the Board Room of the Administration Building, donned coats to show how well the new air conditioning system works. The beginning

of their classes coincided with the completion of the air conditioning; they are the first reading group

to meet in the Board Room. Reading from the left are: Edward M. Browder, Jr., Assistant Director, Engineering and Construction Bureau; Roy C. Stockham, Chief, Locks Division; William Brown,

Assistant to the Director, Health Bureau; Roy D. Reece, Assistant Electrical Engineer, Electrical Division; Brodie Burnham, Assistant Training 'Officer and instructor for the group; W. H. Esslinger, Chief Hydrographer, Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch; Philip S. Thornton, General Manager,

Serviie Center Division; Warren Pitman, Chief, Rates Branch, Office of the Comptroller; Robert S. Herr, Postal Division; and Arthur T. Cotton, Postmaster, Balboa. Out of camera range are H. H.

Feeney, Chief, Contract and Inspection Division; and W. A. Dryja, Assistant to the Marine Director.

Approximately 18,000 tourists making

Caribbean and South American cruises on

20 or more luxury liners, are expected to

visit the Isthmus during the next few- months. The annual cruise season, which

will start with a bang around Christmas

time, is scheduled to bring to Canal ports seven ships in January, 15 in February,

1 1 in March and one each in April and May.

Several of the cruise vessels, such as the Empress of Scotland, the Maasdam, Nieuw

Amsterdam, and Mauretania, will make more

than one trip to the Canal and at least four

will visit San Bias as well as Cristobal. With the exception of the SS Berlin, the

first North German Lloyd Line vessel to

call at the Isthmus on a cruise since before the war, most of the ships have been here

before. The Berlin is the Swedish American Line Gripsholm which was purchased

last year by the German company and put on a regular run between New York and German ports. She is due to arrive in Cristobal February 26 with approximately

300 passengers and will visit San Bias. Other vessels scheduled to visit the Canal

during the tourist season are the Maasdam,

Mauretania, Patricia, Empress of Scotland. Vulcania, Italia, He de France, Olympia, Ocean Monarch, Homeric, Oslofjord, Flandre,

Stella Polaris. Si/verstar. Tradewind, Kungsholm. Caronia, ami the SS Andes, flagship

of the Royal Mail Line. By the end of last month, there were at

least 6o Balboa Elementary School youngsters who had learned to swim since the beginning of the school year. They accomplished this by regular attendance at a 12- week course of elementary swimming in- struction given at the Balboa Swimming

Pool under the direction of Mrs. Mildred Trimberger and Mrs. Kathleen Flynn, Canal Zone School Division athletic instructors. Following a rigid test, they were pre- sented with water safety badges certifying that they were full-fledged beginners. As beginners, each of the youngsters has

learned breath control, back and front

floating, back and front glide, arm stroke, combination back strokes and front strokes, and a plain front dive. They can also jump

into deep water and can swim a distance of 50 yards without stopping. In addition to the beginners, approxi- mately 30 other Balboa Elementary School

pupils received intermediate swimmers'

badges and 34 were graduated to the swim- mers class, meaning that they completed

the swimming course offered by the Zone

school for elementary school children. Swimming classes for the school children

in the Diablo Heights School will start next week and classes for the pupils in the Ancon

Elementary and St. Mary's Mission Parochial schools will be started later on. The plan of giving swimming instruction on a 12-week basis to the pupils of each

school was inaugurated this year by the Schools Division. So far, athletic instructors are pleased with its success and point out that although the actual period of swim- ming instruction for eacch pupil is made

shorter, the classes are smaller and easier

to manage.

Soda water bottling operations of the Commissary Division were terminated at the end of November, closing an activity which was first established during the early Canal construction period. The sale of soda

waters under the Commissary label will continue until the present stock is exhausted.

In announcing the close of this activity, Governor Seybold said the decision was made in light of the development of the soda water bottling industry in Panama

which is believed capable of supplying the requirements in most lines. Many lines of

soft drinks and carbonated beverages botled in Panama have long been standard

items at the Division's retail stores.

Intermittent dock workers employed on

the Panama Canal piers by the Terminals

Division have been placed on a biweekly

schedule effective with the pay period beginning November 20 and ending December

3, it has been announced by the Office of the Comptroller. The first pay checks will be delivered Thursday December 8. The inclusion of the dock workers within the same pay period as that of the U. S.- rate employees is one of the first steps toward a unified payroll system for the Canal organization. The new system will become fully effective with the pay period beginning January 29 and the first pay

checks will be delivered in February. Because of the work involved and the

size of the Company-Government organization, it will be necessary at that time to stagger the pay days. The exact schedule

for the pay days will be announced later.
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 2, 1955 YOUR TOWN

LOS RIOS, newe3t of the Canal Zone's towns—under its present name—received its first residents two

years ago. The town layout, with its surrounding street, loops, and deadends, is new in Zone planning.

Los Rios, newest of the Canal Zone's communities under its present name, is just what its predecessor, Corozal, was

half a century ago—a commuters' town. During the early years of the twentieth

century, Corozal was a cluster of houses and a railroad station. Los Rios is a

cluster of houses—albeit a larger cluster than in 1904—and a railroad station. It has no commissary, service center, post

office, or school. There is not a shop nor

office activity in the whole town. And

that was just exactly the situation in 1904 when the United States was begin- ning to build the Panama Canal. The Corozal of 1904, like the Los Rios

of 1955, was connected to Panama City by railroad and by highway. But the road of 1904—it could hardly be called a highway -was generally impassable ex- cept for pedestrians or saddle or pack

animals. So it was by railroad rather than road

that Corozal's first American residents got back and forth to their jobs, most of which were in the Isthmian Canal Commission's headquarters building in Pan- ama City. Boxcar Quarters Housing in the city proper was almost

nonexistent; the few buildings in Ancon

belonged to the hospital; Balboa of those days was La Boca and its few structures were overcrowded. Boxcars were hauled

to Corozal and parked on sidings and they and the village's two dozen or so French

buildings were reconditioned for dwellings. One of Corozal's first commuters

was C. A. Mcllvaine, who later, and for many years, was the Canal's Executive

Secretary. These few buildings were nowhere

nearly sufficient for the rapidly growing

force, so in 1905 the Commission built at Corozal a mammoth, three-story hotel which provided room and board for its more than 100 bachelor occupants. It is difficult to orient the hotel in today's sur- roundings as there was no road in those days beyond Corozal toward Miraflores.

It stood, oldtimers say, somewhat north

of the present railway station and on the

east side of today's highway.

William Weigle, who served with the Sanitary Department for many years and

whose son now lives in Margarita, used to

tell a ghoulish story of his assignment to the Corozal hotel. At first, hotel attend- ants said there was no room available. Finally one of them led him to a room on

the second floor which still contained the belongings of its previous occupant, who

had died of yellow fever a few hours

earlier. Mr. Weigle did not spend that

night in his new room. Instead he walked up and down the railroad tracks

all night, waiting for the morning train to Panama City and other accommodations. Dams And Locks Had early plans for the Canal been

followed, there would have been no Los

Rios as we know it today and probably

the history of Corozal would have been much briefer than it is. One of the

earliest American schemes proposed a dam from Ancon to Corozal—one of a group of three— to back the waters of the Curundu River and other streams into a

terminal lake above La Boca locks. But

La Boca turned out to be unsatisfactory

as a lock site and the whole project was moved about three miles inland to

Miraflores. One of the incidental moves which came along with this change of plan was

the transfer of the Pacific Division headquarters from Sosa Hill to Corozal in December 1907. The long low building which, years later, served as the Army's

Finance office, stood on a knoll just about where the lower end of Los Rios is now

located. The Division covered the entire southern end of the Canal work, from Pedro Miguel to the Pacific entrance; although a good many of its force lived

in Corozal they fanned out during working hours to anywhere from Miraflores

to La Boca. In 1908 Corozal consisted entirely of old French buildings, with the exception

of the hotel; Division Engineer Sydney

Williamson kept up a constant campaign

for more and better quarters for his people. Eventually a few sets of quarters were built at Corozal and other houses moved in from towns "along the

line." In 1908 Corozal's population was

592, exactly 10 more than it was at the time of the latest Canal Zone census last

fall. In 1908 the town became quite modern; electricity was installed in all quarters, messes, labor camps, and the

hotel, and its people no longer could say

that they were "lighted by fireflies." History In The Making

More than one bit of Canal Zone his- tory was made in Corozal. In 1905 it was

the scene of the Zone's July Fourth cele- bration. As the Star <£ Herald put it, the Zonians "heard Judge Herman Gudger orate, witnessed a few races, and

uncorked some fresh U. S. enthusiasm." On January 2, 1906, the first free public

school under the Canal Zone government was opened at Corozal. According to the Isthmian Canal Commission report, it was "provided only with a few borrowed

chairs and tables and such books as had

been sent to the school authorities as samples, supplemented by a few found in the homes at Corozal." Two years later a two-room school building was built at Corozal, but in 1910 Corozal children began to attend school in Ancon. But probably the most important event

for which Corozal was the setting occur- red March 16, 1907, when the newly

arrived chief engineer, Col. George H.

Goethals made his now famous speech—

FRENCH QUARTERS like these were the homes

After the American canal builders arrived, these i

"f the curliest residents of Corozal, now Los Rios.

Id quarters housed men working in Panama City.
December 2, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW LOS RIOS "there will be no more militarism in the

future than there has been in the past"

before what historians reported as a

"hostile audience." Years later, at a

Society of the Chagres dinner at the Hotel

Tivili. Goethala recalled that first speech

at Corozal.

In 1910 a commissary alongside the

railroad track north of the station was

added to Corozal's small list of public

buildings and that same year the YMCA

which ran the big clubhouses in the major

towns began operating the Corozal Club. Mu;ic And Movies

Morris M. Seeley of Gamboa, who was

right hand man to Dr. Dutrow at the Corozal dispensary during the construction period, recalls one clubhouse manager, George R. D. Cramer, whose eyes, one brown and one blue, fascinated the

ladies of Corozal almost as much as did the manager's very fine voice. Mr.

Seeley, who often played piano at dances and concerts, frequently accompanied him during the local talent shows at the clubhouse. Mrs. Howard Fuller, who was a small

girl in those days, recalls that she saw

her first "talking movie" at that Corozal Clubhouse. The film was badly syn- chronized with the recorded sound and

frequently the actors were talking when

they should have been listening. Lock Forces

Corozal's peak as a Canal town—

a

population of a little over 2,000—was

reached between 1912 and 1914. As

Gatun locks neared completion a large number of men working for McClinticMarshall, contractors for the lock gates, were moved to the locks at Miraflores and

were housed at Corozal. Several houses and labor barracks were converted to bachelor quarters for them and the old Culebra Lodge Hall, which had room for 112 men, was moved to Corozal. Work was started at that time on a

hospital farm which would care for the Canal's permanently disabled employees and its insane. The piggery, dairy, and

poultry farm which had been part of Ancon hospital were moved to Corozal as part of the hospital farm, but these were

discontinued some years later. Today,

but with newer buildings and modern

equipment, this section is known as Corozal Hospital. The Corozal cemetery was also established in 1914. From its original plot of two acres it has grown to

its present 47-acre area. Transferred To Army

The establishment of Panama Canal

headquarters at Balboa Heights in 1914 and the construction of quarters in Ancon

and Balboa put an end to Corozal as a Canal town. As of December 1, 1915, the village was transferred to the Army.

Except for the replacement of the original wooden buildings at the hospital with the present concrete structures, the enlarge- ment of the cemetery, and the construction of the quarantine station during the

early years of World War II, there was no

civilian activity in the Corozal area until about three years ago. In March 1952, plans to construct a new townsite at Summit were abandoned

and arrangements were made between the Canal organization and the Army to return to the Canal Zone Government

LOS RIOS is represented in the Pacific Civic Council by this group. Left to right, seated, are: Truman H. Hoenke, Mrs. Evan G. Evans, E. W. Zelnick, and Charles A. Dubbs. Standing are Robert A. Stevens and A. M. Jenkins.

100 acres of land in Corozal, east of Gaillard Highway.

Within a few months bulldozers were

at work changing the face of the terrain and a few months later the first houses were going up. In October 1953, the

first families moved into the new townsite. It was July 1954, however, before

it was formally rechristened. New Layout The streets had already been namedall of them for Isthmian rivers. On the recommendation of the Pacific Civic Council, of which the town is a ward, the new town was named Los Rios, or The

Rivers. Los Rios' layout is something completely new in Canal Zone planning, without the checkerboard of crisscrossing

streets of the other towns. It is sur- rounded by what engineers call a circumvallation road, or, in layman's language, one which follows the perimeter of an area. From the perimeter three horseshoe- shaped loops and several dead-end streets extend toward the center of the area. There is not a major street crossing in the entire section. Los Rios houses are the latest types to come off Canal engineers' drawing boards; a good many of them are the masonry,

on-the-ground duplexes. A recreation

area, complete with barbecue pit and

bohio in addition to the more usual swings and slides and teeter-totters, is located in the center of the town—and is generally in use. Diablo Heights, which was a suburb of construction-day Corozal, serves the people of Los Rios at its commissary, service center, and post

office and Los Rios children attend school

at Diablo Heights or Balboa. Model Railroad No story about Corozal-Los Rios would

be complete without mention of the model

railroad which has occupied a room in the

Corozal railroad station for some years. The railroad layout was built by the Canal Zone Society of Model Railroad Engineers but was sold last month, down

to its last crosstie, to the Isthmian Model

Railroad Association, formerly of Rodman. The new owners will leave their purchase in the railroad station but, for the time being, are not inviting visitors to see it. Residents of Los Rios, like Mrs. E. G. Evans who is a town representative on

the Civic Council, find a lot of advantages

in living there. It is cool and quiet and

there is no heavy traffic. "Of course," she says, "we are always

trying to improve it, but that's what

councilmen are for, isn't it?" Editor's Note: This is the last of a 13-

story series on the towns of the Canal Zone. Below is the alphabetical list of "Your Town" stories and the dates on which they appeared: Ancon, October 1954; Balboa, July 1955;

Cristobal, October 1955; Diablo Heights, March 1954; Gamboa, September 1953; Gatun, November 1953; La Boca, June

1954; Los Rios, December 1955; Margarita, December 1954; Paraiso, November, 1955; Pedro Miguel, February 1954; Rainbow

City, September 1955; and Red Tank, December 1953. Gaillard Memorial Plaque

Will Be Replaced On Hill

The Gaillard Memorial plaque, which was removed from the side of Contractors

Hill when the cut-back project was started

last year, will be replaced soon. Instead of being set into the face of the rock as it was before, the plaque will be

suppoi'ted on a free-standing concrete backing wall. It will be located on the

third berm, just over the entrance to the tunnel and will be clearly visible from

passing ships. The plaque will be reerected by the Maintenance Division in December.
10 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 2, 1955 Balboa High School Gets High Rating

From Visiting Evaluation Committee

(Following is the third in a series of four articles reviewing reports on Balboa and Cristobal High Schools and the Canal Zone Junior College as prepared by Visit- ing Committees representing the Middle

States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools which were here in February and March 1954 for the purpose of evaluating the three schools for accreditation.)

Although Canal Zone residents have

less direct connection with the operation

of schools than is commonly found in the United States, the Canal Zone Govern- ment has succeeded "in analyzing the needs of youth in the Zone quite well and

has a lively and intelligent interest in the

welfare of the pupils in the school." This general statement on the operation of Balboa High School prefaces the

detailed report of the Visiting Committee

of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Education. An eval- uation of the school, its plant, staff, and

curriculum on which the report is based was made last February by the committee of which Dr. Ira R. Kraybill was

chairman. The report has been submitted to the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association for accreditation of the high school. The Commission

was scheduled to consider the report at a meeting last month. Notice of its action on accreditation of Balboa and Cristobal High Schools and the Canal Zone Junior

College will be announced in January.

In its written report on Balboa High,

the Visiting Committee said: "The val- uation has as its primary purpose the im- provement of the individual high school

in the service it is rendering to the youth

of the community it serves. The point

of view of the committee in coming to any

high school is highly professional, and

every attempt is made to be objective." The report of the committee made clear that the evaluation placed on the school was based on the criteria for secondary

school standards and not in comparison

with other high schools. Balboa High School attained a high

rating both as to its students and the

school. Of the 14 individual classifica- tions of the criteria, the school failed to attain the rating of "very good" in only

two, while the instructional staff was

given an "excellent" rating. Students Ability High The report said that the mental ability of the students of Balboa High School "ranks considerably above the average

student in the States." The Committee

also praised the philosophy of the school

as expressed by the teaching staff in its statement on the "Educational Needs of Youth." The philosophy as drawn up by

the staff "shows a fine sensitivity to the development of youth as individuals and

as members of society." As in the case with the Cristobal High

School, the ROTC received high commendations by the committee. The only sug- gested improvement of this phase of the school activities was for a better building

for the ROTC facilities and classes. The following briefly summarizes the commendations and recommendations made by the committee in its evaluation

of Balboa High School in the various

fields: School Plant: The building is well constructed, of pleasing appearance, in well-kept grounds, with adequate class- rooms. The committee called specific attention

to the hazard and interruption to class- room work caused by aircraft flying low

over the school plant at frequent inter- vals, recommending that "a concerted study of possible solutions to this prob- lem" be made. It also recommended: A

student-activity center including auditor- ium facilities; audio and visual education

teaching facilities; and an investigation

as to the advisability of a school cafeteria. School Staff and Administration: The student-teacher relationships seem to be excellent; the teaching and administrative staffs are well qualified. Recommendations were made for additional teachers and health services; a part- time psychologist; time for in-service training for the staff; and information handbooks for patents and teachers. Program of Studies: Praise was

given to the emphasis on the organized sequence of courses; maximum enrollment

in English, foreign language, mathematics and music; and in adequately meeting

student needs for college entrance re- quirements. The committee recommended greater emphasis on enrollments for science and

art; coordination of school experience with life experience; and provisions for professional in-service training bearing upon curriculum experimentation and re- vision. Guidance Services: Well-organized and administered; excellent source material; and commendations for dissemination

of information in vocational guidance,

testing program, and cumulative records on students. Recommendations in this field were made for private offices for more effective individual counseling; certain additional

D Program of Studies Di-DicV Subject Fields

I. Organization

II. Nature of Offerings

III. Physical Facilities

IV-A. Instructional Staff

IY-B. Instructional Activities,..

[V-C. Instructional Materials

IY-I ). Methods of Evaluation

V. Outcomes E Pupil Activity Program F Library Services G—Guidance Services H School Plant

I —School Staff and Administration
December 2, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 11

information on students for personal rec- ords; more emphasis on placement and

follow-up on students after leaving school, more time for counseling; and arrange- ments for students to consult psychologists or psychiatrists when such professional guidance is needed. Pupil Activity Program : This phase

of the school activity was highly praised

in many respects. The committee said

the school is above average in participation; school publications are outstanding;

social life is more than adequate with the juvenile delinquency problem "practically

nil"; and there is a well-balanced intra- mural program for boys and girls. The committee had several recommendations, however, for improvement of this phase of school work, the principal ones

being: Better utilization of Balboa Theater as an auditorium; more variety in the music program through the use of an auditorium; better facilities for speech activities and drama; and more provisions for exceptional students. Library Services : The library is at- tractively housed; the organization of materials is good; and the book collection

is satisfactory in number (15,000) and

well chosen. The committee recommended a closer

liaison between the school library and

the Canal Zone Library, and suggested

several fields of study for improvements

such as audio-visual material, separation

of the senior and junior high school libraries, and maintenance of technical books

on reserve in classrooms but catalogued

in the library. In its report on the individual school

subjects, the committee highly com- mended almost without exception the

professional staff, teaching methods, and

courses. However, in almost all cases the report contained more recommendations than commendations in reviewing

the individual subjects. Some of the principal recommendations

of interest to parents and students alike may be summarized as follows: Art: More storage space, more emphasis on art appreciation, and addition

of art-crafts to the art department courses. Business Education: Greater variety of equipment; improvement in facilities; greater emphasis on bookkeeping; and a follow-up program for graduates. English: Four years of English for

all students; phonograph in all English

classes and an air-conditioned room for viewing films; restriction of class size to 25 pupils; remedial speech and reading; and provisions for exceptional students. Foreign Language : Better audiovisual aid equipment; textbooks written

entirely in foreign language studies; re- storation of a commercial Spanish course; a soundproof laboratory; and better use

of Spanish language resources in Panama. Health and Safety: More teaching

aids; more extensive and improved health

services; and testing devices for driver

training. Home Economics : Improved physical facilities and an expansion of offerings

in more areas of home living. Industrial Arts: Participation by

girls; improvement of various facilities; provision for community exhibits of class work; improvement of instructional materials, particularly in the utilization of films as visual aids and coordination of housekeeping practices; extension of eval- uation for students; and an administrative study on the possible integration of

'F, LIKE MOST OF US, at this time of the year you find your Christmas gift department has become the department of utter confusion -take heart, the Commissary Division is standing by with first aid for weary holiday shoppers. On sale now or to be placed on sale within a very few days, is an assortment of gifts designed to fit any pocketbook and - belter yet, please the most difficult friends and relatives on the gift list. Many of the items listed below, we found, are packed in attractive gift boxes, which in itself, is half the battle won for the average package wrapper.

FOR HER

Under $5: Whyte & Wyckoffs gift boxed stationery in white and colors, vellum finish, $2.50; Lady Buxton billfolds in all high-fashion colors plus the Lady Buxton special features, as low as $3.95; the famous Ship and Shore cotton blouses, which the Commissary

imports regularly in a wide variety of styles and colors, from $2.45; for the housekeeper or bride on your list —the new Good Housekeeping cookbook, $3.35. Under $10: Costume |ewelry in sets by Coro to provide dazzle after dark, for the glamor

girls, from $5.50,- Yardley Lavender, the fragrance which keeps you fresh all day long, in

gift boxes at $5.70; Vanity Fair nylon slips, some trimmed with nylon lace and some with a

froth of nylon tricot at $7.95; and pastel orlon sweaters, perfect for the occasional cool

tropic night, in a variety of styles. Cardigans are $6.50. $10 and up: A variety of handbags and evening bags, the most useful and beautiful being the caviar perlimesh-type bags made in off-white of small metal interlocking disks, and

the oromesh evening bags in silver and gold—these are guaranteed not to tarnish, around

$12.95; bathing suits in the latest styles by Gantner of California, $11.95; and, of course, any gal would be delighted with a piece of Samsonite luggage which ranges in price from $15.75 to $32. FOR HIM

Under $5: Cufflinks, THE thing this year for the men of fashion, come in a variety of

styles and patterns packed in gift boxes, at $1.25 and up; Beau Brummel brocaded fabric ties, handsome enough to take the curse off the Christmas-gift tie, from $1.95; Dunlap-65 golf

balls at 55 cents each or in boxes containing one dozen; Sportsmen Toilet sets, from $1.80; and handsome Hickok belts in both leather and nylon mesh, to $3.95. Under $10: The famous Weldon Club lounging pajamas with a sport shirt top and solid color trousers come in three standard sizes, at $6.25 a set; a good companion gift would be

a pair of Evans lounging slippers available in three styles,- an Eisenhower-type sports jacket made by Berkray, $9.75; Arrow sport shirts in the latest styles, to $6.25; and for the ardent poker fan, Kern plastic playing cards at $6.10. Over $10: Catalina Cabana sets, a swim trunk and matching jacket combination styled

for the Hollywood stars, no less, in a variety of patterns, at $12.10 a set; pure cashmere

sweaters, sleeveless pull-overs, long sleeve pullovers and cardigan sweaters from $14.50

up,- brocaded Dunmar lounging robes in blue, marcon and charcoal, from $10.95; handsome new Parker pen and pencil sets, to $17.20; and, exclusive with the Commissary Division, the Sky-Lord men's waterproof wrist watches at $20.85 for those with a stainless steel case and

$22.50 for the gold filled case —both come with leather straps. FOR THE HOUSE

Under $5: Lady Pepperell percale sheets in a selection of soft pastel colors, $3.35 for the double-bed size —there are pillow cases to match; gift-wrapped Cannon towel sets, from $3.95,- huge thirsty Martex bathtowels personalized for Milady and Milord, at $2.25

each; Guatemalan tapestries at $1.90; and for the tea drinkers, tea packed by the Twinings Tea Company in one-pound tea caddies, at $1.90, and in half-pound willow pattern jars, at $1.40. Under $10: Stainless steel flatware, perfectly hand finished by Gense, lovely for a

lifetime, will not stain or tarnish, $5.95 a place setting,- Bates bedspreads which wash and wear like mad, $7.55, pottery lamps for the bedroom and living room, metal lounge lamps, occasional chairs, scatter rugs, and cocktail tables. $10 and up: Whitney blankets which retain their fleecy nap and softness for generations, a buy at $17.95,- Quaker Lace tablecloths at $1 8.75; washable nylon comforters filled with

Dacron, $11.95; ten-inch Presto automatic electric frying pans for $14.95 and the Sunbeam

12-inch frying pan about $28.25, with aluminun covei,a Glen Cree mohair steamer rug for the

traveller, $1 5.35,- and, for the Christmas bride, a Community Plate 61-piece service for eight complete with chest about $79.50—Twilight and South Sea are the new patterns ordered

by the Commissary this year.

the philosophy of industrial arts with general education objectives. Mathematics : Wider use of visual aids. Science: Increased enrollment in sci- ence courses; better physics laboratory; longer laboratory periods; and consideration of the adoption of a senior-class-level science course for non-technical students. Music: An auditorium; better re- hearsal facilities; an additional teacher in vocal music; provision for exceptional

students; and a music talent testing pro- gram.

Physical Education: Better grouping of students; a program of corrective physical education; an adequate program

of physical examination and more extensive health services; and scheduled train- ing of all students for at least three periods a week. Social Studies : More use of audiovisual aids and consideration to offering one or more of the following courses on

an every-other-year basis: Latin-American History, American Government, and Consumer Economics.
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 2, 1955

CANAL ZONE CLERGY

Rainbow City Library

Had it not been for World War II, Raymond A. Taylor might have contin- ued to live—and attend church—in Wenatchee, Wash., instead of coming to

the Canal Zone where he is now directing the service at Balboa's Church of Christ. But there was a war and Mr. Taylor, a veteran of World War I, reenlisted in the Navy and was assigned to the Fleet Post

Office in San Francisco, Calif. At the end

of the war he and Mrs. Taylor moved to Pasco, Wash. There was no Church of Christ there so with two or three other

families they formed their own congregation for which Mr. Taylor frequently was

the lay preacher. Today Pasco's Church

of Christ has over 160 members.

In 1951 the Taylors came to the Canal Zone to visit their son. They liked it so

well that Mr. Taylor arranged for a

transfer from the Kennewick Post Office

RAYMOND A. TAYLOR

in a twin city across the river from Pasco

to the Canal Zone postal service. Naturally they became affiliated with

the Church of Christ which had been

established in Balboa about 10 years before. In July 1952, they moved into the church parsonage and Mr. Taylor became

the director of the church work. He

remained in this position until the follow- ing May when a regular minister from

the United States was assigned to the Canal Zone.

In May of this year, Mr. Taylor was

again selected to direct the work of the Church of Christ until a full-time minister could be obtained from the United

States. It will be next May, however,

before the church will have a full-time pastor. As he did before, Mr. Taylor

has the assistance of several young men

who are occasionally called upon to preach both at the church on Balboa Road and

at one in Rio Abajo which is sponsored by the Canal Zone congregation. With the arrival of a regular Church

leader next spring, Mr. Taylor will lie relieved of his church responsibilities. Soon after that he expects to leave the Canal Zone- after all he has been in the Postal Service for over 36 years. He and

Mrs. Taylor are looking forward to the day when they can be considerably closer

to their three children and seven grandchildren.

PRESENTATION to the community of the Rainbow City Library took place on Thanksgiving Eve The presentation was made by Henry L. Donovan, Civil Affairs Director, while Jefferson Joseph

Civic ( 'ouncil president, accepted it on behalf of the community. Shown above is the main reading' room, which is about 50 by 25 feet. The library, a branch of the Canal Zone Library, is on the first floor of the Rainbow City High School. The librarian is Kenneth Griffith, formerly a teacher and

part-time librarian at the high school. Between 8 a. m. and 3:30 p. m. the library is used largely bv

students; members of the community use the library between 3:30 and 8 p. m". on weekdavs and

on Saturday mornings.

Hunting Semi-Precious Stones Is Hobby

Of Canal Zone Gem And Mineral Society

(Continued from page 5) with, takes a nice

polish, but may disappoint its finder be- cause the color may be only surface deep

or the stone may turn out to be too coarse

in texture. It can be red, brown, green,

or yellow; a bloodstone is a green jasper with red flecks. Jasper is an ancient stone. It is mentioned in the Bible and was known to the

early Egyptians. A number of fine art objects have been carved from it. One

of the best jasper collections in the Canal Zone is owned by Dan Sanders, a Society member, who has found his stones in Mexico and Costa Rica as well as in Panama.

Agates, which may include chrysoprase and the familiar moss agate, are another

favorite collector's item for local gem

hunters. Unlike jasper, which is opaque,

agate is translucent or transparent. Agate was once considered a talismanic stone and was thought to protect its wearer from all dangers. It was fre- quently carved into huacas, or grave orna- ments, by Panama's early Indians. One

of these was on display at a recent meeting of the Society. Another agate shown

at a recent meeting was petrified coral

in which polyps could readily be seen. Other gems found in the Canal Zone

include the various quartzes, some in chunks too large for a man to lift alone; sardonyx, a deep red; rhodenite, which is a mottled black and pink; and amphibotite, variegated green. There is also plenty of petrified wood here. It polishes

into stones which make amazingly goodlooking costume jewelry or handsome

bookends and paperweights. A gem hunter in the Canal Zone can have a field day the phrase is literal with a good part of the back-breaking work done for him, as we said before. But he needn't expect to find diamonds

or sapphires or rubies. Nature didn't give the Isthmus the proper kind of geologic formations to produce such gems.

Questionnaires Sent

To Canal Timekeepers

A 24-part questionnaire on current timekeeping practices was distributed

last month to supervisors of approxi- mately ,800 timekeepers in the Canal

organization. Answers to this questionnaire will be used in a study of timekeeping methods in all Company/Government

activities. The purpose of this study is to standardize and to systematize the timing

practices in all activities, simplify the

record-keeping, establish more effective controls and provide economical pro- cedures for timekeeping. A complete

timekeeping manual will be compiled for the guidance of all concerned as a result

of this survey. The questionnaire asks each supervisor

to indicate how many employees the time- keeper times in his particular gang; how

check-in and check-out timing is recorded; whether check-ups are made on the job attendance during the work period, who makes these checks and how they are made; how overtime, holiday work, and

bonus time are recorded; whether detailed leave accounts are maintained in the timekeeper's office; and other questions important to proper keeping of time. The questionnaire also asks whether

the timekeepers have any particular prob- lems and, if so, whether corrective measures could be taken, and whether they

believe that the installation of time

clocks would be feasible for recording attendance for the gangs for which they keep time. As the completed questionnaires are returned to the Accounting Systems

Staff, they are reviewed by George A. Thibodeau and John A. Morales, who are conducting the survey.
December 2, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13 Latest Antarctic Expedition Reminds

Zonians Of Earlier Polar Explorers

OXE OF the helicopters which will be used during Operation Deepfreeze hovers over the deck of the USS Edislo at Rodman. The Edisto is an antarctic veteran; she was in 1947's Operation High .Jump. Memories of huskies and penguins, snowmobiles and ski-clad planes came

back to Zonians last month when units of the latest of the South Polar expeditions—

the Navy's Operation Deepfreeze—transited the Panama Canal en route to the

icy waters of the Antarctic. Few present-day Zonians remember the

first polar ship to visit the Canal Zone. This was the schooner Fram which had made polar history on the expeditions of Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen. The

Fram lay in Limon Bay for several months

during the latter part of 1913 while its captain hoped that the Canal would soon

be opened so that he could cut thousands

of miles off his voyage to San Francisco. There the ship was to be refitted for one

of Capt. Roald Amundsen's Arctic expeditions. Eventually the Fram's master abandoned his plans to transit the Canal and cleared for California via Cape Horn. A few more Zonians might remember

the old Roosevelt, which, in its heyday, had

carried Adm. Robert E. Peary on two trips to the Arctic Ocean. At the time the

Roosevelt was a frequent visitor here during the 1920's, the old polar veteran had

been reduced to the somewhat ignominious status of a tug towing bargeloads of lumber from Puget Sound to the United

States east coast, via the Cana1 . Four Byrd Expeditions But a good many Isthmians can remember the four Byrd expeditions which used

the Canal as a short cut to the Antarctic. The first of the expeditions headed by

Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd transited the Canal in September 1928, on its way

south and returned via the Canal in June

1930. Three Zonians of those days

Lyle Womack, Max Boehning, and William W. Darling—succumbed to the lure

of adventure and signed on to the expedition's two ships, the City of New York and the Eleanor Baling. On his return from that first Antarctic- voyage, Admiral Byrd visited the Balboa

school and talked to pupils of Mrs. Dove

Prather's fourth grade class. Seventeen

years later, when Admiral Byrd was on

his way to Little America aboard the

aircraft carrier Philippine Sea, a dozen or more of those fourth grade pupils— in some cases accompanied by their own

children—called on Admiral Byrd aboard

the carrier. The second of the Byrd expeditions was made with two specially equipped ships, the Jacob Ruppert and the Bear of Oakland, a wooden barkentine. This expedition went south through the Canal in 1933 and returned to Balboa in April

1935. Visitors swarmed to the docks where the ships were tied up, exclaiming over the 15 Emperor Penguins, the 50

newborn, fuzzy husky pups, and the plane Floyd Bennett, which had been left at

Little America in 1930 but which was

then being returned to the Stati The third Byrd expedition, which

included the Bear if Oakland and the polar ship North Star, l cached Balboa on

its southbound voyage just after Thanksgiving in 1939. In addition to the usual

huskies, the expedition was carrying a 55-foot long snowmobile which had been developed especially for polar use. Admiral Byrd was recalled to the Navy for special duty soon aftei the expedition reached Little America hut 58 of his men

remained in the Antarctic dining the

long winter months and returned via the Canal the following year. The fourth of the Byrd expeditions, in 1946 and 1!I47, was sponsored by the Navy and was many times larger than any previously attempted. Known as Operation High Jump, it included 13

ships —one of them the Edisto, which is part of the present expedition and over

4,000 men. Among them was Richard

C. Herman, then of Gamboa, a Balboa High School graduate serving aboard the

carrier Philippine Sea. Equipment for Operation High Jump

surpassed anything any expedition-watching Zonians had ever seen. The ships, not all of which transited the Canal, carried six transport planes, three patrol bombers, three helicopters, an observation plane, an amphibian, and three other

miscellaneous aircraft. But there were

also the ever-present sled dogs. The

expedition also took on at Balboa

thousands of bamboo poles, for flag poles and trail markers, just as the latest group

did last month. Ronne Expedition About a month after the Philippine Sea cleared Balboa for the Ross Sea, another expedition transited the Canal

en route to the Antarctic. This was

explorer Finn Ronne's one-ship expedition, the Port of Beaumont, Texas. The

Ronne expedition, which included the wives of two of the men—the first American women ever to spend a winter

iced into Antarctica, made its headquarters at Marguerite Bay and charted many

miles of hitherto unmapped coastline. The first of the current expeditions

ships, the icebreaker Edisto, transited the Canal early last month, followed a few

days later by the new and much larger icebreaker, Glacier. Toward (See page ie)

USS GLACIER, which grosses S.220 tons and is one of the newes

part of Operation Deepfreeze which transited the Canal last month

t of the Navy's

enroute to the

ice-breakers, was

Antarctic Ocean.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 2, 1955 PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS DECEMBER SAILINGS

October 15 through November 15

Employees who were promoted or trans- ferred between October 15 and November

15 are listed below. Within-grade promotions are not listed. CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Division of Schools Mrs. Martha H. Shacklett, from ClerkTypist, Wage and Classification Division,

to Clerk (Typing). Mrs. Helen M. Kenway, from Clerk- Typist, Commissary Division, to Clerk

(Typing).

Clinton C. Carney, Jr., from Elementary

School to Junior High School Teacher. Edward F. O'Connell, from Junior High

School Teacher to Department Head,

(General). Mrs. Ellen E. Bailey, from Clerk-Typist, Housing Division, to Clerk (Typing). Mrs. Ruth H. Arnold, from Library Assistant to Junior High School Teacher. Mrs. Juanita A. Blakely, from Elementary School Teacher to Substitute Teacher. Mrs. Edna E. Chase, Mrs. Virginia H.

Perry, from Substitute Teacher to Elementary School Teacher. Mrs. Patricia A. Grebner, from Clerk- Stenographer, Electrical Division, to Clerk

(Typing). Mrs. Beatrice M. Rhyne, from Clerk- Stenographer, Employment and Utilization Division to Clerk (Typing). Mrs. Aurelia D. Hadarits, from Clerk, Aids to Navigation Section, to Clerk

(Typing). COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

Service Center Division Alfred Houston, from Supply Assistant to Supervisory Steward. Mrs. Elizabeth F. Walsh, from Governmental Accountant to Supervisory Accountant.Mrs. Martha W. Keller, Charles R. Soukup, from Steward to Supervisory Steward. Mrs. Eunice L. Hamilton, Mrs. Geneva

H. Blount, from Steward (Trainee) to Supervisory Steward. George J. Marceau, Cuthbert C. Rowe,

from Administrative Officer to Service Center Manager. Kerner E. Frauenheim, from Administrative Officer to Supervisory Steward.

Stanley M. Hamilton, from Supervisory Administrative Assistant, Tivoli Guest

House, to Manager, Hotel Washington. Henry J. Chase, from Supply Assistant

to Manager, Tivoli, Guest House. OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Mrs. Catherine B. Moehle, from Card Punch Operator to Time, Leave, and Payroll Clerk, Payroll Branch. Hugh W. Cassibry, from Time, Leave, and Payroll Clerk, Payroll Branch, to Systems Accountant, Accounting Systems

Staff. John A. Morales, II, from Supervisory Accountant, Payroll Branch, to Fiscal Assistant, Claims Branch. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION BUREAU

(A number of the changes listed below

are reallocations, changes of title, or administrative changes, such as those involving Commissary Division mechanics and engineers who are transferred, administratively,

to the Engineering or Maintenance Divisions.) William H. Billerman, Frederick A. Ebdon, from Lead Wireman Foreman to Wireman, Electrical Division. George W. Wertz, from Lead Electrical Interior Foreman to Lead Wireman Fore- man, Electrical Division. Curtis H. George, from Lead Electrical Foreman, Locks Rehabilitation, to Lead

Electrical Interior Foreman, Electrical Division. Mortimer J. Brennan, from Wireman and Wireman Leader to Wireman, Electrical Division. » Richard R. Brown, Mechanical-Refrigeration Engineer, from Commissary Division

to Engineering Division.

from the Commissary Division to the Maintenance Division: George P. Allgaier, Mechanical Shop Fore- man; Milford K. Bailey, Senior Plant Engineer; James C. Slade, Donovan I. Geyer, Henry T. McKenzie, Louis S. Damiani, John L. Dougan, Michael G. Letchko,

Plant Engineers; Lawrence Barca, Edward

L. Spinney, Machinists; Leonard E. Case, General Mechanic; Laurel L. Highley, Carl

L. Simons, Pipefitters; Walter E. Marek,

Pipefitter and Plant Engineer; Wilton T.

Strickland, Plant Electrician Leadingman;

Herbert F. Taake, Joseph W. VanGeel, Warren R. McNamee, Walter W. Woodruff,

J. Paul Bamberg, James G. F. Trimble, Herbert G. Kelly, Plant Electricians; Albert B. Collins, Cargo Handling Equip- ment Maintainer; and Edward E. Bernsee,

Jr., Clerk-Typist. MARINE BUREAU

Daniel J. Considine, from Lock Operator

Machinist, Atlantic Locks, to Lock Operator Machinist Leader, Locks Overhaul. Mrs. Narcissus T. Porter, from Clerk to Clerk-Typist, Atlantic Locks Overhaul. Morris R. Collins, from Engineer, Pipeline Suction Dredge, Dredging Division, to Chief Towboat Engineer, Ferry Service. Mrs. Alice B. Lowery, from Clerk-Typist,

Internal Audit Staff, to Clerk, Aids to Navigation Section. PERSONNEL BUREAU

Mrs. Katharine T. Purdy, from Clerk- Stenographer to Clerk-Typist, Wage and

Classification Division. Heliana G. Filos, from Clerk-Typist to Clerk-Stenographer, Wage and Classifica- tion Division.SUPPLY BUREAU

Mrs. Dorothy G. McLain, from Accounting Clerk to Clerk-Typist, Commissary Division. Louis A. Austin, from Timekeeper, Motor

Transportation Division, to Accounting

Clerk, Commissary Division. TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS BUREAU

Howard E. Walling, from Engineer

(General), Division of Storehouses, to Chief, Southern District, Motor Transportation Division. Rex O. Knight, from Motor Inspector to Auto Repair Machinist, Motor Transportation Division. Richard M. Hirons, from Assistant Motor

Inspector to Auto Repair Machinist, Motor

Transportation Division. James F. Dougherty, from Car Inspector

to Wood and Steel Carman, Leadingman,

Railroad Division. Daulton C. Cypert, from Wood and Steel Carman to Car Inspector, Railroad Division. RETIREMENTS

The following employees are transferred

Retirement certificates were presented

the end of November to the following employees who are listed alphabetically, to- gether with their birthplaces, titles, length

of Canal service, and future addresses: Mrs. Alvina Freeman Treadwell, Wisconsin; filth grade teacher, Balboa Elementary

School; 30 years, 12 days; Florida, eventually. Alfred T. Veit, Pennsylvania; Senior Towboat Engineer, Dredging Division; 20

years, 12 days; St. Petersburg, Fla, James L. Williams, Washington, l>. C;

Foreman Cribtender; Marine Hunkering

Section; 1 ') years, (> months, X days; Flor- ence, Ala. Floyd Winchell, Washington; Cash Ac- counting Clerk, Division of Storehouses; II years, 1 month, _"> days; Los Angeles,

Calif. Stanley F. Yost, Connecticut; Marine

Traffic Controller, Balboa; 32 J

I

months, 16 days; Gloucester, Mass.

From Cristobal A neon December 3 Panama December 10

Cristobal December 1

7

Ancon • December 24 From New York

I 'ami ma December 1 Cristobal December 8 Ancon December 15 Panama December 22

Cristobal* December 30 *Because of holiday, Cristobal sails one day late from New York, arriving in Cris- tobal Thursday, January 5. Northbound and southbound ships are

ordinarily in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Mondays. ANNIVERSARIES

For the second successive month, a Canal Zone postmaster heads the list of those to whom the month brought anniversaries in their government service. November's top man—with 35 years of service—is Louis C. Hasemann, Postmaster at Albrook Air Force

Base. A native New Yorker, he became ac- quainted with the Isthmus during a tour in the Navy, part of which he spent at Coco

Solo. So the Canal Zone was not a strange land when he transferred here from the

post office in Caldwell, N. J., in 1929. During his Canal Zone career he has worked in post offices at Cristobal, Balboa, Balboa Heights, Diablo Heights, and the now defunct Camp Chiva, and in 1952 was

appointed postmaster at Fort Amador.

At one time he played softball on the

Civil Affairs team in the old Pacific Softball Loop, more famililarly known as the "Beer

League." Its games were held in "Razzberry Park," near the Balboa fire station.

30 YEARS Two of November's 30-year employees have continuous Canal service, although in both cases their Canal service was preceded by World War I service with the Army. The two are George H. Carnright, Fore- man of the Commissary Division's Wholesale Meats section —he is in charge of handling all meats, poultry, fresh and

frosted goods—and Thomas F. Sullivan, painter foreman with the Aids to Navigation Section, who keeps lighthouses and

blinker buoys spanking fresh. Both were

born in New York State, Mr. Carnright in Saugerties in the Catskill Mountain foothills along the Hudson, and Mr. Sullivan in Perry, on a little lake in Wyoming County, which is not far from the Finger Lakes

sarv men, Carlos O. Garcia, was born on

the Isthmus and the other two, Frederick H. Hodges and Rutherford P. Rivet, came

here as small boys. Mr. Garcia, a detective with tie Canal Zone Police, was born in Panama City. He

has been on the police force since 1926. Mr. Hodges is a railroad engineer; he served an apprenticeship as a machinist in the Canal Zone, spent some time as a locomotive

engineer for an oil company in Colombia, and has been working with engines in the Canal Zone since 1928. Mr. Rivet is a mate on the Dredging Division pipeline mm I ion dredge Mimli. I le has never worked

with any other Canal unit but the Dredging

Division with which he has held the posi- tions of seaman, oiler, wiper, drill runner, and blaster.

25 YEARS

November was Silver Anniversary time

for four men in the (anal sen ice. Most of the 25 years of government work

of Edward Folse, a tow boat master with the Navigation Division, has been with other government agencies, lent his Canal service has been unbroken since he joined the Marine Bureau, lie was born in Louisiana and served with the Army as a serviceman
December 2, 1955 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 15

and later as a tug master and ferry master

for the Army's are.i transportation service

in and around the Isthmus. Harold D. Sutherland, Typewriter Re- pairman for the Industrial Division at the Instrument Repair Shop, also has unbroken

Canal service. He came here to work as repairman for typewriters and adding machines; now he devotes his entire time to typewriters. The other quarter-of-a-cenl ury employees

are Edward J. Cullen, J. R. DeGrummond,

Jr., George H. Egger, Carroll E. Kocher, Frances C. Moomaw, and Virginia E. Williams. Mr. Cullen. a New I lampshircman l>\ birth, was a machinist until 1951 when he

transferred to the Dredging Division; he is now a Chief Towboat Engineer in the ferry

service. Mr. DeGrummond. Supervisory Accountant with the Agents Accounts

Branch, is a native Zonian; he worked with

the Commissary Division during school

vacations, later with the Paymaster's Office and has been in accounting since 1947. Mr. Egger has spent his entire Canal career as a carman and a car inspector, first with

the Mechanical Division and now with the Railroad Division; he comes from Elmira, N. Y. Mr. Kocher is postmaster at Howard Air Force Base; he previously was postmaster

at France Field, Fort Davis, Gatun, Fort

Gulick, and Albrook Field. A telephone

call to his household can be confusing. Mrs.

Kocher's name is Carol and they have a son named Carroll. Miss Moomaw, now principal of the two

Margarita elementary schools, was Supervisor of Penmanship for the Canal Zone

schools for four years. She was served as

principal at Gamboa and Cocoli elementary

schools. Mrs. Williams, an Accounting Clerk with

the Commissary Division, has spent most of her Canal service directly or indirectly with

that division; for several years she worked

at the Panama Canal Press, but as an

inspector of commissary coupon books.

20 YEARS

Eight employees completed 20 years of government service in No ember. Those

whose service is unbroken are: Harold T. Longmore, Pilot, and President

of Local 30 of the Masters, Mates, and

Pilots Association; George W. Mullins, once of Bridgeport, Conn., and now a Steam

Locomotive Operator at the Locks; Alfred

T. Veit, who celebrated his twentieth anni- versary by retiring at the end of November

as Senior Towboat Engineer with the Dredging Division ; Capt. Gaddis Wall, whose Canal

service has all been with the Police Division and who was promoted in July to senior detective officer for the force; and Austin F. Yoder, who once played in Paul YVhiteman's band but whose Canal service has all had

to do with property; he is now Supervisory Storekeeper for the Division of Storehouses. Those whose Canal service has not been

continuous are: Sydney S. Albritton, Air Compressor

Operator with the Industrial Division; John G. Haky, Supervisory' Clerical Assist- ant for the Electrical Division; and Thomas

L. Sellers (this really is postmaster anni- versary month!) who transferred recently from his post as Coco Solo postmaster to be postmaster at Margarita.

15 YEARS

All but two of November's 15-year employees have continuous Panama Canal

service. The exceptions are Thomas J. Egger, Customs Guard at Cristobal (his father, George H. Egger, is a 25-year man

this month), and Elizabeth W. Rowley who

teaches second grade at South Margarita

school. The other 15-year employees are: Hugh C. Christie, Lock Operator Machinist at Gatun Locks; Walter M. O. Fischer, who teaches chemistry at Balboa High

School; Roy T. High, Pharmacist, Gorgas

Hospital; Albert R. Minor, Cash Accounting Clerk in the Treasury Branch; H.

Eloise Monroe, Household Arts Teacher at Balboa High School, whose fashion show,

Chez Eloise, is an annual event; Joseph G. Reardon, Supervisory Timekeeper, Terminals Division; Alice H. Roche, Accounting

Clerk, Agents Accounts Branch; Edward H. Womble, Shipfitter, Locks Division; Peter

A. Tortorici, Head Stevedore Foreman,

Terminals Division; William A. Wichmann,

Auditor, Internal Audits Staff, and Ray D.

Wilson, Jr., Admeasurer at Balboa.

Friendship Stamp Design

Submitted Bv BHS Student

GEORGE MORENO, Balboa High School junior, was the Canal Zone winner in the International World Friendship Stamp Contest. He is shown here with the winning design which has been sent to Washington to compete with entries from each of the United States and its territories.

Homage To De Lesseps Is Paid Al Ceremonies

(.Continued frum page 2) all those, Panamanian, French, and American, who have

contributed to the realization of this great human enterprise." —Count Pierre de Lesseps

Great-grandson of Ferdinand de Lesseps Member of the Board of the Suez Canal Company.

"It is to the Americans, who again took up the work of cutting the Isthmus,

that the credit goes for having been the

first to emphasize the importance of the contribution of the associates of Ferdi- nand de Lesseps, and having shown that

their efforts and their sacrifices had not been in vain. "Let them now be thanked for having

thus helped to keep unblemished the memory of him whose sole ideal was to serve his country and mankind." —Dominique de Grieges

Deputy Director General, Suez Canal Company

What Will Power Conversion Mean To Zonians

(Continued from page 4) machine and

the record player will be converted—/, c, new motors will be installed so that they

will operate on 60-cycle current. Should Mr. Public prefer, he could accept the cash allowance referred to above and

agreed on betwesn him and the contractor. If his refrigerator is an old type which cannot be converted—like the

old, monitor-top models—it will be

replaced by one of equivalent age and

condition which will operate on 60

cycles. The motor in his table saw will be replaced outright. It is also expected

that his kitchen and bedroom-type clocks and his electric fans will be replaced. His

chiming clock, however, is different. It may either be converted, replaced, or an

allowance made in lieu of conversion or replacement. The second group of electrical appliances in Joe Public's house will require no

change. This group includes Mrs. Public's Mixmaster, sewing machine, and vacuum cleaner, two or three small

radios, and an automatic toaster. Most electric mixers and blenders, sewing machines, and vacuum cleaners have the so-called "universal motors"

which will operate on either 25 or 60

cycles. The small radios will not require conversion since they are either the AC-DC type or have a 25-cycle power

transformer and in either case will operate satisfactorily on 60 cycles. The

average household automatic toaster has no motor; the ticking one hears is a spring-driven clockwork mechanism

which, of course, does not require conversion. When will these changes to 60-

cycle current be made?

All of the Atlantic area Cristobal, Margarita, Rainbow City, and Gatun—

should be operating on 60-cycle current

before the end of June 1957. This does

not mean, however, that on a given day

all Atlantic side households will have

their equipment converted or exchanged

for 60-cycle appliances. The area will be divided into small sections and these converted one by one. The order in which they are taken will be the approved

schedule of the contractor, subject to the

availability of 60-cycle power as the power plants are converted. The next area on the schedule for conversion will be Gamboa, Summit, and

Paraiso. According to the present schedule, which is tentative, invitation for bids

for this area will be advertised next

January. The conversion of this area should be completed about the end of April 1957. The last of the three big conversion

areas will be the Pacific side and will include everything south of Paraiso and

including the West Bank. This contract

will be advertised next October. The

entire area should be operating on 60- cycle current by the end of June 1959. In all areas, however, conversion in the various sections may be well in advance

of the completion date for the area as a whole. What about the householder who

may be on vacation at conversion time? Any householder who is likely to be on

leave at the time his equipment is scheduled for conversion—the schedule

will be published in advance—should

designate someone to act as his agent, with power to sign release receipts, etc., and permit the contractor to enter the house to perform the conversion. Otherwise all frequency-sensitive equipment

will have to be disconnected and when

the householder returns from leave he

will find that none of his appliances will be in operating condition. FRESH, HOT PIZZA!

Pizza pie fans can now get their favorite dish at two of the Service Centers in the Canal Zone. At the Balboa Service Center, pizza is provided for the luncheon crowd on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. At the Diablo Service Center, pizza addicts may eat their favorite food on Wednesday and Saturday, anytime from 11

a. m. to 9 p. m.
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW December 2, 1955

Canal's Biggest Housekeeping Job Starts

Jan. 7 When Gatun Locks Overhaul Begins

The Panama Canal's biggest housekeeping job—the quinquennial overhaul of the massive locks and machinery—will start

in earnest on January 7 at Gatun when

the east lane for shipping will be closed

to traffic. Considerably more traffic can be moved

through the Canal during the coming

overhaul period because of modifications completed earlier this year at Gatun

Locks. The modifications will permit

double-culvert operation during the two

periods when one lane of traffic is out of service and two-lane traffic with single culvert operation while the center wall

culvert is being overhauled. The actual overhaul of the Canal Locks

is preceded by many months of planning and preparation. This phase of the work

will continue up until the culverts are opened at the sea end of Gatun Locks

soon after midnight on January 7 to empty the three 1,000-foot-long chambers

Extra Employees

Approximately 775 extra men will be employed for the overhaul job this year,

of which about 115 will be skilled work- men. Some of these have been hired and

are already in training or at work on

various preparations but the bulk will be

hired to begin work when the chambers

are emptied. Fewer extra employees will be required this year than ever before, partly because the center wall culvert will not be under overhaul simultaneously with one of the lock chambers. The overhaul project at Gatun next

Senior Shipping Agent

Retires From Business

CAPTAIN CLIFFORD PAYNE, senior of the ship- ping agents in the ('anal Zone, retired last month fmm active connection with his two firms, Payne &

Wardlaw, antl Andrews & Company.

Born in India, he has had a full and exciting life. Hi' went to sea when he was 17, and goi his master's

license under sail. He served as master aboard ships

of the Pacific Steam Navigation and 1 n it.-. I I

i uit Companies and later was a Panama Canal harbor

pilot. Soon after the op inn:; of the ( 'anal he formed the Payne & Wardlaw agency and in 1926 became head

of W. Andrews & Co. Captain and Mrs. Payne have a beautiful home in Bella Vista and will continue to live there.

dry season will include a major parts replacement program. Sixteen of the

rising stem valves, each weighing 10 tons,

will be replaced. These were manufactured by the R. C. Mahon Company of Detroit at an approximate cost of $60,000. Some of the rising stem valves have

been replaced in the past by extras which

are kept for emergencies but this will be

the first time that any have been permanently replaced. This is a continuing program and additional valves will be

replaced in future overhauls until the program is completed. Relay Lockages

Plans have been made for handling

traffic in the most expeditious manner

possible. Relay lockages will be employed at Gatun from 7 o'clock in the morning until 1 1 o'clock at night throughout the time one traffic lane is closed. This system provides for splitting the operating force on the lock walls in two

with a lockmaster in charge at either end. With relay lockages, a ship is towed

to the middle chamber by one operating crew and for the remainder of the lockage by another crew. This method saves

considerable time in the handling of the towing locomotives. The handling of tow lines is done while a ship is being

raised or lowered in the middle chamber. The transit schedule at Gatun will provide for southbound ships to be

locked through without interruption, when traffic conditions permit, from

7 o'clock in the morning until 3 o'clock

in the afternoon. Northbound traffic will then be given the right-of-way until midnight or later. After these have

been cleared, any waiting southbound

ships will be locked up to Gatun Lake

with a single crew until relay lockages

begin again. Gatun Locks will be operated on a 24-hour basis throughout the overhaul

period, while the Pacific Locks will be

operated from 7 o'clock in the morning

until midnight.Few Delays

In a notice to shipping interests concerning the coming overhaul and operating plans, Capt. Frank A. Munroe, Jr., Marini' Director, said that it is anticipated that a balanced day's traffic can be handled with no delays but some delays may be occasioned when north-south

transits are unbalanced or an unusual number of "clear cut" vessels arrive for transit on one day. "As an additional effort to minimize

delays to shipping," he announced, "and

in order to lock vessels as quickly as possible, a tug will be used at the north end

of Gatun Locks to assist ships. The

service will be furnished at the expense of the Panama Canal Company."

While subject to change, dependent upon the progress of the work, it is presently expected that the overhaul of the east chambers will be completed

within eight weeks, and the west chambers by April 15. The overhaul of the

center wall culvert will require about one month's time, and normal operations will be resumed about May 15.

.i^j SHIPS >nd SHIPPING,^

Transits by Ocean-Going Vessels In October

1955 1954 Commercial 709 683

U. S. Government 29 TotaL 738 711 Tolls* Commercial 83,070,585 $2,836,469 U.S. Government..- 101,433 120,184

Total 83,172,018 S2,956,663

*Includes tolls on all vessels, ocean-going and small.

Committee Seeking Testimony

(Continued from page l) Merchant Marine

and Fisheries Committee, within whose

jurisdiction is the Panama Canal, make

trips to the Zone for the purpose of securing first-hand information on the prob- lems of the people resident there. This

year, a number of bills vitally affecting the welfare of the people have been in- troduced and it has become very import- ant to have their views to guide the Committee in its deliberations. "It is hoped that testimony will be

offered by Governor Seybold and his

staff, and by citizens and employee organizations on pending legislation affecting allocation of tolls, redistribution of the expenses of the Zone Government, aban- donment of the railroad, and other matters of importance to the residents of the Zone upon which the Subcommittee

should be informed. "In addition to the hearings, the Sub- committee members expect to inspect various Canal facilities and installations to obtain background information for further hearings in Washington early next year." Most of the Subcommittee members, who are accompanied by their wives, plan

to spend about 10 days here before returning to the States. The hearings next week will be one of the few times in the past 25 years when

formal hearings have been held on the Isthmus by a Congressional Committee. The last formal hearings were held in March 1946, by the Panama Canal Sub- committee under the Chairmanship of Rep. Herbert C. Bonner, of North Carolina, now Chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee.

Latest Antarctic Expedition

(Continuedfrom page IS) the end of November three other vessels, the USS

Arneb and the USS Wyandot, both classed

as Attack Cargo Ships, and the USNS

Greenville Victory, were southbound en

route to Port Lyttleton, New Zealand, to join the other craft of Operation Deepfreeze. Aboard the 7,430-ton Arneb was a Cris- tobal High School graduate, Clifton Hayward, now a Seabee. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Alton Hayward of Margarita and had started his apprenticeship

with the Panama Canal before he joined

the Navy. The ships of Operation Deepfreeze are carrying dogs, "weasels" which are

specialized for use in the snow— helicopters and planes of other types, and much

new polar equipment. The task force is under the immediate

direction of Rear Adm. George Dufek and

the overall command of Admiral Byrd who

will join the expedition in New Zealand.