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David S. Parker Governor-President

Charles I. McGinnis

Lieutenant Governor

Willie K. Friar Editor, English Edition Jose T. Tunon

Editor, Spanish Edition

Writers Vic Conel, Fannie P. Hernandez,

Franklin Castrellon and Dolores E. Suisman

Frank A. Baldwin Panama Canal Information Officer Official Panama Canal Publication

Review articles may be reprinted witliout furtlier clearance. Credit to the Review will be appreciated.

The Panama Canal Review is published twice a year. Yearly subscription: regular mail $1, airmail $2, single copies 50 cents.

For subscription, send check or money order, made payable to the Panama Canal Company, to Panama Canal Review, Box M, Balboa Heights, C.Z,

Editorial Office is located in Room 100, Administration Building, Balboa Heights, C.Z.

Printed at the Panama Canal Printing Plant, La Boca, C.Z.

Contents

Panama's Pearls 3

Balboa, Elizabeth Taylor and

the mosqiieta are all a part of the history of the Pearl Island

pearls.

Consider the Crackowe 8

From the Duckbill to the

Sidewinder you can bet your

hrogans it's style that counts

in the selection of shoes.

Culinary Capers 12

Fare from everywhere avail- able at local restaurants.

Isthmus Turf Stars Local jockeys,

racing history.

15

horses make

Disney World 18

A look behind the scenes at a

favorite vacation spot.

Babel on the Banks of the

Panama Canal 22

TJie student body at Canal

Zone College is as international as the parade of ships

transiting the waterway.

Maritime Monickers 26

Whether named for a shell or

St. Nick, there's always a

story.

Three Decades Make a Difference 33

The Balboa High School Class

of '43 returns for a nostalgic

look at the Isthmus.

Artwork—Peter Gurnet/, p. 8 and 27; Hector Sinclair, p. 10; Carlos Mindez, p. 26. > 'r

» i".

Haustellum

5 3 1954

Our Cover

Sometimes finding just the right il- lustration for an article in tlie Review

becomes a storv in itself. Such was the case in locating a photograph of Eliza- beth Taylor wearing Panama's most famous pearl. The search, with assist- ance from William R. Mallorv, of the Canal's Motion Picture Service, spread

to such faravvav places as Rome and

London before Reverly Williams, of the Reference Section at the Canal Zone

Library, discovered that Life had fea- tured the actress wearing the pearl in a cover story on her 40th birthday. The

photo, obtained from Time-Life Photos

in New York, appears on the opposite page. The magnificent mosquetas on our cover and those used to illustrate the

story were loaned to the Review by

Richard and Silvia Werner, owners of Ricardo, the well known Panama City

jewelrv store. On the front cover is the beautifully

simple traditional mosqueta with its center pearl surrounded by circles of pearls

interspersed with gold.

The back cover shows a modern \'er- sion of a mosqueta, the designs and

variations of which are limited only by

the skill, ingenuity and artistry of the

jeweler.

Werner is known as Ricardo to res- idents of Panama, the Canal Zoiie, and

a worldwide clientele that includes many celebrities. He came to Panama

on a visit in 1936 and settled. One of a family of 13 jewelers, he began his ap- prenticeship in his father's store in Vien- na at the age of six. He worked at Casa

Fastlich and Tahiti before opening his own shop in 1947. The Werners shared their love and

knowledge of pearls and the mosqueta

with Review readers bv providing

much of the information in the storv. The co\'er photograph is by Arthur L. Pollack.

2 Spmng 1974
/

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Banama^ Pcani

ficm La rcica'iina

PEARLS AND GOLD HAVE

played an important part in the

history of Panama. And the mosqueta,

created by combining the two in an in- tricate work of art, has become one of the symbols of the country.

When a Panamanian girl pins her grandmother's mosqueta on the pom

pom on the front of her pollera, the national dress of Panama, she may man'el

at the beauty of the gold and pearl

brooch and wonder how it happened to be created. Many visitors, purchasing

them to take home, also express curiositv about the origin of the design.

No one knows for sure when the first mosqueta was created or who the de- designer was. But it is fairly certain that the gold and pearls of Panama were first joined in the delicate beauty of the mosqueta bv jewelers from southern Europe

who migrated to Panama, bringing with

them their skill in gold filigree work. At that time, labor was cheap and pearls

from the Pearl Islands were plentiful.

There is a storv that the brooches re- minded the jewelers of a beautiful blos- som and thev began to call them "mosquetas," the Spanish name for the white

musk roses of the Mediterranean area. These old mosquetas, fashioned of the famous Pearl Island pearls, are now treasured heirlooms passed down

through the generations. In more re- cent times, thev have inspired a complete line of jewelr\' including rings,

necklaces, and earrings. So the mosqueta is reallv a final chapter in the historv of the Panama pearls,

a historv that started as far back as Bal- boa and ended aljruptl\- in 19.38 when

the Red Tide spread o\'er the Ba\' of Panama and destroved the oyster beds

near the Pearl Islands.

Elizabeth Taylor wears Panama's most famous pearl, La Peregrina, as a drop pendant.

The pearl, which was found off the Pearl Islands more than 400 years ago, was a gift from Richard Burton who paid $37,000 for it. (See story on p. 7) Photo by Norman Parkinson.

The Panama Canal Review
INTRICATE WORKS OF ART-Nine magnificent mosquetas. In the top row

are three sizes of the traditional circles of pearls and filigree work. In the center and

bottom row, the mosquetas have been fashioned into a variety of forms. The number

of designs is limited only by the imagination of the jeweler.

Balboa was probably the first foreigner to know about the fabulous pearl beds. Legend says that on reaching the

Pacific after his crossing of the Isthmus,

he was met by an Indian chief whose

scanty costume consisted mainly of

pearls. Even the chief's canoe paddles were studded with pearls.

The Indians brought him pearls from

Panama Bay and told him of even more

wonderful pearl beds farther north, but

Balboa was unable to pursue the matter. He only made notes in his log. When reports reached Spain of the fabulous Panama pearl beds, other ex- plorers with more interest in plunder

than Balboa arrived to look for them

and soon the riches of the Gulf of Panama were on their way to Spain.

One of the most magnificent of all the pearls found in Panama is "La Peregrina," or wanderer, which has been worn by a Spanish king, an English queen, a French emperor and today

belongs to one of the most beautiful and

celebrated women of the world, Eliza- beth Taylor.

When it was found in the Gulf of

Panama 400 years ago, it was considered

so magnificent that the Negro slave who

discovered it was rewarded with his liberty and his owner was given a grant

of land and a title. But, according to Joan Younger

Dickinson in "The Book of Pearls," the

large bulk of the pearls taken to Spain, was reckoned by the pound, or marc, and no records have been found describ- ing the various sizes and types. It is possible that great pearls arrived in Spain by the bagful and were dispersed

along with quite ordinary ones. One

thing is certain, in the early davs Pan- ama was left mostly with the rejects.

One of the first mentions of the \ise of pearls in jewelry in Panama is made

bv a French engineer who visited the Darien in 1821. He writes of women

celebrating independence from Spain

proudly wearing large gold combs and

earrings decorated with the "inexpensive" pearls from the pearl fisheries of Panama.

An English woman, Ladv Emmeline

Stuart Worley, traveling through Central America and Panama in 1849, mentions in her book seeing a nursemaid

pass her room in Panama accompaning

a child whose dress was resplendent

with diamonds and pearls. "The pearls were wonderfully splendid," she added,

"because in this native water is a regular pearl industry. These treasures of the deep are abundantly found around

the island and prove a profitable source

of employment to a considerable body

of men who follow the laborious occupation of divers." And the occupation of the pearl divers was indeed laborious. In the early

days, slaves were sent to get the pearls.

They descended into the cold, deep

waters of Panama Bay with stones tied around their legs. Many of them died

of exposure to pressure, of cold and some

were killed bv sharks. By the early 19th century, the pearl

shells of Panama were to become more

in demand than the tiny pearls they

might contain. The occasional pearl

that might bring $2,000 on the Paris market was considered "gravy" to the merchants who were shipping shells to Germany to feed the largest mother of pearl market in the world. As early as 1888, Woldred Nelson tells in his book,

"Five Years in Panama" of the island of San Miguel where he found a stone church, the towers of which were cov- ered with pearl shells. The pearl shells that adorn the twin towers of the Pan- ama Cathedral in Panama City, which came from the Pearl Islands, are still being admired by visitors. By the time the European immigrants were fashioning the early mosquetas

with gold filigree work and pearls, the Panama pearl already had a long history.

The original handmade mosquetas

and those produced later with crude

tools cannot compare to the magnificent

mosquetas made today with their perfect cultured pearls and the finest fili- gree wire. Nevertheless, these early

pieces, made with thick wire and thick gold cups, are cherished heirlooms.

Because the baroque pearl comes in odd sizes and shapes, the old mosquetas were mostlv filigree work. The jeweler

who used 40 or 50 pearls in a mosqueta

had to make a gold cup to fit each

one, a tedious, time-consuming job not economicallv feasible today.

Panama jewelers were not faced

with the problem after 1938 because

the Red Tide killed the oyster beds. The

Red Tide, which occurs to some degree

at the end of each rainy season, is caused

by a half-plant, half-animal that the biology books call Gtjtnnodinium brcvis.

It reproduces with incredible rapidity

Spmng 1974
The first mosquetas were

mostly filigree work but

local jewelers now

produce an infinite variety

of designs and sizes.

Arturo Garcia, left, and Guillermo Thomas, at work in the Ricardo Jewelry Store,

setting pearls into filigree gold that has been fashioned into pins and rings.

The filigree work completed and

the vari-sized pearls at hand, the jeweler

performs the delicate task of joining

pearls and gold to produce the coveted mosqueta.

The traditional mosqueta was simply a center pearl surrounded by circles of pearls

interspersed with circles of gold. Modem versions of the mosqueta employ many variations of filigree ornaments. This photograph shows a brooch before it has been set with pearls. Surrounding the brooch are the individual pieces that Panamanian filigree workers,

employed at Ricardo, fashion from fine gold wire into delicate designs. The individual pieces are then soldered into circlets of the desired figurations and size.

The Panama Canal Review
causing vast stretches of the water to be stained a reddish brown. After the organisms die, they release a powerful

nerve poison that kills sea life by the hundreds of tons. Red Tide outbreaks are worse in years of heavy rainfall, and the near

record 85.61 inches of rain in 1938 pre- ceded the worst Red Tide in Panama's

history.

Since no pearls were available on the Isthmus following the death of the oysters, no mosquetas were made at all until the early 1950's when cultured

pearls were first imported from Japan

and filigree wire, produced by machine, was imported from Europe.

The few jewelers who started to make

mosquetas were not prepared for the sudden overwhelming popularity of the

various pieces. To fill the demand, Pan- ama imported more pearls from Japan

and they ordered the pearls to fit the gold cups of the mosqueta rather than

making the cups to fit the pearls.

This reverse order in je^velry making

was made possible bv the genius of the Japanese pearl merchants, headed bv

Kokochi Mikimoto. After a lifetime of experimentation, he succeeded in dis- covering a method for culturing pearls

in mass quantities. Thev are perfectly

shaped, come in various colors and in anv size. In fact, there are so few natiual

pearls available these davs that when

pearls are mentioned thev are usually cultured pearls.

In creating the cultured pearl, man

imitates nature only insofar as he in- serts the foreign object into the ovster

to start the flow of the protective secretion, called nacre, which coats the obMarilyn Pedroso, a

secretary in the

Personnel Bureau, models mosqueta pin

and earrings made

in the traditioqal design

of a large center pearl

circled by increasingly

larger rows of pearls

and filigree.

ject and eventually forms a pearl. When

the ovster is about 2 years old, it is in- jected with an antibiotic to prevent

infection and then an incision is made

to create a pocket to receive the pellet

which stimulates the flow of nacre. The

ovster does the rest. The finest pearls in size and quality

are left in the oyster for 7 or 8 years and consist of many coats of nacre. A 14-inch strand of these matched

pearls might bring as much as $80,000.

Although the Japanese are credited

with the success of the cultured pearl

business, they needed a little he]p from

the United States and Australia. It was

foinid that the best foreign object that could be used to start a pearl was made

Marilyn Escobar wears

the wedding pollera with the traditional mosqueta attached

to the pom pom.

of Mississippi River oyster shells. The

shells are cut into strips, then into cubes

and put into a gem tumbler to be ground

down for insertion into the oyster. Each

year nearly 6 tons of oyster shells are exported from the United States to Japan. The oysters in which the pearls are cultured come from off the coast

of Australia. While the natural pearl industry will never be the same in Panama or any- where else, there have been indications recently that the pearl beds of Panama

may be regenerating.

Pearl divers are at work again and on

occasion find oysters containing pearls.

Like their ancestors. Pearl Island divers remove the pearls, put them in a bag

and offer them for sale to visitors.

Nita Navarro Chiari de Lewis, wife

of Gabriel Lewis, who has developed

Contadora Island, recently purchased a pear-shaped pearl measuring between

one-half and three-quarters of an inch.

It is bluish-grey green and Mrs. Lewis

felt that if she could find another, they

would make a beautiful pair of earrings.

While waiting to find a matching

pearl, she had her's appraised and was dumbfounded to learn it was valued at about $11,000.

Its discoveiT has not prompted a pearl rush to the Islands, but Lewis feels that

it is something to consider. In the future,

he may take on the job of developing Panama's pearl industry and it is conceivable that Panama pearls may be

used again in the making of Panama's famous mosquetas.

6 Spbing 1974
La Pccicctiina

s

"La Peregrina," the beautiful costly

pearl that now belongs to lovelv Eli- zabeth Taylor was found in the Gulf of Panama 400 vears ago. As were most gold and jewels ac- quired in the New World, the pearl was

taken to Spain for King Philip II, whose

court jeweler described it as priceless.

When he married Marv Tudor, the daughter of Henry VIII of England, the incomparable pear-shaped gem was her

wedding gift. Philip returned to Spain after Marv's

death in 15.58 and, as she had requested,

he ordered La Peregrina set in the crown

of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe, a crown famed for its great gems. Xo one knows when the pearl was

removed from the Virgin's crown but it was ne.xt heard of in 1605 when Margarita of Spain wore it at the celebration of a peace treaty between Spain

and England.

Another pearl almost equal in size, shape and luster was discovered in American waters in 1790, and La Peregrina temporarily became one of a pair

of earrings formed of the two great

pearls.

Nearly a hundred vears later, a visitor to Spain told of seeing the pearl—perfectly shaped and bell-mouthed—hanging on a clasp of diamonds in the folds

of the king's hat. When the king, Joseph

Bonaparte, abdicated the Spanish throne

in 1813, he took La Peregrina with him.

It passed on to his stepniece, Hortense,

who, in turn, left it to her son. Napoleon III, the Emperor of France. During

one of his manv exiles in England, he

offered La Peregrina for sale in London,

and the Marquis of Abercorn bought it for his wife. Since the pearl had never been bored,

she lost it on several occasions, includ- ing once at Buckingham Palace where

she was very distressed until she happened to spot it in the velvet train of another woman, and at Windsor Castle where, after much searching, it was

found in the upholstery of a sofa. In 191.3, the Abercorn familv had the

great pearl polished and certified to weigh 203.84 grains, and in 1938 it was

still in the family's possession.

The New York Times, in its issue of July 24, 1969, reported that, "an an- onymous buyer acquired from an an- onymous owner at the Parke- Bernet Galleries yesterday what has been called the

world's most famous pearl." The price

Elizabeth Taylor wore La Peregrina

when she appeared as an extra in "Anne Of The Thousand Davs" and, if not

the Panama pearl, one that closely resembled it in these scenes from "Divorce"

(left) and "Ash Wednesday", featured

this spring at Panama Canal theaters.

was $37,000. The pearl, of course, was

Panama's La Peregrina.

Two days later, in another Times

stor)', Parke-Bernet's president Peregri- ne Pollen (yes, that is his correct name

and yes, it is an amazing coincidence) revealed that the anonymous buver was

an agent for Richard Burton. .And the agent said he assumed the pearl was to be Burton's gift to Miss Taylor on her

birthday.

Discussing La Peregrina with a re- porter from the Ladies Home Journal, Burton said, "The Peregrina pearl needs no elaboration from me. Though it is one of the least expensive things I've given her, it really excites me. I like to hold it and think of all the people who

wore it, from Mary Tudor on down. And

the fact that it is the Peregrina and

already has disappeared three times. It means 'the wanderer' vou know. Well,

Elizabeth only had it a week when it disappeared completely . . . then one

day, one of the Pekes was chewing on what she thought was a bone in the

corner. It turned out to be the pearl, and

the dog's teeth marks are still on it." At least two other pearls from the Gulf of Panama became crown jewels.

The most famous was found not in an

oyster, but loose in the sea bed; hence

its name, Huerfana—"the orphan."

Another was the 26-carat Oviedo,

named for the Spanish historian Gonzalo de Oviedo y Valdes who purchased

it and recorded it as worth 6.50 times

its weight in pure gold.

Above: Baroque pearls found recently near Contadora and a 1495 etching,

which shows divers in Panama Bay

and Spaniards bartering with the Indians for pearls.

The Panama Canal Review
Consider

The Crackowe

PHYSICIANS FROWN ON FAR

out fashions in footwear. Those 5-inch heels and unyielding

platforms can cause the wearer all sorts of problems—corns, calluses, bunions,

ingrown toenails and a host of other ail- ments and discomforts including backaches and sore leg muscles, they say. But it seems that folks have always

had a fetish for fashion and are willing

to suffer for style's sake. Take the crackowe, for example, a number that was fashionable among

people of high station in the 14th century. It featured toes so long that a chain was attached to each to allow the wearer

to hold them up as he walked along.

Presumably, this pre\ented stumbling

—but probably made people roimdshouldered. Then there was the duckbill, which

became popular in England during the time of Queen Mary. Its stylishness was

determined by its width and each suc- ceeding model was wider. It must haye

lieen like walking around in swim fins. Finally, the madness was halted by a law

which limited the width of shoes to 6 inches. Current fashions, a re\iyal of the 1940s styles, are also condemned by

Ralph Nader, who contends that the heavy platform heels have caused

broken ankles, twisted knees and torn ligaments. Furthermore, he says, many

designs impede dri\ing and could cause

accidents. But it's style, not safety, that sells shoes. Shoe manufacturers make in-depth

studies of trends and buying habits in order to produce comprehensive manuals on the science of selling shoes. One such manual received by the Balboa Shoe Store classifies customers by

sex and age group and instructs sales- men on what to expect from each. It

tells them how to deal with certain

situations, and offers tips on what to say, what to stress and what not to mention

in making a sales pitch.

In this day of women's liberation, the

writer of this manual mav well be tread- ing on dangerous groimd when he

(svuelv not she) offers salesmen a glos- sary of words and phrases to be used

exclusi\ely when selling to women.

"Use the language of fashion," it urges. "Don't sav red, blue or greenuse words like shade, hue, tint, cast, dual

tone, multicolor, etc., for this is how women think of colors." Shoes should not be described to wo- men in prosaic terms, according to the

book. You don't talk about the last of a

shoe, you refer to the shape, or, better

yet, the silhouette. And don't say toe shape, say "toe expression." Other

phrases considered proper for use when dealing with women are "heel "contour," "hugging topline" and "sculp- tured lines." Such language, the manual

points out, "dramatizes the fashion fea- tures of the shoe in words that ring a fashion bell with women."

The manual also includes acKice on

selling to men, who are classified by

age and status. According to the manual, high .school and college students tend to follow the trend of their peers, while young working men are "not faddists but individualists and highly style conscious." Men over 30, salesmen are told, are concerned with comfort and quality.

They are likely to ask for particular

brands and are willing to pay more for

their shoes.

By Vic Canel

N\'hen selling to men, don't emphasize

long wear, unless selling workshoes or

utility boots, and don't place emphasis on price either, the book says—but, as

in dealing with women, do stress style. Aware that parents of small children

are as interested in long wear as in

style, the manual gives some interesting

statistics to help a salesperson push

sturd\- shoes. It points out that the aver- age active child's shoe must take 20,000

flexings or bendings a day, and the same

active child will cover about 600 miles

(like walking from New York to Detroit)

during the lifetime of a pair of shoes. George Menzies, who has worked in Panama Canal shoestores for 23 years, says that between 10 and 1.5 percent of the men's shoes currently being sold at the Balboa Shoe Store are the new high

heel platforms. Most sales are to young

military personnel who welcome this dramatic change from their uniform

footwear. Wilfred Adams, a supervisory supply

clerk who has worked in the shoe de- partment for 16 of his 40 years with the Canal organization, tells of one man who

admitted that he couldn't get used to walking in high heels and came back

for a refund. Another veteran of the shoestore

is Catalina Lopez, who is constantly

sought out by customers because of her

amazing ability to remember regular customers' shoe sizes and to gage chil- dren's shoe sizes on sight. All the salespeople agree that women

buy more shoes than men, who usually

have only five to seven pairs in their wardrobe and seldom buy more than one pair at a time. Women, they point

out, buy shoes to go with dresses or other accessories.

8 Spring 1974
The new styles in men's shoes are making many men more fashion conscious and thev are beginning to accept

the colorful new numbers with red, green and blue uppers—not just the

blacks, brown and cordovans. White

shoes always have been fairly popular

in the tropics. Dexter Shoe Co. of Boston, one of the companies that supplies the Canal Zone,

features a line of fancy boots with such names as "Baron," "Mosaic," "Camelot,"

"Sentinel," and "Sidewinder."

Canal Zone shoe customers in construction days weren't troubled by the problem of making a selection from a long line of styles and models. But women, in particular, had a problem of another nature. Reminiscing about those

days, the August 15, 1939 edition of the Panama Ariicrican points out that local shoemakers didn't realize that American women had longer, narrower feet than

Panamanian women. The article relates that one day Colonel Goethals asked

two young girls what was most needed

in the Zone. One said books, the other

said shoes. Colonel Goethals then

suggested she was vain. "No," she re- sponded, "Not vain, just awfully uncomfortable." Men's shoes of various types were

imported by the Canal organization

during construction days—both for sale

in the commissary and for issuing to workers.

In his history of the Panama Canal

and the construction days, published in 1915, Ira E. Bennett writes of the "high

quality" shoes supplied to the Canal

workers by a Rochester, N.Y. firm, which

"made many shipments of shoes that were used by the Canal officers and

heads of departments and their families." The laborers' heavier shoes were

furnished by other firms, he notes. Records show that the Canal organization also bought quantities of expendable cloth shoes with rope soles called "alpargatas" in Spanish, but which to- day are referred to in sophisticated

sportswear circles by the French name,

"espadrilles." The humble alpargata,

which is still worn extensively in Europe, particularly Spain, sold during

construction days for 15 or 20 cents a

pair and were issued to patients at Corozal around 1914.

Still, the variety of shoes available on the Isthmus during those early days was anything but extensive. Shoes were

utilitarian, not stylish. As late as 1920,

the chief quartermaster of the Canal

Zone proposed that a standard line of shoes be carried in the commissary for men and another for women. Or at most,

Above: Standing tall on the steps of the Panama Canal Administration Building,

this stylish young man draws an approving look from a friend.

Below: Fashion forecasters say the high platform styles are on the way out and pointed shoes with shaft heels are coming back.

The Panama Canal Review
T

Colombian poet Luis C. Lopez likened the attachment a man feels for a pair of old shoes

to his affection for his native city, Cartagena. The poem was immortalized in this unique monument by Ernesto C. Martelo. At left: Sketches of shoes worn

during the construction days of the Panama Canal.

he was willing to concede that only four

styles be offered—one low price and one medium price for each.

In those days, Army issue shoes were

evidently very much sought after for their sturdy qualities. But wearing of

distinctive uniform items bv civilians was prohibited bv the National Defense

Act of 1916. On April 2, 1918, the Star

if Herald reported that Canal Zone

police had stopped a man for wearing

Armv shoes. The arresting officer, a former soldier with the 29th Infantry

Regiment at Culebra, knew an Army

shoe when he saw one. The offender,

who had been a businessman during

construction days at Empire, was absolved when the judge ruled that shoes did not constitute a "distincti\'e" part

of the uniform. But he had to give up

the shoes anywav, because thev bore the mark of the Philadelphia Depot. Along

about the same time, at the request of the military, the sale of olive drab flan- nel shirts was discontinued at the commissaries. Panama's shoe industry was born in the mid-1920's and has grown rather

steadily since. Today, there are 10 factories plus a number of independent

shops which still produce shoes bv hand.

Among the largest producers are Empresa Panameiia de Calzados, which for the last few years has held a franchise

for the local manufacture of the U.S.- designed Hush Puppies; Coda, S.A., La

Central; and Fabrica Nacional de Cal- zado Francisco Pereira. Only one of the Panama factories. La

Central, has ventured to produce the new platform styles. Others look upon

the extreme styles as a passing fad and

don't feel it is worth the investment

required for retooling. American-made

lasts for those shoes alone cost about

$9 a pair, says Alberto Pereira, whose

father founded the factory in 1934.

Pereira manufactures the sort of shoes our parents used to call "sensible" —mostly for men. They also make school shoes for boys and girls as well as work

boots with steel safety toes. Leather used by most local manufacturers is produced in Panama, which

has three tanneries—two in Panama

City and one in Chitre. Synthetics are imported, some from Europe, but mostly

from the L'nited States. The fuel crisis has affected the shoe

industry, since many of these synthetics are byproducts of petroleum and have

become scarce, Pereira points out. Still, his factory produces between 700 and

800 pairs a day.

Most experts in the industry agree with Pereira about the heavy platforms

going out of style. Ads in a recent issue

of one of the trade publications. Foot- wear News, show a nostalgic trend to- ward the styles of the 30's—Y\es St. Laurent, Gi\enchy and Dior are going

back to the pointed toes and shaft heels. And the few platforms illustrated are much, much lower. Whatever the future may hold, you

can bet your brogans that buyers will continue to listen to the St. Laurents,

the Givenchy's and the Diors and not

to the medics or the Naders.

Just so they don't go back to the crackowe.

10 Spring 1974
Below: George Menzies arranges a display at the Balboa Shoe

Store. Between 10 and 15 percent of men's shoes sold at

this outlet are of the new high-heel style.

Above: Fitting children's shoes is a specialty with Catalina Lopez, who after 18 years in the Balboa Shoe Store, can gage sizes on sight.

Shoemaking in Fanama--

Most of the modem machinery used by Panama manufacturers is leased from

U.S. firms. Only one of the Panama

factories has ventured to produce

the new platform styles.

Panama's shoe industry was bom in the 1920's. Today there are 10 factories plus

a number of independent shops which still produce shoes by hand.

Pereira's plant manufactures between 600 and 700 pairs a day

and concentrates on utilitarian shoes for men, boys

and girls.

The Panama Canal Review 11
THE INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

of Panama, busy crossroads of the

world, is reflected in a wide variety of restaurants geared to please the palates

of a heterogeneous clientele. Chinese food has a long tradition in Panama, where Chinese restaurants have existed for many years. Two of the most luxurious are Palacio Lung Fung

and Panachina. The most popular, however, are older restaurants located in the

old part of the city. Among them are Gran Oriente, Nuevo Gran Oriente,

Mandarin, Gran China and Taiwan.

Lung Fung and Panachina offer similar menus and international fare. The

large variety of Chinese food includes the famous sharkfin soup and a gourmet's delight, whole corbina stuffed with a mixture of ground peanuts and

almonds, Chinese parsley, water chest- nuts and green onions, seasoned with

soy sauce and sesame oil. Abalone with chicken is another specialty available in these two restaurants. Very thin slices of abalone are combined

with chicken, water chestnuts, bamboo

shoots, soy sauce, "ve tsin" powder (a

Chinese condiment) and other ingre- dients in this superb dish. Triple Delicia Lung Fung, recently

introduced at Lung Fung, is a combination of chicken, roast pork and shrimp

cooked with Chinese seasonings, vegetables and oyster sauce. Steamed corbina is another prestige dish at Lung Fung.

The traditional dishes of Spain are popular in Panama restaurants. The

famous paella, the cocido and the Spanish tortilla, prepared in a variety of ways, are favorite dishes in a number

of eating places.

Paella, which gets its name from the

receptacle in which it is cooked, is made

in literally dozens of ways. It is a rice dish combined with chicken, clams,

mussels, shrimp, Spanish sausage, scjuid, artichoke hearts and a host of seasonings that make it a veritable feast. The

Valencia version of paella is the most

popular in Panama.

E.xcellent Spanish food and seafood

Panama^

Restaurants

By Franklin Castrellon

are found at Panamar, a picturescjue

eating place with an open air tropical

garden, located on the shores of Pan- ama Bay. El Dorado, a downtown res- taurant, also serves an excellent paella. Panamar's paella contains the seafood

of Panama waters and the traditional ingredients of the Valencia dish, aspar- agus, pimentos and olives. Panamar also features the classic sea- food dish, Cazuela de Catalufia which

combines lobster, oyster, clams, mussels,

shrimp, corbina and other seafood,

grilled in butter and served with a sauce made of butter, curry powder, garlic,

salt and pepper. Another delicious dish served at Pan- amar is Corbina a la Sueca, Corbina

Swedish style, in which the fish is topped with a mixture of chopped, hardboiled egg, "recado verde" (Panamanian herbs) and Panamar's own sauce.

Specialties at El Dorado are Corbina

a la Victoria, Salpicon de Langosta, Pul- po a la Gallega and Langosta-filete. In the corbina dish, the fillets are flambeed in cognac and sherry and then

served with a sauce of butter, tomatoes,

bacon bits, garlic, and onion and sea- soned with salt. The dish is garnished

with shrimp and served with potatoes

and a vegetable.

Good Spanish food is also found at

the Caballo de Hierro, genuine old Pan- ama Railroad cars turned restaurant, where the waitresses are attractively dressed in railroad-type uniforms, and

at Los Tarantos, where in addition to good food, there is Spanish music and

decor. Panama Seiiorial with its "Patio Pa- nameiio" is one of Panama's best res- taurants where international fare is served in a beautiful garden atmosphere. Specialties are imported meats and Panama seafood. Excellent Spanish dishes also are

ser\ed at the restaurants of Panama's

leading hotels. The well-known lasagne, gnocci, ravioli, and a host of other popular dishes

are only a small part of the phenomenon known as pastas. Italian rice dishes

are as delicious as the famous pastas

made of wheat flour. It is surprising to note that Italy consumes more rice per

capita than most Western countries. Numerous Italian restaurants in Pan- ama ser\'e an endless variety of specialties. Among the better-known are Las

Americas, Sarti, Napoli, Capri, Rizzo

and Bigote.

The former Panazone Restaurant,

which opened in 1940 and later became

Las Americas, was famous for its pasta

dishes. It's clientele included well- known personalities—among them Ar- gentine President Juan Domingo Peron and the late President Jose Remon Cantera of Panama.

A highly recommended rice dish, available at all of these restaurants, is Risotto alia Milanesa. It is rice cooked

in chicken broth, flavored with saffron and served with grated Parmesan

cheese. A new Mexican restaurant, the Azteca, is located in Las Cumbres, about a 1.5-minute drive from downtown Pan- ama City. The wide variety of Mexican

dishes includes tacos, enchiladas, chalupas, Mexican tamales, and nachos. Most of these dishes are accompanied

by refried beans. The combination plate, the Azteca Special, gives those unfamiliar with Me,xican food an opportunity to sample a variety of dishes.

12 Spring 1974
When avocados are in season the Azteca offers guacamole, a delicious mixture of mashed avocado seasoned with

lemon juice, chopped onion, tomato and

garlic. Also available is an excellent sopa de mondongo, tripe soup, for those who enjov such fare. The newly opened Kyoto Restaurant

serves a variety of Japanese dishes to

suit the most discriminating tastes. Diners are served by waitresses in Ja- panese garb, emulating the geishas.

There is a Japanese style dining room

for those who prefer to eat in the tradi- tional Japanese manner. Among the many Japanese dishes are Sukivaki,

Tempura, shabushbu and makizuki.

Sukivaki, beef with Japanese vegetables,

is perhaps the most familiar to Americans. It contains thin strips of meat,

vegetables, fried and flavored with sov sauce and sake, and served with very

thin rice noodles or rice. The better-known restaurants serving

South American specialties are La

Fonda Antioquena offering Colombian

dishes, and La Pampa, famous for its charcoal cooked Argentine meats. La Fonda offers several versions of the Arepa Antioquena and beans with

bacon rinds. The specialty of the house

is the typical Antioqueno Platter, that

consists of rice, ground meat, bacon

rinds, egg, patacones (fried green plantain) and other Colombian goodies. La The Lung Fung

Fare From Everywhere

The Kyoto The Azteca

The Panama Canal RE\aEW 13
ABOVE: An inviting

breezeway connects two old Panama Railroad cars that became the Caballo de

Hierro, one of Panama's

favorite restaurants where

Spanish food is served. AT LEFT: Seviche,

sancocho, almojabanas and

tortillas are among

the typical foods of Panama

served at Don Samy II, one of Panama's

most popular eating places.

Fonda also serves a delicious Colombian

style roast beef and pork.

La Pampa does honor to meat cooked

over charcoal and served with "chimichurry" sauce. In addition to charcoaled

meats. La Pampa serves charcoal cooked

fish and seafood. The typical food of Panama should

not be overlooked. Such dishes as sevi- che, the many other fish dishes, tortillas, chicharrones (bacon rinds) almojabanas,

guacho and sancocho are good fare. These dishes are found at El Gallo de

Oro (also known as Don Samy II) , Don

Samy I and the Joron de Vista Hermosa. La Tablita, El Bohio Turistico at Old Panama and the Bohio Hipico.

Don Samy I, a standup, snack-type

eatery, whose origin dates back to 1945,

when its owners operated a beverage

pushcart, has been a favorite of the local populace. Later, the pushcart was el- evated to a kiosk and by 1945 the owner

was offering fried yucca, bean tarts, and

meat-on-a-stick. A fire temporarily interrupted operations in early 1960 but it wasn't long

before Don Samv I was back in business serving carimanolas, and more yuc- ca specialties. The establishment pros- pered and in 1968, additional typical foods were added to the menu. There was chicken soup at IO0 a cup and

people from all walks of life stopped by

to have a quick snack. Among them, the United States astronauts. President Fi- gueres of Costa Rica, and various Hollywood stars. Don Samy I is now operating as a cooperative in an area known

as the "Besodromo," a lover's lane.

El Gallo de Oro, the sitdown version

of Don Samy I, opened in 1969. The menu features such Panamanian favorites as the delicious sancocho and gallo

pinto. Gallo pinto, misnamed because it contains no fowl, is a soupy stew made of

rice and beans and pieces of pork tail, served with a typical sauce. A version of Sancocho Santefio is served at the Joron de Vista Hermosa

where the cook adds pimento, celery, sweet pepper, Chinese parslev, onion

and fried green plantain to Panama's

national dish.

\

14 Sphing 1974
r

Isthmus Turf Stars

Km
^—IT

At left: Laffit Pincay, Jr., the outstanding

Panamanian jockey who earned

a

record $4 million in

purses while riding at U.S. tracks.

Below: Manuel Icaza, the first Panamanian

jockey to make the big time in

the United States. He is now Panama's consul general

in New York.

crowded President Remon Racetrack,

stomped and cheered as the Panamanian horse crossed the finish line. Among

them probably were many oldtimers

who remembered when it was touch

and go for the sport of kings in Panama.

According to Julio Mercado, one of

the most distinguished horseracing afi- cionados in Panama, the first horse races were held about the turn of the century on the Bella Vista Beach with horses running between a site now occupied

by the Panama Yacht Club and the en- trance of the Mataznillo River near Paitilla Point. This area was used later for many years as an exercise run for the

horses from Juan Franco Racetrack. The races were held whenever the

spirit moved the horse owners but

usually there was

a race on Sunday

when residents of Panama City would

make the long trip on foot from the Cinco de Mayo Plaza near the Panama

Railroad Station to Bella Vista, which was then a rural area. In the dry season, races often were

held in Las Sabanas,

a popular dry sea- son resort area for Panama residents. Only native horses took part in these

early races, but as the sport became

more popular, horses were imported

from Jamaica and other countries for racing and breeding. Race fans began to clamor for a per- manent racetrack and official support

for their hobby.

A site was chosen for the racetrack, the clubhouse and grandstand at a former ranch called Juan

Franco.

Ironically, President Belisario Porras, one of the most progressive and popular

of Panama's presidents, threw cold water on the idea. He believed that the newly nationalized lottery would suffer

if the state were to sponsor horse racing

which naturally involved betting.

It took the best efforts of

a group of

influential citizens headed by the President's dear friends, Julio Mercado, and

Eduardo Chiari, to change the President's mind.

They finally convinced Dr. Porras

that the official support of racing in Pan- ama would not only make thousands of race fans happy but would create new

sources of employment and would not

interfere with the lottery. And it didn't. The new racetrack was built at Juan

Franco, and in 1922, it was opened

formally with President Porras; Dr. John C. South, U.S. Minister to Pan- ama; Raul Espinosa, the first president

of the Jockey Club; and other officials

in attendance.

In addition to Don Raul,

a number

of well known Panama residents contributed to the success of the new Jockey

Club. Among them were Don Francisco

Arias Paredes; Don Ernesto "Neco" de

la Guardia; General Nicanor De Obarrio, owner of the land on which the

track was built; Carlos Muller; To- mas Gabriel Duque; and David M.

Toledano.

Much credit for the success of the club can be given to Don Raul, who

made trips to the United States on busi- ness related to the operation of the race- track and the purchase of horses. On

one occasion he bought 100 racehorses and divided them among Panamanians

interested in racing. The recipients,

mostly West Indians, repaid Don Raul

with their winnings at the track. Residents of the Canal Zone also took an active part in the development of the Panama Tockev Club and manv owned

horses which they entered in the races. Some of the vounger Canal Zone youths

acted as jockeys and others exercised horses on the Bella Vista sands just for the fun of it. Henry Makibbin, who recently re- tired from the Panama Canal, was one

of the most enthusiastic. He spent much

of his spare time at the racetrack and

on several occasions went to the Unitd

States to study horse training. He

bought his first horse in the 1940's. It was a native Panamanian horse which won several races. Makibbin became so adept at train- ing horses that he took over the care of a mare named Gatesaba, owned by Don

Julio Mercado, which had lost all the

races in which she was entered. He sur16 Spuing 1974
Finishing at least 2 lengths aliead of his nearest rival in the Mothers Day Classic, December 8, 1972, is Epistle, a product of the San Miguel ranch.

A Popular Sport Since Construction Days

niised that all the horse needed was a

little rest, and after several weeks at pasture, he put the horse back in the

ninning. Lacking confidence, however,

in his own training ability, he bet on the

favorite. Gatesaba won the race. This

led him to remark that owners and

trainers should go after the purse and

leave the betting to others. In 1946, all games of chance involving

betting were taken over by the Panama

Government and about the same time it was decided that Panama needed a new

racetrack. President Jose Antonio Remon, one of the most avid of horseracing fans, pro- moted the idea and plans were made for construction of a track in an area on the

outskirts of the citv where Charles Lindbergh had landed the Spirit of St. Louis

during a goodwill tour in 1928.

Ironically, President Remon was as- sassinated at Juan Franco before the new racetrack was completed, but it was

inaugurated and named for him in 1956,

during the administration of his successor. President Ricardo Arias Espinosa.

The new racetrack, which attracts thousands of fans weekly, has all modern

facilities including two courses, an auto- matic totalizator, ample parking space and lighting for night races. As predicted by the early founders of

Panama's Jockey Club, other sources of employment and interest have grown

along with the sport. A number of Pan- amanians have gone into the business of horse breeding and Panamanian jockeys

have become prominent at racetracks in the United States and in other nations. Pioneers in the horse breeding busi- ness are Carlos and Fernando Eleta, well known Panama businessmen, who

started a horse farm in 1948 in the highlands of Chiriqui Province. The Eleta brothers bred a string of winning racers, including the fabulous Montecarlo,

from an Irish stallion named Keyhaven.

The money won by the descendents of

this fantastic horse has amounted to more than a million dollars. Another horse farm in the Chiriqui

highlands is owned bv Mrs. Rosita de

Martinz, widow of the late Louis Martinz, whose home in Cerro Punta is a showplace of Panama. Also in Chiriqui

is San Jose Farm, owned by Carlos Ju- rado, well known Chiriqui businessman.

Perhaps the best known of the Pan- ama jockevs are Manuel Icaza, at present

Panama Consul General in New York; and Braulio Baeza, whose mounts won

both the Kentucky Derby and the Bel- mont Stakes. Until his retirement Icaza was considered one of the outstanding

jockevs in the United States. He has

ridden more than 2,000 winners which

earned .some $L5 million.

EUREKA

Race Book

Colon, 4th July, 1914

A Program of the Racing Events, according; to the authorized list of the Stewards and promoters.

ALSO

THE LATEST SONGS, JOKES AND HUMOROUS SELECTIONS. WITH

the advertisements of the leading Merchants and Commmerclal

houses of Colon and Panama.

J. A. NAAR, C«MriLEi«

The U.S. Independence Day racing event

heralded by this program took place in Colon just a few weeks before the Panama Canal opened. No one really knows when the sport of kings

started in Colon or when it died out.

The Panama Canal Review 17

DISNEY WORLD

A Look Backstage

By Willie K. Friar

THERE'S ENOUGH LAND HERE

to hold all the ideas and plans wc can possibly imaf^ine," said Walt

Disney hack in 1964 as he disciisscd

his plans for Disney World. "With the

technical know-how of American in- dustry and the creative ima);ination

of the Disney organization, I am confident we can bnild a living showcase that more people will talk ahout and conjc to look at than any other area

in the world," Disney World, which is moving np

to the top of the list of destinations of

greatest interest to Panama f'anal employees heading for family vacations in the United States, is living up to all of Walt Disney's expectations. Located near Orlando, Fla., it is not only a popular vacation spot hut

it is attracting architects and engineers, who want lo take a look hchiud

the scenes and see how it all works and

works so well. They come to learn how

ecological prohlem.s have been solved.

At right: A special effects expert peers

around a candelabra in the Haunted

Mansion as he performs a walk-through

inspection of the funilshings.

Center: An employee selects her costume

from the wardrobe department which

clothes more people on o daily basis

than tmy other wardrobe department

in the world. For right: A gardener woters

a moose. The many topiary figures^

which decorate the grounds, require

careful grooming and nurturing.

new ways of city planning, about gar- bage tiillcction and flood control. One of the ideas in which there is great interest is Disney World's base- ment which covers 8 acres. Disney

World, boasts that it has the largest basement in Florida.

'ITiis vast service area, which spreads beneath the entire park, is where all the

water, electric, and sewage lines are concealed but located so that thev are

readily accessible for repair. Disney

made sure that the soimcl of the jack hammer, taking up pavement to repair

a broken water line, will never be heard

in the iMagic Kingdom.

Special supplv-carrving tractors operate here so that no delivery tnicks dis- turb the atmosphere above. Illusions

c;in be preserved, since all costumes and dressing rooms are located here and visitors arc spared the sight of a spaceman or a frontier guide nishing

through the wrong theme park en route

to his own. He can go through corridors and up stairs directly into his particular

Horse-drawn streetcars transport visitors from Mj|lr*el, U.S.A. to Cinderella's Castle which is 18 stories high. From this location, gu<««n enter Adventureland,

Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland and '~ ;^JCAvland,

Mickey Mouse greets Luz Sedda, of the Canal's Rates Branch, and her family on their arri\'nl at Disney World. At left are her husband, Ileman, and Melissa, and at right, Tony, David, and Ana Luisa.

All photos in this article ® Walt Disney Productions.

18 Spring 1974 The Panama Canal Review 19
aiea, whether it is Adventureland or Land of Tomorrow.

More than 10,000 "actors" are cos- tumed daily in the basement. This in- cludes theme park employees, special

entertainers, the famous Disney characters and the audio-animatronic figures

in the eight major attractions that use

this new patented Disney invention. In

this system, voices, music, and sound

effects are electronically combined and

synchronized with the lifelike movements of three-dimensional objects ranging from birds and flowers to humans.

These figures wear out costumes rapidly because of the many movements they

are programed to make. The 36 Presidents of the United States in the Hall

of Presidents, for instance, stand, sit, nod, turn and smile. Replacement parts

for their costumes are included in the more than 1,000,000 different items in the wardrobe department.

Visitors to the Magic Kingdom think

that it must be magical that no noisy

garbage trucks are seen anywhere. This

is made possible by the Swedish garl>age system which whisks refuse bv vac- uum tubes from 15 stations within the park to a compacting plant hidden from

\iew outside the gates. Even the service basement has no garbage trucks and

they will never be needed anywhere in the theme park area. The system is capable of handling .50 tons of refuse daily. Architects think that this system could

be adapted for use in new suburban

areas now being developed.

Disney World's environmental protection operation is very thorough con- cerning air and water pollution control.

TTiis falls under the super\'ision of a former Governor of the Canal Zone. William E. Potter, who has the title of chairman of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Reedy Creek, controlled by the Disney organization, sets air and

water pollution standards, and han^lles manv other diverse functions. An enormous computer supervises the whole operation and provides a fire monitorine system that is tied into Dis- nev World's own fire department. It also monitors all rides and mechanical de-

\'ices throughout the park, automaticalIv shutting down anv equipment that malfunctions.

All of this, of course, is to support

the Magic Kingdom, the amusement

Hotels at Disney World are the Contemporary, at top, the Polynesian

Village, center, and the Golf Resort, at left.

20 Spmng 1974
park itself, and an important part of maintaining its illusions is that everything works and works well. There are no blackouts and the trains, trams, and

boats all work efficiently and on time. Although the daily volume of visitors exceeds 50,000 people, who discard

about a pound and a half of litter each, the streets stay clean. Young visitors to Disneyland often wish they could stay overnight in the magical atmosphere. At Disney World

this is possible as there are three unique

hotels, the 1,0.57-room Contemporary

Resort Hotel, the .500-room Polynesian,

and the 151-room Golf Hotel.

Later, as part of a 5-year plan, several other resorts will be added, including

themes from the Old West, Venice, Asia

and Persia. All will overlook the Seven

Seas Lagoon or 450-acre Bay Lake.

Most spectacular of the resorts is the Contemporary, which has convention

and e.xhibit facilities, including restaurants and entertainment areas, shops,

nightclubs, beaches and a marina.

The Contemporary tower is an unusual building in many ways. It was

constructed of preassembled room units overlooking an inner-concotirse so vast

it is called the "Grand Canvon."

The concourse is much like an out- door park that has been moved indoors. At its center is a four-sided tile mural

nine stories high, depicting the colors and patterns of the Grand Canyon.

Called "The Pueblo Village" it covers 18,000 square feet, and is one of the

world's largest murals. Through the heart of this busy con- course travels the silent, all-electric monorail carrying guests to the Magic

Kingdom, to the main parking area and to the Polynesian Village. At the Polynesian Village, guest rooms are nestled in three-story "longhouses" arranged around a picturesque

marina with quiet beaches, broad green

lawns, and swaying palms to complete

the island setting. Dining room menus

in the Papeete Bay Veranda, overlooking the Seven Seas Lagoon, reflect the French heritage of Tahiti. Near the Polynesian Village is the Golf Resort Hotel with two 18-hole championship golf courses, the Magnolia and The Palm. Clubhouse, dining room, practice green and driving range

are available. A third course is planned.

Still another major vacation attraction

is located on the south shore of Bay

Lake. The 600-acre Fort Wilderness

camping area has campsites nestled among pines and long winding water- ways.

Utility hookups, frontier store and

recreation centers are also among Fort Wilderness facilities and nearby is a

private beach. Horseback riding is avail- able at the Tri-Circle D Ranch with

miles of woodland trails. Parades, spectacular water shows, and

holiday extravaganzas complete the total entertainment concept. Its nightly fire- works displays make Disney World the

largest user of fireworks in the world. The gateway to Walt Disney World

is located 20 miles southwest of Orlan- do on U.S. Highway 192, just west of

Interstate 4. Guests not staying at Dis- ney hotels travel 4 miles across the Dis- ney property to a day-visitor parking

area for 12,000 vehicles. Nearby is a STOLport for short takeoff and landing

airplane service to areas in Florida. Trams take guests from their cars

to the main entrance complex on the south shore of the lagoon. This complex

includes the Kal Kan Kennel Club pet

motel where everything, from pet rac- coons to pet lions, has been boarded,

and the guest relations offices. Nearly a mile awav to the north can be seen the Victorian-style station of the Walt Disney World Railroad where

steam trains, trams or 500-passenger

ferryboats can be found.

But the most appealing single feature

of the whole operation is not mechanical. It is about 9,000 people, most 22 years old or younger, who make up

the staff, all extremely bright, good

looking, and eager to please. There

doesn't seem to be a sullen, disagree- able employee in the lot and when they

greet new arrivals with "Have a Happy

Day," it tends to convince adults as well

as children that they have escaped into a different world. Other phases of the development of the Disney property include a unique,

leisure-oriented residential community,

industrial parks and in the future,

EPCOT-the Experimental Prototype

Community of Tomorrow.

Walt Disney envisioned EPCOT as a living blueprint of the future—a community which could put into practical use the newest innovations and systems

of American industry and technology.

Many of the Phase I developments are already testing new ideas, forerunners

of the imagination and pioneering

spirit that perhaps one day will pro- vide a model for a different type of community.

A river boat cruises by Harpers Mill on Tom Sawyer Island. Disney World has

its own fleet of more than 200 vessels, including stemwheel steamboats,

canoes, rafts, and submarines.

The Panama Canal Review 21
iOXK c;oii<

Babel on the Banks of the Panama Canal

By Fannie P. Hernandez

Tilman Schlegelberger, a talented artist, sketches his sister, Felizitas, in the tropical garden atmosphere of the patio at the Embassy

residence in Panama City. Full-time students at Canal Zone College, Tilman is preparing for a medical career in Germany

and Felizitas, is studying to be an elementary school teacher. Both came to the Isthmus in 1972.

22 Spmng 1974
OurUBO! HI! HOLA! MOIM!

Kumusta Kayo! aire informal

greetings that mav be heard on the campus of Canal Zone College where

the international character of the small

citadel of learning on the banks of the Canal is as cosmopolitan as the legion

of ships that transit the waterway. The

greetings are the jargon of students of Panama, the United States, Spain, Ger- many and the Philippines.

Established in 1933 as a 2-\ear col- lege to meet the needs of higher education in the Canal Zone community, the

college expanded its curriculum in 1962 to offer a third-vear program.

Student enrollment has been increased

since then by the many young people

and adults of the civilian and military

community who are taking advantage

of this opportunity to continue their education.

Helping to create a trul\- internatio- nal atmosphere are 50 students from

half as many countries who, in addition

to the U.S. and the Panamanian stu- dents, make up the 1,400 members of the student body.

Among these students are the chil- dren of the diplomatic and consular

families accredited to Panama. Representing many lands are the young wives

of U.S. military personnel, who have

not completed their formal education

and find the college a convenient facility for earning college credit while their husbands serve a tour of duty. Others

enroll in the 1-year secretarial pro- gram, take art courses, studv English or Spanish, or receive instruction in the various sports offered in the phvsical

education program.

Personnel of the numerous banks that have been established in Panama in re- cent years, employees of shipping firms, industries and development projects on

the Isthmus, are often found attending

evening classes to improve their English. Or they may be taking refresher courses in economics, engineering,

mathematics or design.

The cultural background, national

origins and the experiences of these students are as varied as the nations they represent. They come from South

America, Central America, Europe, the Far East and the Near East. Their personalities, interests and talents add a touch of international flavor and geog- raphy to the student body.

From the Near East, there is Simin

Ghomashchi of Teheran, who had published a book of poetry and written numerous novels of romance for women's magazines before she met Sgt. Ro\- L. Dailev, who was stationed at the

-^

y

^

Wearing the typical dress of Cuzco, Flor de Herrer performs the huayno, one of the traditional dances of the highlands of Peru, her native land.

U.S. Embassy in the Iranian capital. She

had completed 2 years of work in Ira- nian literature, a proper curriculum for the daughter of a wealthy merchant and

exporter of Persian rugs. Through an American couple, who had leased one

of her father's houses, she met Dailey

and they were married after overcoming

the opposition of a tradition-bound

father and strict religious obstacles. Mrs. Dailev recently completed the

1-year secretarial program at the college

and is currently taking courses in busi- ness administration. In addition to her

native language, Farsi, she speaks English, Turkish and some Russian. Her

husband is a native of South Carolina

and is serving with the U.S. Army

Communications Command at Quarry

Heights. He also attends Canal Zone

College.

An actress and singer turned student,

Estrelita Howe, one of the four students from the Philippines, recently completed courses in typing and shorthand. Born in Manila, she grew up in Bataan,

site of the infamous World War II death march.

During her movie career in the early

1960's, she was known as Lita Estrella and appeared in a number of films including "No Man Is An Island" with

The Panama Canal Review 23
the well known Hollywood actor, Jeffrey

Hunter, and "Twentv-seventh Cavalry"

with the beautiful German actress, Ursula Andress. Both were war pictures filmed in the Philippines.

She made manv personal appearances

at fiestas and festivals throughout the Philippines but it was while on a singing engagement in Japan that she met

and married Earl W. Howe, who was

serving there with the U.S. Navv. The

petite actress-singer and her husband,

who is assigned to Navv Communications in the 15th Naval District, have

three children.

Felizitas Schlegelberger, 21, and her

brother, Tilman, 20, who were bom in Bonn, Germany, came lo the Isthmus

in 1972, when career diplomat, the late Dr. Gunther Schlegelberger, their fa- ther, was appointed West German Ambassador to Panama. They have lived in Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and

Switzerland, and in addition to their native language, speak English, Spanish and French. Both are full-time stu- dents. Felizitas is studying liberal arts and education courses preparing to be

an elementary school teacher. Tilman is taking courses in preparation for a medical career he plans to pursue in Europe.

Both are delighted with the people and

climate of Panama where they are enjoying swimming and tennis. Tilman, a

Estrelita Howe, who before her marriage was Lita Estrella, the Philippine movie

actress of the early 1960's, poses in her

beautiful Philippine dress with the "Maria Clara" sleeves. The wife of

a member of the U.S. Navy stationed

in the Canal Zone, Mrs. Howe has been

studying commercial courses at the college.

talented painter, is taking art classes with Sinclair, one of Panama's leading

artists. Another native of Germany attending

Canal Zone College is Michael Martin,

a 19-vear-old enlisted man stationed at Headquarters Company, Fort Clayton.

During the day, he is a parts order clerk

for Armv vehicles, communications

equipment and weapons. In the evenings, he studies sociology and psychologv and world civilization. Next semester he plans to take sketching and drawing to prepare for a career as a designer

or commercial artist when he leaves the

service. Michael was born in Wiesbaden. His mother is from East Germany

and his stepfather is a U.S. citizen in the Armed Forces. He has lived in the United States and the Far East and

has a deep appreciation for different

cultures. Addv Weij, son of the Consul of the Netherlands in Panama, was born in Dusseldorf, Germanv, and has lived in Panama for the past 3 years. Prior to coming to Panama, he had lived in Stuttgart, Germany, and in Ghana, West

Africa, for 5 vears. A full-time student,

Addv is taking courses that will be useful to him when he goes to medical

school in Rotterdam. His college friends

call him the "Flving Dutchman" and he

is a little surprised to find himself the onlv Dutch citizen at the college. There

had been a large group of Dutch stu- dents at the private English school he

attended in Ghana. Addv is fluent in Dutch, German, English and Spanish.

Zivota Pavlovich, of Yugoslavia, was among those who recentlv completed a

refresher course for engineers preparing

for Canal Zone registration. Graduated

as a naval architect and mechanical en- gineer from the Universitv of Belgrade,

Pavlovich has been emplo\ed as a mechanical engineering draftsman in the Mechanical Branch of the Canal's Engineering Division for the past 2

vears. The road from his native land.

where he was emploved as a naval

architect in a shipyard, to his present

position half a world awav has been an

eventful one. A little more than 8 years ago, Pavlovich designed a steel sailboat and

supervised its construction and then,

with three friends, he set out on a round-the-world journey. When thev

arrived at the Panama Canal, Pavlovich was so captivated bv what he saw that when the boat left 2 months later, he

staved behind.

Pavlovich was offered work bv some

Yugoslavians who were farming in Chiriqui Province. Though he enjoys farming, his ambition was to work for the Panama Canal and it mattered little to him to begin at the bottom. His first job

with the Canal organization in 1969 was

with the Grounds Maintenance Br.inch,

raking leaves and cleaning the street around the Administration Building at Balboa Heights. After a short time he was emploved as a line handler and

locomotive helper at Pedro Miguel

Locks. Then in Mav 1970, his perseverance was (ewarded and he returned to his profession as a naval architect in the Marine Bureau's Industrial Division at Cristobal, the position he held prior to joining the Engineering Division. Pavlovich is in the process of obtaining

Panamanian citizenship, and working

toward fulfilling his dream—a solo trip

around the world. He already has de- signed two sailboats, a 24-foot and a

.3.3-foot craft for this purpose. From the Far East, Kim Hung Lau is a 20-vear-old, full-time student who

was born in Canton, China. She grew

up in Hong Kong and attended a Chi- nese high school where she learned some English. Kim came to the Isthmus

3 vears ago with her mother to join her

father. She is studying business subjects

and trying to leam Spanish on her owni. Laura Antunez do Prado, of Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil, had a choice of either entering college in Rio in the fall of 1970 or visiting her uncle who was a Brazilian military officer instructing at the School of the Americas at Fort Gulick. She chose to come to Panama. During her visit, she attended a graduation

ceremony at the Alliance Francaise in Colon and it was there that she met

Capt. Gary V. Cooper, whom she later married. Mrs. Cooper, whose native language is Portuguese, is a part-time student studying English composition

and Spanish.

A sergeant in the U.S. Air Force

stationed at Albrook Air Force Base,

24 Spring 1974
Fernando Concha,

a Colombian, works

during the dav as an electronics tech- nician in the calibration laboratory,

calibrating and repairing electronic equipment for the Armv and the Pan- ama Canal organization. In the evenings, he takes engineering courses in preparation for entrance into an engineering school in the United States when he leaves the service in about 2

years. Sergeant Concha is from Cali. where he completed his "bachillerato"

at the Colegio X'illegas. He also was

graduated from high school in New York

Cit\', where he joined the Air Force. Flor de Herrer, a full-time student in business administration, is from Peru. She has lived in Panama, where her

father isa scientist with the Gorgas

Memorial Laboratory, for the past 9

years and is

a graduate of Balboa High

School. Bom in Lima, Flor goes there each vear to visit her sister who is studying medicine and her brother who is an

accountant. Completely bilingual, she

plans to continue her college education

in the United States next year. Her

favorite hobbies are swimming and

mountain climbing but most of all she

enjoys meeting people of different nationalities. In addition to her studies, she works at the Counselor's Office at the college.

Christopher Davis was bom in Chile

ofa British father and Brazilian mother.

He left there many years ago but has

lived in so many countries he could be

called an international student. Christopher's father is with a tobacco company in Panama and his business has taken him to Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Canada and England.

Enrolled in the 2-year program in English and liberal arts, he plans a future in politicial science and law. He

isa member of the Phi Theta Kappa

honor society, and has been employed

asa student assistant in the Canal's Engineering Division and at the college. Laura Phlegar, the former Laura Regina Hernandez, of Honduras, has been a part-time student for the past 3 vears. She first came to the Isthmus when her

father was named Honduran Ambassador to Panama in 195.5 and retumed in 1964, when her father was reappointed

here. In the interim, she lived with her

family in Mexico City. She married

Emory E. Phlegar. chief of the lAGS

Carto-Branch in 1966.

In addition to these students, there

are others from Costa Rica, Nicaragua,

Guatemala, Canada, Cuba, Spain and

France, who are either attending Canal

Zone College at this time or have

recently completed courses of study.

The exotic beauty

of Simin Dailey

is even more eloquent

in her native Iranian headdress. A student in business administration, Mrs. Dailey met

her husband in Teheran, when he was

stationed at the U.S. Embassy there.

At left: Pondering an engineering

problem is Sgt. Fernando Concha

of the U.S. Air Force. One of several Colombians attending Canal Zone College. Below;

Christopher Davis,

bom in Chile, and

Flor de Herrer, from Peru, match

wits ina game of chess while taking a break from classes at Canal Zone College.

The Panama Canal Review 25
ilaritime

Monickers

How DO SHIPS GET NAMES

like Santa Claus or Arco Sag

River or China Bear. Who names them

and why? Such questions often come to mind as one watches the international parade of ships passing through the Panama Canal. When Saiita Claus showed up at Bal- boa the week before Christmas, the Canal's weekly newspaper headlined the event and, with tongue in cheek re- ported, "Santa Claus transited the Canal. She was headed north." In clarification, the writer added that the ship was no

relation to the good ole St. Nick."

A rebuttal from the Elpis Shipping

Co., of Greece, owners of the ship, ar- rived immediately. Not so, said the president. Santa Claus did indeed have a

relationship to St. Nick. She had been

named in honor of the patron saint of Greek sailors, St. Nicholas. He added

that a retraction might be in order. To the owners and to those who sail on them, ships take on almost human

qualities. Unlike other vehicles of trans- port, they seem to possess a special in- dividuality. A great deal of thought is given to the choosing of ships' names

and behind even the most ordinary appellation there is usually an interesting

story. There would seem little to question

about an obvious name like Queen Eli- zabeth II, Cunard's famous cruise ship,

but as soon as she was christened, the company was besieged with calls asking

what the name meant. The name selected for the liner was

a well-kept secret that had attracted at- tention throughout Britain. More than

1.5,000 bets had been placed on a vari- etv of names with the odds on Queen

Elizabeth the Second 14 to I. Only four peoples besides the Queen had been

told the name.

26 Spring 1974
But, on the lon<' awaited launching

day September 20, 1967, when Queen

Elizabeth stepped forward on the platform at the shipyard and said, "I name

this ship Queen Elizabeth the Second,"

e\eryone was surprised, e\en the four people who thought the\- knew the name

in advance. Thev had been told the name would be Queen Elizabeth, but

at the last minute, the Queen had de- cided to christen the ship. Queen Eliza- beth the Second. As sui-prised as ever\-one else at the sudden change, Cunard officials were

faced with the problem of explaining it. They were asked if it referred to Queen

Elizabeth the Second. (The first liner, the largest passenger ship ever built, was named for the wife of King George

VL ) Or was the name meant to implv

that this was the second Queen Ehiza- beth liner? The company first announced

that the ship was named as the second

liner of that name pointing out that the

Driginal Queen Elizabeth would soon

be out of service. Later, however, press

releases made it clear that the ship was named for the British Queen.

The Cunard offices in London, Southhampton, and Liverpool received more

than .500 telephone calls, within an hour

ifter the launching, congratulating them

3n the selection. Most people liked it but a few complained, including one woman who said that she was going out immediately to sell all of her stock. Another objection came from the chairman of the Scottish Nationalist Party who said, "It could not be a bigger insult to the people of Scotland." The Scots consider the present Queen

of England to be Elizabeth the First, since they have nexer recognized the Tudor Queen Elizabeth. There is a well-known stor\' that the naming of the Queen Mary was something of a surprise to Cunard officials also. According to this storv, a company

official told King George VI that he had

decided to name the liner for Britain's greatest queen. The King said that he

thought it was a good idea and that he was sure Queen Mary would be very

pleased. The official meant Queen \'ic- toria but after the incident, the ship was duly named Queen Mary.

Bv tradition, all Cunard Line ships,

except for the three Queen.^, ha\e been

named after Boman countries ending in "ia" such as Mauritania, Aquitania, Bri- tannia, Media, Parthia, Franconia and

Carmania.

Why Pick St, Nick?

"Santa Claus," named for the patron saint of Greek sailors, passes under the bridge

that spans the Panama Canal.

But in 1971, the tradition was broken

with the naming of the ship, Cunard

Adventurer. The company e.xplained that marketing considerations exerted a

strong influence in the selection It was

felt that the name would immediately

identify the ship as a vacation cruise ship built to take passengers on exciting

seagoing ad\entures.

Other departures from the 134-year

tradition are the new cruise ships now

imder construction which will be named

Cunard Countess and Cunard Conquest.

The famed Queen Elizabeth II will be seen at the Canal, March 26, 1975,

when she will stop in Balboa prior to transiting the Canal on her first aroundthe-world cmise. The 963-foot-long

liner will be the largest passenger ship

e\er to transit the waterway.

Naming ships with standard sufiBxes or prefixes is a common practice but one

-American company, no longer in exist- ence, selected names that began with

each letter of the alphabet. In 1927,

while invohed in U.S. coastal trade, the Alleghany, Berkshire, Chatham, and

Dorchester were the first four ships in the fleet. The\' were named for counties in the states they served. Since

the company had onh' 20 ships, a few

letters were skipped but this was the pattern followed. The Dorchester will be remembered

as the ship on which the four U.S. chaplains ga\e up their lifebelts to others, who had none, then joined arms and

F

Fhe Panama Canal Review 27
The Swedish American Lines' famous

cruise ship, "Gripsholm," passes through

a fjord. She was named for the Gripsholm

Castle in Sweden, which is shown below

as it appears on the ship's menu cover.

l^lllir-.»»

went down with the ship when it was

sunk, February 3, 1943. One of the

great tragedies of World War II, 605

of its 904 passengers either drowned or

froze to death before a rescue ship

arrived. The ship and her four heroic chaplains were honored with a number of memorials including a 3-cent postage

stamp and the Four Chaplains Cha])el

in Philadelphia. Two of the cha))lains were Protestant, one Jewish, and one

Catholic. Some companies choose one letter of the alphabet and select names that begin with that. For instance, the names

of all ships of the Barber Lines, which

has its headquarters in Norway, have names that start with "t." Some of them are Tagai/tai/, named

for a town in the Philippine Islands;

Tagiis, a river in Portugal, which flows

into the sea at Lisbon; Tai Ping, Chinese

for great peace and/or happiness; Tamerlane, Timur Leng (Timur the Lame)

the Mongol Emperor (13.36-140.5); Tarantcl, tarantella, a .south Italian dance,

which was derived from the name of the spider whose bite was supposed to

cause dancing mania; and Talbot III, the name of the French engineer ( 1799-

1855) who built the first railway in France and in 1847 made plans for a canal between Alexandria and Suez. Talbot I was the first steamship in the

fleet and originated the "t" nomenclature. The Swedish words, Ktmgsholm and

Gripsholm, identifv the two beautiful

cruise ships of the Swedish American

Line, which frequently pass through the Canal.

In Sweden, the word "holm" means

"little island." Kungshohn means Kind's

Island. Kungsholm was also, in the 1.5th and 1 6th centuries, a castle in Stock- holm. It was destroyed bv fire but there

is still a borough in Stockholm which is called Kung.sholmen.

The Gripsholm is named for the C.ripsholm castle on Lake Malarcn in Sweden. The name in English is Griffin's Island. It was named for a governor. Bo

Johnson Grip. The castle, one of the most impressive Renaissance castles in Scandinavia, is now a museum with a

fine portrait collection. The present Kungsholm is the second

ship of that name. The first, was taken over by the United States shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Renamed

the John Ericsson, she carried more than

170,000 troops across the Atlantic. Then

in 1946, she was converted into a war

bride ship complete with nursery, diet kitchen and playroom and transported

279 wives and 177 babies from Europe

to the United States. She was repur- chased by the Swedish American Line

in July 1947 and reconverted for cruise

service. The Norwegian American Line, since 1910, has named its vessels after Norwegian fjords. Among them are the Sfa- vangerfjord, Oslofjord, Edifjord, and

Skicn.<^iord. In 1965, they added the Sagafjord, a name created by simply combining a recognizable Norse word,

"saga" with fjord. Vistafjord, a familiar Canal customer, is a similar case where

a word was used to conjure up a mental

view of anticipated places and events. Using the natural features of a country or countries for the names of ships

is a common practice. Tlie Iceland Steamship Co. (Elmskip) names its ships for Icelandic waterfalls. The Ice- landic word for waterfall is foss and the

flagship of the fleet is named Gullfoss, the Golden Waterfall. This waterfall,

which plunges over rocks in a broad glacial river into a deep corge. is regarded

as one of the most beautiful in the world. Along with the Great Gevser,

known in Icelandic as Gevsir, it is a major tourist attraction. Incidentally, it

is from the Icelandic word gevsir that the English word gevser, which has been

applied to spouting hot springs all over

the world, an'l to water heaters in England, is derived. With few exceptions, all Holland

America Line passenger and rias<;pnger- rargo vessels carry the names of localities in the Netherlands ending in "dam"

which is the same in Dutch as in Eng28 Spring 1974
lish. In the past, dams in \aii()us rixers were stopo\er points or places for trans- ferring cargo. Towns sprang up near them and were named for them. Rotter- dam was located near the dam in the Route Ri\er and Amsterdam in the Amstel River. In 1901, when Holland America ac- quired its first cargo ship, to distinguish

this t\pe ship from the passenger vessels, a series of "dijk" ships was begun

The word "dijk" means dike and with

the \ast numher of dikes in the Netherlands, there has lieen no .scarcity of names for freighters. The company,

howe\er, prefers to revert to names it has used before when new ships are put

into ser\ice.

The Turkish Maritime Line chooses

geographical names. It has named three

vessels for the seas surrovmding the

coast of Turkey. In case vou dont re- cognize them, Akdcniz is the Mediterra- nean Sea; Karadcniz is the Black Sea; and £ge, the Aegean Sea. Other ships

are named for cities in Turkey.

The Pacific Steam Navigation Co.

has been well known on the Isthmus

mi,r-,m \V'

VOLUTA

23» NOVEMBER 1961

Above: The Voluta shell and the plaque

which gives the launching date of the

ship named for it and a Pectan shell,

the sjmbol of Shell International Marine

Limited. At right: Shell's 195,900 d.w.t.

"Mitra," which was built in Denmark

in 1969.

since CJold Rush days and the construction of the Panama Canal. For the most

part, it uses ports, towns, \ illages and

proN inces of either Spain or Latin America, the trade areas which it senes, for the names of its ships.

Among the ships are Onhina, a town

in the Bas(jue Pro\inces of Spain; Ortega, a village in Colombia; and Orco- ma, a district in Chile. An exception is a tanker, William Wliccliiri^ht. which

is named for the founder of the company. At one time, the company had a tanker named Ccorgc Peacock, the name

of PSXC's first captain, a former Royal

Na\\' captain, who is believed by some

to be the first to plot the present route

of the Panama Canal. In February 1842,

he sailed to Panama from England to complete a sur\ev he had started earlier. He made a rouiih chart of the route and

left it with the British Consul of Panama

before he sailed for Eniiland. The Italian Line, which runs a reg- ular senice through the Canal from Italy

to South .America, honors famous Ttali.m

artists and composers not onlv in ihc naming of their vessels, but in the case

of artists, also displays their work aboard

the ships. The ships frequently seen at the Canal include the Rossini, the Donizetti, and the Verdi. The Baltic Shipping Company names

its cruise ships for famous Russian lit- erary figures. The Shota RiistcvcUi transits the Canal enroute to Australia while

the Mikhail Lcrmontov and the Alex- ander Pusltkin operate cruises to Evnope

out of New York and Canada.

The names Varicella and Hcniitrocluis aren't familiar to the average per- son but a shell collector would recognize them at once. These ships, which

are seen often at the Canal, belong to Shell International Marine Limited, a company with a tradition oi naming its ships for seashells. Back in 1897, when Marcus Samuel

took oxer his father's shop in London,

oriental shells and curios formed part

of the stock. As a sideline, he handled

kerosene and on seeing the advantages

of transporting it in bulk, ordered a fleet of tankers. Since he was an ;iulhoritv on

shells, Samuels decided to name tlie first ship, Mtirex, for that tvpe of shell. Tliis ship was destined to make history as the

first ship permitted to transit the Suez

Canal. (The latest ship to carry this traditional name was built in 1968.

)

Condi. Clam. Turbo, Elax, and Ncrita were put into serxice shortly after- ward and in 1899, when the company

had 14 tankers, the name of the company x\as changed to Shell Transport

and Trading Company xvith the Pectan

as it's symbol. Present day ships include

the Mitra. Medorv. Mi/sia, and MangeUa. For a number of years, each ship has carried a specimen of the shell for which it xvas named. In the case of xerv

rare shells xvhich haxe been difficult to

The Panama Canal Review 29
obtain, a model of the shell has been

made for this purpose. Ships of the Sitmar Line and its sister company, Sitmar Cruises, are reg- ular Canal customers. The Fairstar and

the Fairsky pass through enroute from

the United Kingdom to Australia and

New Zealand while the Fairsea and the Faincind transit on cruises around Central and South America.

The casual observer might conclude

that the ships' names refer to the fair and agreeable atmospheric conditions under which the ships sailed. But this

is not the case. A Sitmar official, when

asked how the tradition of naming the

ships "fair" developed, said, with a cer- tain pride, "When the line, more than

a quarter of century ago, was formed

to operate passenger vessels it was

thought, and we can today state rightly

so, that over and above all efforts (construction, manning, etc.) the main factor which should secure us the success we were aiming at was the fairness to

all concerned, i.e., not only to our passengers, but to the travel industry, to our

general sales agents, to our port agents,

to the press, to our staff, and to anyone

else who could eventually be connected

with our trade."

It was subsequently decided to combine the word "fair" with an element

of navigation, such as sea, sky, star, and wind.

With its great involvement in trade

in Latin America, it was natural for the

United Brands Co. to name its vessels for geographical and geological features and political figures in those countries. Among its ships are Chiriqui and Darien, named for provinces in Panama;

Turrialba, a volcano in Costa Rica; Magdalena, a river in Colombia; Leon, a city

in Nicaragua; Choluteca, a coffee pro- ducing department in Honduras; Motagua, a river in Guatemala; and Lempa,

a river in El Salvador. Some exceptions

to this policy are Fra Berlanga, named

for p Dominican friar, who was the first to introduce the banana plant into the West Indies during early Spanish Colonial rule; and Morazan, named for General Francisco Morazan, a native of Honduras and one of the great historical figures in the creation of the Federation

of Central America.

When the new container ship, China

Bear, transited the Canal recently, it raised the question "why name a ship bear?" The explanation is simple. The

Pacific Far East Line, Inc., with headquarters in San Francisco, takes its symbol and names for its ships from the

state of California seal which features

a bear. The names of its other vessels are Canada Bear, Guam Bear, Haivnii Bear, Japan Bear, Pacific Bear, and Phil- ippine Bear. The prefix determined by

the countries in which the vessels call. The name of the new tanker Arco

Sag River is familiar in Alaska but not

here. This huge oil tanker, which belongs to Atlantic Richfield Oil Co., gets

its name from the location of the confirmation oil well on the North Slope

in Alaska. During its span of 100 years, the China Navigation Co. has owned over 200 ships, which were traditionally

named for Chinese provinces. This tra- dition was first broken when the com- pany began operating a Moslem pilgrim

ship on charter to Malaya under the name of Kuala Lumpur, and more re- cently, in 1966, when four vessels oper- ated by a subsidiary company in New

Guinea were renamed Chiefs (Papauan

Chief, Island Chief, etc.) The curient

policy is to identify ships with a particular trade route. A vessel on llie Asia

Australia Express Service, for instance,

is named Asian Express.

This company also manages John

Swire and Sons and Associated Companies' five bulk carriers named for Scottish \illages and lochs beginning with "Er" and there is one ship named

Erawan for the three-headed elephant

which in Hindu mythology provides

intercelestial transportation for the god,

Indra. The remaining vessel of this fleet is a

cruise liner named Coral Princess for no

other reason than that it sounds right

for cruising the coral islands and atolls of the Pacific. Since hundreds of Japanese ships

from Aiza Maru to Zuiyo Maru are in service, Panama Canal guides receive most questions about the Maru suffix.

The Italian Line's policy of naming its ships for famous artists and composers was followed in the naming of the "Leonardo Da Vinci," which has paintings

by the artist in its public rooms.

The "Ortega," which transits the Canal

regularly, is named for a village

in Colombia.

30 Spring 1974
The answer, unfortunately is that the

origin of the word is a mystery. There

are many explanations, but whether

thev come from scholars or shipping

officials, thev only suggest some of the many possible origins of the tradition. No one knows for sure. One popular

theory is that 16th century ships looked

like castles and the old Japanese character, which is still used on the ships, means castle. Though ships no longer

look like castles, the use of the word

continues to be a tradition in the naming of Japanese ships.

Interestingly, ships are not feminine

in Japanese, as thev are in most countries, and are always referred to in the masculine gender.

The Panama Canal Company, has

only one ship, the Cristobal. It was named for the Atlantic side terminal

port, which was originallv named for Columbus. In the past, when it had

many ships, operated bv the Panama

Railroad, there was a general pattern

of naming the ships for areas on the

Isthmus. The Ancon, the first ship to

transit the Canal was named for the

Pacific side townsite of that name.

In the Middle Ages, when religious zeal reached a peak, ships were usually

named for saints and no craft was sent

to sea without its shrine and idols. Prudential Grace is one of the present

day lines which follows the practice of naming ships for saints. The Santa Mercedes, Santa Mag,dalena, and others are well known locally. Some names fit the ships perfectly.

What could be better for a wine carry- ing ship than Bacchus, the god of wine

in classical mythology? This was the name a French company gave the cargo

ship it converted in 19.3.5 to carry wine

in bulk. The ship, which was put into service between Algiers and Rouen,

transported as many as 30 different

varieties of wine at one time. Sunk during the war, the first Bacchus was re- placed in 1949 by another Bacchus. It has 40 tanks for wine or alcohol.

It was once possible to distinguish the type of U.S. Navy ships by their names. For instance, submarines were

traditionally named for fish; aircraft carriers for battles and famous old ships;

destroyers, for well known military per- sonnel; battleships for States and cniisers for cities. This is no longer the

case. The first significant departure from

tradition was in the naming of submarines. First, there was the Nautilus,

named for Jules Verne's mythical sub- marine, and in more recent times, they

have been named for cities and proCANAL COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC BY NATIONALITY OF VESSELS

First Half Fiscal Year

1974 1973 1965-69

Nationality Belgian

British Chilean

Chinese, Nat'l. _. Colombian

C\priot

Dani.sh Ecuadorean

French

German, West_.

Greek

Honduran

Italian Japanese

Liberian Netherlands Norwegian

Panamanian

Peruvian

Philippine South Korean ._. Soviet Swedish

United States

.Vll others

No. of

transits 78

638

43

10494

107

17346

113 378

70156

135 643

894 229

518

505

90

4750 132

163 616

413

Toas

of cargo 279,717

6,924,670

665,614

1,146,805

230,816

649,689

1,362,868

509,732

663,295

2,516,863

9,478.162

56,990

1,025,817

6,923,312

15,417,105

1,.3.34.531 7,636,929

3,256,365

8.38,128

.364,991 302,761

822,3.50 1,248,731

5,045,671

3,520,445

No. of

transits 64 666

65

83 12884

18230

101 409

47576

141 696

909 230

617

463

814566

137 213

595

341

Tons

of cargo 251,901

6,247,374

864,.590 701,081

223,896

5.37,266 1,107,905

115,899

465,251

2,104,176

5,251,916

78,042

595,384

5,676,541

13,472,970

1,517,106

8,014,000

2,956,783

662,869

288,306

430,093

789,669

1,483,890

3,931,283

2,292,974

Avg. No.

transits 39 67960

57

117

7

19833

107 590

255

104 110

468

674 257

739

26179

46

1427 225

823

273

Avg. tons

of cargo 100,725

5,072,872

406,198

443,818

225,971

50,000

1,137,816

41,799

421,446

2,063,139

2,606,268

64,648

743,021

3,431,691

8,920,295

1,086,592

7,171,883

1,215,812

387,875

216,694

87,421

207,691

1,462,003

4,602,063

1,400,953

Total 6,968 72,222,357 6,897 60,061,165 6,242 43,568,694

TRAFFIC MOVEMENT OVER PRINCIPAL TRADE ROUTES

First Half Fiscal Year

Avg. No.

transits 1974 1973 1965-69 1,777 1,739 1,389 547 605 651 640 581 893

422 423 484

374 377 107 238 252 191 226 226 99 206 215 258

133 165 96

172 152 130

2,233 2,162 1,931

Total 6,968 6,897 6,231

MONTHLY COMMERCI.\L TRAFFIC AND TOLLS

Vessels of 300 net tons or over—{Fiscal years) Transits Tolls (In thousands of doUars)l

Trade routes—(Large commercial vessels, 300 net tons or over) East coast United States—Asia Europe—West coast South America

East coast United States—West coast South America

Europe—West coast United States/Canada

Europe—Asia Europe—Oceania

East coast Canada—Asia United States Intercoastal (including Hawaii)

East coast South America—Asia West coast South America—West Indies

All others

Month

July

August

September

October November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

Totals for fiscal year_

First half 1974 1,210

1,127

1,125

1,220

1,160

1,126

1973

1,1.38 1,221 1,116

1,174

1,141

1,107

1,176

1,037

1,231

1,133

1,160

1,207

Avg. No.

transits 1965-69 1,067

1,044

1,015

1,049

1,021

1,035

1,003 922

1,098

1,087

1,110

1,052

First half 1974 $9,697

9,663

9,530

10,170

9,772

9,886

1973 $8,518

9,522

8,896

9,298

9,130

8,958

9,703

8,328

9,916

9,507

9,.378 9,878

Average

tolls 1965-69 $6,322

6,298

6,139

6,387

6,258

6,409

6,167

5,654

6,748

6,681

6,854

6,609

13,841 12,503 $111,032 $76,526

1 Before deduction of any operating expenses.

The Panama Canal Review 31
PRINCIPAL CONIMODITIES SHIPPED THROUGH THE CANAL

( All cargo figures in long tons

)

Pacific to Atlantic

First Half Fiscal Year

Commodity 1974 Petroleum and products 5,843,529 Manufactures of iron and steel 3, 101,890

Ores, various 3,074,279

Lumber and products 2,640,783

Sugar 1,832,808

Food in refrigeration (excluding bananas) 813,758

Pulpwood 809,518 Bananas 764,270

Metals, various 475,767

Autos, trucks, accessories and parts 461,982

Sulfur 401,777

Potash 281,906

Paper and products 244,083

Molasses 241,241

Coffee 232,473

All others and unclassified 5,510,593

Total 27,030,657
BLDEBERRY HILl"

KIVOVV

" " -. V...1 > ,..

In smaller, more familiar things, memory

weaves her strongest enchantments, holding

us at her mercy with some trifle, some echo,

a tone of voice, a scent . . .

Freya Stark.

With the coming of the seventies, a wave of nostalgia has been

sweeping through the land. It has become a time of looking back to

the 40's and the 50's. The songs on the radio, the inovies, the television shows all reflect the /ongings for the days that used to be.

When members of the Balboa Graduating Class of 1943 came

to the Isthmus early this year for a 30th anniversary reunion, it seemed a rare opportunity to look back with them; to find out

how the graduates had fared over the years; and to see their

reactions to changes on the Isthmus. One of our writers mingled

with them during their week's stay in Panama and gave this report.

The Editor.

^ 0- —a--..

Three

Decades

A

Difference

PANAMA PUT ON ITS TRAVELposter face for the reunion of the Balboa High School Class of 1943. The

kind of travel poster that evokes daydreams of tropical cruises when those

in more northerly lands glance at it during a shivery January blizzard. On February 1, 1974, the group ar- rived at Tocumen Airport, which didn't

exist when they left. They came from

Alaska, Texas, Kentucky, New Jersey, Vermont, New York, Georgia, Florida,

Louisiana, Maryland and Ohio.

The 24 graduates who traveled from

the States and the 27 who settled on

the Isthmus, had not been together

in a group since graduation night—June

4, 1943. That was the day newspapers headlined war news: "U.S. Hits Three

Italian Battleships," "Marshall at Africa Conference," "Soviets Striking Furious

Blows," and "Double Axis Defeat Seen by Roosevelt."

It was the year of padded shoulders,

wedgies and ankle-strap shoes, of upsweep hairdos and uplift bras; the year

zoot suits and the drape shape were all the rage in the United States.

It was the time of dancing to "Pennsylvania 6-.5-0-0-0" and "Beer Barrel Polka," of Helen O'Connel singing

"Green Eves," of Tommy Dorsey playing "I'll Never Smile Again," of Glenn

Miller, Frank Sinatra and the Andrews

Sisters. The '43 graduates changed one word

of a wartime hit song and sang "Don't

sit under the mango tree with anyone

else but me." The school paper, "The Tarakeet,"

brought the war close to home with its own headlines—"BHS Offers Tough

Aeronautics Course for Future Pilots," "69 Students Join Victory Corps," and

"Seniors Bid Farewell to BHS—Take

War Jobs." And they learned a new vocabulary

—gas mask drill, blackouts, sugar ra- tioning, censorship, manpower board,

Wake, Bataan, Corregidor and Guadalcanal.

/&J,

5-r

The Panama Canal Review 33
X
k Time to Remember . .

.

BAI BOA HIGH SCHOOL

>f!-ff 'II!'!!

The daughters of Bill March, Jack Walter and Betty Boyer—from left, Susan, Lisa and Meredith—look at graduation pictures

copied from the BHS 1943 yearbook.

sold 50,000 sets when first marketed.

Isabelle Zemer Lively is account co- ordinator for the largest printing firm on the west coast. She often gives slide presentations and lectures on Panama.

Ernie Pierce, an engineering executive

with the National Cash Register Co., is a pioneer in postal automation.

Alejandro Briceiio is a prominent Pan- ama City physician. Henry Townsend

owns his own business in Colon. Bill March is a realtor who dexeloped one

of the first condominium shopping centers in the United States. Leon Dedeaux tra\els all over the world as an engineering project officer for General Electric. Jim Basque is a veterinarian in a \'ermont town of 300

head of cattle and 400 people. Jack Walters is a manufacturing

specialist for Lockheed Aircraft, and owns his own business as a secondary

construction-industrial consultant. He

has to write a lot of speeches and papers, and said "I seldom start to write that I don't remember Miss Schucbat. She

taught me how to use words." There was a poignant moment when Miss

Schucbat, now the wife of Rabbi Nathan

Witkin, met the group at the Civil

Affairs Building, where the graduates

gathered for a trip to Miraflores Locks. WTien her former students greeted her,

she was surprised and pleased that thev

remembered her with such affection. When the time came for everyone to leave for home, goodbves were said with

reluctance but everv'one promised to at- tend the next reunion which is scheduled

for 1979.

Ernest (Bud) Pierce, class photographer back in '43, takes up where he left off and shoots pictures of the same old gang 30 years later.

Mrs. Robert O. Boyer, Canal Zone

representative for the reunion, worked

for a year on plans and keeps on working

in her room at La Siesta while others

get ready for the dinner-dance.

Neil Heitman (left), who with liis wife Joanne and two children traveled from Alaska, revisits Balboa High School and meets Clyde Willman, the principal.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. March

at the dinner-dance at La Siesta. March,

along with West Coast and Canal Zone

representatives, organized the reunion

after Bill Diez made the plans.

The class of '43 leaves Pedro Miguel for dinner and dancing to the music of Lucho

Azcarraga during a partial transit of the Canal aboard the launch "Las Cruces."

The Panama Canal Review 35




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