T«f - l-P-03 -G ^)

Gift ofthe Panama Canal Museum^

Vol. 5, No. 3 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, OCTOBER 1, 1954 5 cents Fearless Foursome

SLIDING'S FUN and stirs up a breeze on a hot day. These Los Rios youngsters enjoy some of the equipment at their new play area: Ricky Riesch, Martha Jane Spinney (asked to spell it, she said: "You

don't. You say it!"), Madeline Hopson, and Janet Stuart. For more on Canal Zone playgrounds, see page 5.

CANAL EMPLOYEES BEGIN TO SEE EFFECTS

OF RECENTLY-PASSED FRINGE BENEFITS BILL

A total of 127 Canal employees became

"career" employees in September and 167

entered a "career conditional" status as a result of the fringe benefits legislation

enacted by Congress shortly before its adjournment.

The change was made under the important but little known provision of the

legislation which modifies the Whitten

Amendment. This amendment, effective September 1, 1950, placed a ceiling on

the number of permanent employees per- mitted by all Government agencies and

required that all employments and pro- motions subsequent to that date be on

an "indefinite" basis. The Personnel Bureau has just completed a review of the personnel records

of the 1,126 employees in the Canal or- ganization in competitive Civil Service

positions. Of these, 509 were employed

since the Whitten Amendment became

effective, or now occupy positions with- out competitive status, and therefore have been listed as "indefinites." Of this number 215 are in competitive jobs with- out Civil Service status and this group

will continue as "indefinites" until they

qualify by competitive examinations for the positions they now hold. Regulations Awaited

It will be a matter of several weeks

until full information is received from the

Civil Service Commission as to the holding of examinations for those still in the

"indefinite" classification. It is expected,

however, that regualtions governing these

will be issued and become effective before

the end of the year. All employees now

remaining in an "indefinite" status will be given the opportunity to acquire ca- reer Status when the (See page 1-5)

REVIEW SUBSCRIPTIONS

FOR COLLEGIANS

Again this year THE PANAMA CANAL RE- VIEW offers an eight-month subscription—October through May—for students attending college

in the United States. The special rate is 50 cents

for the eight issues. This special rate is good for subscriptions for college students only. Cash or money order should be sent to the

Editor, THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Balboa Heights, C. Z.

TEMPORARY PLAN

USED TO COVER

VACATION TRAVEL

Judging by the avalanche of

real and hypothetical questions

thrown at the three employees

in the Transportation Section

of the Administrative Branch,

it was fortunate that enactment

of the free home leave travel

legislation came at the end of

the summer vacation season. No subject in many years has stimulated more interest or evoked more questions than this. So many inquiries were

received by the Transportation Section

that a special request was made for employees not planning immediate vacations

to delay their questions.

The Canal administration moved quickly when news was received that President Eisenhower had signed the bill into law. The plan was made effective immediately

and employees leaving the next day on

the Panama Line were given an opportunity to accept free transportation.

The plan is still being operated under

temporary rules until permanent regulations are formulated. It is expected that

these will be ready for announcement at an early date.

First Free Tickets Travel orders are now being issued for

all forms of transportation, and employees leaving today on the S. S. Panama

were the first to receive tickets without

payment for travel on the Panama Line. Until now, employees traveling by the Panama Line were given authorization

for reimbursement following their return from vacation. An important point for all employees

accepting the free home-leave-travel-plan

to remember is that they will be required

to submit vouchers for their travel ex- penses in the United States. A per diem

allowance will be granted to employees,

but not to employee dependents, for

travel between the ports of embarkation

and their homes.

Mileage Allowance

Generally, allowances for travel expenses will be granted in accordance with the Travel Expense Act of 1949. With some

exceptions, this provides for expenses to be paid for travel by the usually traveled route between the two points and not

exceeding the cost of travel by common

carriers. Employees may use their own cars for travel for which they will be granted a mileage allowance. However, this allowance, plus per diem, (See pagi id)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW Octobet 1,1954

Community Chest's

Annua! Fund Drive

Begins October 24

Announcament of the goal for the annual Community Chest campaign for funds, to be held this year between October -'4 and November 15, will be made

this coming week after recommendations

of the Budget Committee are submitted

to the Chest's Board of Directors. Meanwhile a special committee from

the Board is studying the possibilities of a United Fund drive for the Canal Zone

in 1955, similar to that being conducted

in a large number of U. S. cities. A consolidated drive of this sort, incorporating

all agencies which now conduct fund

campaigns in the Canal Zone, was sug- gested recently to the Community Chest

by C. W. Chase, President of the Pacific Civic Council. The Community Chest constitution requires that agencies which wish to participate must apply for membership. The

success of the coming Community Chest

drive in providing funds for its 12 partipating agencies is expected to have considerable effect on whether or not organizations now conducting their own drives apply for Chest membership.

The Community Chest's Budget Committee, all volunteers, are to meet tomor- row to review the budgets of all member

agencies. The committee's report will be made to the full Board next week, and

the goal announced.

Participating Agencies

Agencies which have applied for membership this year whose budgets will be reviewed are: The Boy Scouts of America; Girl Scouts

of America; International Boy Scouts;

International Girl Scouts; the Jewish

Welfare Board-USO; the Armed Services YMCA-USO, Balboa; Armed Services YMCA-USO, Cristobal; Salvation Army;

Summer Recreation Board, U. S.-rate; Summer Recreation Board, Local-Rate; Congress of Civic Councils, Local-Rate; and Cristobal-Margarita Civic Council.

Corozal Hospital, which has in the past

received funds from the Community

Chest for its occupational therapy pro- gram, and the Pacific Civic Council, also a Chest agency in the past, are not asking funds this year. Both have indicated that they have sufficient money on hand from

previous Chest contributions to carry out

their programs but have indicated that

in the future they may again petition for membership in the Community Chest. As in past years headquarters of this

year's campaign will be in the office of the Canal Zone Credit Union on Balboa

Road, near the intersection of Amador

Road. Mrs. Arnold Hodgson, Community Chest secretary last year, is serving

in the same capacity this year. She is the Chest's only salaried employee; all other workers are volunteers. Company-Government employees may

make their donations through payroll

deductions, as they have done before. This year, however, the deductions may

be extended over a six-month period, rather than over four months, as had

been done previously.

Company-Government Will Participate

In Fourth Senior Management Program

EIGHT CANAL employees who had attended the U. S. Civil Service Commission's Intern Program

in Washington met at Balboa Heights to wish Douglas Lord, this year's appointee, good luck in his course. Mr. Lord, an employee of the Locks Division, is congratulated by Daniel J. Paolucci, Training Officer. In the background, in the usual order, are the following former trainees: Gordon Prick, Robert A.

Stevens, Maenner B. Huff, Frank Wilder, Paul Friedman, Norman B. Davison, Otto Helmerichs, and

Douglas Johnston. A ninth former trainee, Walter A. Dryja, was ill at the time the photograph was taken.

Participation of the Company-Government organization in the Fourth Senior

Management Program, to be held in Washington the first six months of next

year, has been approved by Gov. J. S. Seybold.

The program will begin early in Jan- uary and last through June. Details of the program are expected soon from the United States Civil Service Commission,

under whose auspices the programs are conducted. These details will be publi- cized throughout the organization by

Daniel J. Paolucci, Training Officer. The Governor's approval of Canal par200,000 Yards Removed

From Contractors Hill

Over 50 feet has been sliced off the top

of Contractors Hill and the hilltop, as September ended, was down to the 350-

foot level, according to reports from the

field. When the work of stabilizing Contractors Hill began in June, the summit

of the hill was 417 feet above sea level. By the end of September, approximately 200,000 cubic yards of earth and rock had been removed. This is about 1 1 per- cent of the estimated total. In addition to cutting the hill down to the 550-foot level, Tecon Corporation

which is the contractor for the hill work,

has taken out a ramp approach to the

3 10-foot level through the center of the

hill.Drilling and blasting at the Canal side

of the hill has been so successful that

little, if any, rock has fallen into the waterway. Heavy blasting is stopped 20

to 25 feet from the hill face on the Canal

side and the remaining rock drilled and

blasted with small charges.

The fractured rock resulting from the small blasts is raked away from the face

of the hill with a large shovel. If the re- sultant debris is too large to be handled

by the shovel alone, bulldozers are called

in to help remove it.

ticipation in the Senior Management

Program followed, by about a month, the departure of Douglas Lord, a Locks Division employee whd had been selected to attend the Sixth Junior Management In- tern Program. This course started September 13 and will last through January

28.Since 1946, thirteen Canal employees

have attended the Management Pro- grams. Of these, nine are still with the Canal organization, three have left the Canal Zone but are employed by other Federal agencies, and the other is on

leave from the Locks Division and in the

military service. The original program sponsored by the

Civil Service Commission to develop employees who show administrative ability

and to encourage a continuing interest in federal careers among Government employees was known as the Administrative

Intern Program. About 1951, it was div- ided into the Junior Management Pro- gram and the Career Development Pro- gram. Mr. Lord is attending the first group.

Alphabetically, present Canal employees who were selected to attend the Junior Management Programs, are: Walter A. Dryja, 1949-50; then an

Engineer with the Locks Division. He is now Assistant to the Marine Director. Gordon M. Frick, 1948; then a Personnel Clerk and is now a Position Classifier

in the Wage and Classification Division

of the Personnel Bureau. Paul H. Friedman, 1950-51; then Administrative Assistant in the Storehouses

Division. He is now Assistant Supply

Director. Otto W. Helmerichs, 1946; Personnel

Chief for the Central Labor Office. He is now Chief, Employment Branch, Employment and Utilization Division. Maenner B. Huff, 1949-50; then Chief,

General Accounts Branch, and now Sys- tems Accountant, with the Accounting

Systems Staff. Douglas S. Johnston, (See page 14)
October 1, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Launches Are Only Transportation

For 6,000 Living Near Gatun Lake

GATUN LANDING is always the scene of hearty welcomes when a launch

arrives from any of the lake villages.

The crated chickens cackled and the

piled piva nuts shook a bit under the ropes which lashed them down as El Sol and the Ciri Grande slid up beside the

public launch landing at Gatun. Helping

hands reached from the dockside to tie the launches up. They must be unloaded

quickly; the Washington, the Pueblo Nuevo, and the Margaret Jane were due any

minute and would need room to dock. On the landing "Michi," a gray and

white cat which had stayed behind when

the Aids to Navigation offices were moved

to Gamboa, waited beside her new mistress. She was one of a couple of women

who hoped to sell bananas and oranges

to passengers debarking from the launches

after trips which, for some of them, had

begun as early as 6 a. m. Half a dozen

chivas and as many trucks were lined up

to carry off to market the produce which

had come from Escoval, Largartarito,

Ciri Grande, Ciricito, Vino Tinto, and

half a dozen other of the lake s?ttl?ments.

In other words, it was just an ordinary

Friday morning, much like any of the

half dozen days a week that the launches make their trips back and forth across the lake. For, to the 6,000 or so dwellers

in lake shore settlements and tiny groups

on the islands, the launches are busses,

trains, trucks, and ambulances—all rolled into one. The launches are their only means of transportation to market or to

doctor, and in many cases, to church. Sometimes there are as many as seven

of the lake craft, 29 to 40 feet in length,

and a few banana barges tied up at Gatun at one time. They are freighters,

bringing produce to market; busses, bring

ing buyers and sellers or even an occasional sightseer to the big town; or ambulances, bringing the sick to Colon for medical attention. That they are able to travel at all over

tha submerged trees, which are all that

are left of the jungle which once stood where Gatun Lake now shimmers, is due

y * M

to a little-known Canal Zone good-neigh- bor policy. It began over a quarter of a

century ago. Listen to Harry B. Friedland, of the Aids to Navigation staff, who

used to watch the launches and barges come in to Gatun, telling of the "water

roads" over which the launches travel: Channels Cleared

"Before the channels could be properly

marked, they had to be cleared of all submerged tree stumps. The stumps were dynamited out, as this was the best method for clearing the channels properly

and quickly. The work was started in 1925 and completed during the latter part of 1926. The cost of clearing these channels in 1925 and 1926 was estimated

at $28,301. "At that time the population distrib- uted over the reaches of these channels and depending on the lake for transportation numbered 3,394, by actual census

count. Today that population is estim- ated at 6,000. "The channels total 46 miles in length

and are marked by 212 navigational aids. The Aids to Navigation launch, U. S. Gavicta, is used for serving the small work

parties who do what is necessary for the

propei' maintenance and operation of these navigational aids.

BUYERS ( 'LIMH aboard the lake launches at the Gatun landing almost as soon as the small boats

tie up. That way, they are sure to get the pick of the produce.

FROM CIRI GRANDE, on Gatun Lake, Digno Dondo has brought his mother to see a doctor. At

the same time he will market a dozen or so stems of bananas. "The launches and barges play an important part in the economic situation of the people who inhabit the island and

lake shore villages and it is highly important and vitally necessary that the small boat channels be kept cleared and marked

at all times so that transportation facili- ties may not be disrupted."

Plantain, Pineapples

To see just how important these channels are to the people of the Gatun Lake

area, one needs only visit the launchlanding and watch the small boats and

the people and produce they carry. The other day, for instance, the launches had aboard: Chickens, stems of green plantain, bunches of piva nuts,

piles of pineapples, heaps of squash, stem

after stem of bananas, cases of empty

bottles which had held soft drinks, and

bulging bags marked "California Walnuts," which, obviously, did not contain

walnuts. There did not happen to be,

this particular Friday morning, any pigs, Or turkeys, or a COW (See page .',)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW October 1, 1954

iQue Es Esta? u Eso Es Un Juguete,"

Dicen Los Nifios En Las Escuelas

"ESO ES UN JUGUETE," Clinton C. Carney, Jr. is telling this Spanish class of first graders at Diablo Heights School. The children know it is a toy which he is holding and are therefore likely to re- member the Spanish words to say so. Word games, dramatization, and "vocabulary activities" are methods to be used for the younger children.

Several hundred Canal Zone small fry

from about six to nine years old are learn- ing for the first time that a dog is also

called a perro, and a cat, gato. During this school term, they will learn these and two or three hundred other

basic words of the Spanish language

which will enable them with comparatively little extra practice to carry on a conversation in two languages. For the first time Spanish language is being taught in the first three elementary

grades of the U. S. schools and school

authorities fully expect that it will greatly

advance the time when the Canal Zone

will become largely a bilingual community. This assumption, of course, is based

on the fact that the best time to learn a language is during the earliest childhood.

It is expected that any child entering

the first grade this year will, upon completion of elementary education, be so

well grounded in basic Spanish that, speaking the language will be easy and

the child will be ready for advanced

study in grammar and literature. The first classroom work in Spanish for the U. S. elementary schools was not begun until the second school week. The

entire first week was spent in individual examination of pupils to determine their knowledge of Spanish.

The purpose of the individual examination was for a division of the students

into three classes, depending upon their knowledge of the Spanish language. The

pupils in each group, beginning, intermediate, and advanced, are taught according to their ability. By this method,

children who already speak Spanish with some degree of proficiency are not re- tarded by others of the same grade who

\\ INIFKED AXXE STICK, whose mother, Mrs. Virginia Stich, is employed as Librarian at Gorgas

Hospital, is demonstrating her knowledge of Spanish to Mrs. Marcela de Diaz. The elementary students

in the U. S. schools were examined individually before the start of Spanish classes in the first three grades

this year so that they could be divided into three groups—beginning, intermediate, and advanced—for instruction according to their ability to ppoak Spanish.

have no knowledge of the language.

This division of the pupils means a re- shuffling of the pupils on the three days

when the team of three teachers visits the

school for Spanish classes. Generally, the

classes are large enough to avoid combining two or more grades for the Spanish instruction. The emphasis through the elementary

schools will be on conversational Spanish

and no grammar will be taught. Also, no reading or writing will be taught in the first three grades to avoid confusing

the younger pupils' minds by two written

languages. In fact, no books at all will be used for the beginners. Books will be introduced to the students only after they have progressed through the first half of their intermediate training.

[ earning Is Dramatized

Every effort will be made for pupils to learn the language easily and naturally,

as though they were beginning to learn

to talk. This will be done by means of word games, dramatization, and "vocabulary activities" in which the teacher will

tell the pupil in Spanish what to do (such

as close the door) and the pupil will fol- low instructions. A liberal use will also be made of pictures and illustrations for the beginners.

As the children advance, they will be

taught phrases, idioms, and additional words of common usage required for conversation. The simpler forms of verbs

will be introduced to students after learn- ing the Spanish names of common objects

and things.

Tape recorders, which have been found

to be excellent for instruction in lang- uages, will be widely used in the elementary Spanish instruction. These have

been used for some time in Zone schools but an additional supply was purchased

this year to provide each school with

adequate equipment.

"* The system of "visiting" Spanish

teachers is not new to Zone schools but

it is being greatly expanded this school year because of the extension of Spanish

language classes to the first three grades

which this year represents nearly a half

of the entire student body in grades one

through twelve.

Launches Are Only Transportation

For 6,000 Living Near Gatun Lake

(Continued from page 3) or two as there sometimes are. Then there are the people, like young

Digno Bondo and his widowed mother, Senora Anastasia. They had come from

Ciri Grande and would go back that

night. The young man would market 15 stems of bananas, at 45 to 50 cents each,

and the mother would visit the doctor who had been treating her at Amador

Guerrero dispensary. They had been to Colon 15 days before and would be coming again in another 15 days, if there were more bananas to market, and if the mother still needed medical attention. The Dondos were passengers in the launch Ciri Grande which is owned by

the father of its captain, Aureliano Alvarez. He makes two trips a week to the

village for which the launch is named,

stopping at Escoval and Cuipo on route

to Gatun. The trip takes two to three

hours, depending on how much has to be

loaded; the fare is 75 cents one way. More than one sick person has been carried free, if he happened not to have

money to pay for his trip.
October 1, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Recreation Areas For Young And Old

Part Of Planning For Zone Townsites

A large number of small plots of ground

adjacent to new housing areas in the Canal Zone have been set aside and are being developed as open-air recreational areas for children. Although the big, supervised playgrounds for children and adults have

long been a cardinal feature of the Canal Zone schools system, the provision of un- supervised play areas—with or without

equipment -convenient to homes is a comparatively new idea in townsite planning.

One of the most notable examples of

this kind of playground is that recently

opened at Los Rios. A large plot of ground in the town's center has been

outfitted with swings, slides, a baseball diamond for young children, and a concrete slab for basketball and similar games. It is centrally located and can

be reached by most of the children in the town without crossing a street.

It is such areas as this which are being

planned. Not all will be provided with

playground equipment but they will be kept in shape so that children in the immediate neighborhood can use them

without supervision at all hours of the day. And all are centrally located so that

children in the neighborhood can get to them without crossing busy thoroughfares. Centralized Play Area The big playground at Los Rios is one

of three in that town. Another is located

at the top of the small hill near the center

of town where the only trees were left standing after the extensive grading there. Already it has become a popular site for cowboys and war-whooping Indian hunters. A third play area, still undeveloped,

has been set aside near the western end

of the town between Anton and Cameron

Streets. Diablo Heights was the first Canal Zone town for which the townsite planning in- cluded these small play areas. There are three large playgrounds already established there, and two additional play

areas were provided in the planning for

HOI'S were torn down and a street relocate play area for the children

I to make space for this playground, the first real of Baboa elementary school.

the new two-family quarters to replace

the 12-family frame buildings. One of the new playgrounds is located on Sibert

Street and a second is a half-acre plot

between Walker Place and Sibert Street. Loth are near the Commissary and can

be reached from there without crossing a

street. No play equipment has been in- stalled there up to now.

Six Play Areas In Paraiso

No less than six equipped playgrounds

or play areas without equipment have

been provided in Paraiso. Some of these, however, are being developed following

the building program rather than as a

part of the original townsite planning.

This is also true in a number of other

towns.

In addition to the principal playgrounds near the Paraiso school, two big

recreational areas are available. One is located at the top of a big curve on Espalba Street and is bordered on the other

1'AH AIS( ) children have plenty of room for any sort of game in the playground adjoining the school.

side by Porcona Street, principally for the use of small children. A similar layout

is located at the eastern end of the town

along Gaillard Highway. Three play areas for small children have been pro- vided in centralized housing areas. The principal playground area in Ancon is the one adjacent to the elementary

school. This was regraded into two levels and has been reopened for both adult and children. New Playground Opens

When the new housing development in Balboa Flats is completed, it will probably have more play areas for young

children than any other Canal Zone community. The new elementary school play

ground, dedicated this week, provides ad- equate play facilities for school children and residents in the area. Only makeshift

equipment and play areas across the

street from the school have been available

before the two-acre plot was developed

and equipped.

Three other play areas are being pro- vided in the Flats where the new housing

is being erected. One, about a half acre

in size, is located between the new Morgan Avenue and Las Cruces Street; a

three-quarters acre plot is bounded by

Las Cruces and Carr Streets; and another

is between Carr and Owen Streets. The

latter will provide one section for small

children. Each of these is located where

it can be reached by small fry without

crossing streets.

In addition to these, it is planned to develop a park and playground in the

three-acre tract of land where the remaining four-family houses in the Flats are to be torn down. This will be sufficient size to have a softball diamond and other

areas for organized games.

Atlantic Side Play Areas

Provisions for play areas at Rainbow

City are slightly different than those in other Canal Zone towns. Here, practically every block has (See page i.',)
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW October 1, 1954

FOR YOUR INTERESTED GUIDANCE IN ^CCIDENT PREVENTION

DO YOU LIVE IN A HOUSE OF HAZARDS?

HONOR ROLL

Bureau Award For BEST RECORD

AUGUST

COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU

CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Community Services 6

Civil Affairs 3 Health 2 Supply 1 Engineering and Construction

Marine -- Transportation and Terminals

Can you name all the fire hazards, unsafe conditions,

and practices shown above? Turn to page 12 for a

check on your safety knowledge • • Check your

home for your own safety • • Help prevent fires

During Fire Prevention V/eek clean out

all trash which has accumulated in your home

Division Award For NO DISABLING INJURIES

AUGUST

LOCKS DIVISION

HOSPITALIZATION AND CLINICS

DREDGING DIVISION

SERVICE CENTER DIVISION

INDUSTRIAL DIVISION

ELECTRICAL DIVISION

GROUNDS MAINTENANCE DIVISION

DIVISION OF STOREHOUSES

MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION

AWARDS THIS CALENDAR YEAR

Aids to Navigation 6 Motor Transportation 6 Sanitation <> Service Center 6 Electrical 4 Grounds Maintenance 4 Dredging 3 Hospitalization and Clinics 3 Industrial 2 Railroad 2 Storehouses 2 Locks 1 Maintenance 1 Navigation 1 Commissary

Terminals

AUGUST 1954

Community Services Bureau

Civil Affairs Bureau

Engineering and Construction Bureau

C. Z. Govl.-Panama Canal Co. ( This Month I

Marine Bureau

Supply Bureau

Transportation and Terminals Bureau

Health Bureau

C. Z. Govl.-Panami Canal Co ( Last 3-Year Av.)

Disabling Injuries per 1,000.000 Man Hours Worked

{ Frequency Rale)

50

^^:^<<yy^^i

Number of Disabling Injuries 10

nzz

Mji-IIours WorkeJ 2,-29.?S0 LEGEND

Amount Better Than Canal Zone Government—Panama Canal Company Last 3- Year Average

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

Accumulative Frequency Rate This vear
October 1, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

Jg-i-M^-t

Official Panama Canal Company Publication

Published Monthly at BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE

Printed by the Printing Plant Mount Hope, Caiuil Zone

John S. Seybold, Governor-President

II. 0. Paxson, Lieutenant Governor

William G. Arey, Jr. Public Information Officer

J. Rufus Hardy, Editor

Eleanor H. McIlhenny

Editorial Assistant

SUBSCRIPTION—$1.00 a year SINGLE COPIES -5 cents each

On sale at all Panama Canal Service Centers, Commissaries, and Hotels for 10 days

after publication date.

SINGLE COPIES BY MAIL—10 cents each BACK COPIES—10 cents each

On sale when available, from the Vault

Clerk, Third Floor, Administration Building, Balboa Heights.

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

Canal Review, Balboa Heights, C. '/..

Fire Prevention Week Will

Be Observed October 3 to 9

Fire Prevention Week will be held next week with a program designed to reach

all Canal Zone residents of all ages.

During the week special "Sparky" col- oring-books will be given out to Zone

school children; the youngsters will also

visit the local fire stations. Fire equipment for first aid use will be demonstrated

on either side of the Isthmus and competition drills will be held October 9 at the Curundu area between teams picked from

the three military services. The Safety Page of this month's issue

of The Panama Canal Review graphically depicts the fire hazards which can

be found in many Canal Zone homes.

Zonians should check the cartoon on page

b' against the answers to be found on

page 12 to see how many of the hazards shown occur in their own quarters.

TWO YOUNG STUDENTS in auto mechanics at the La Boca Occupational high school learn about

motors from George V. Richards, at the right, who is holding a distributor. They are Manuel Rivera,

left, and Guillermo Payne, center.

New regulations governing the use of franked mail in the Canal Zone became

effective today. The new regulations

follow those recently issued by the United States Postal Service and generally

preclude the furnishing of free mail

service to Government agencies other

than the Company-Government. The

only exceptions are the District Court,

the United States District Attorney

and Marshal, Selective Service, and the Census Office. Other mail matter that may be ad- mitted free includes: Absentee ballots and balloting material for the Armed

Forces; matter from members of the Armed Forces in the United States entitled to free mail privilege; reading matter for the blind; official matter of the Postal Service; reply-paid postal cards; return receipts; Pan American

Union mail; and mail to and from

prisoners of war and interned belliger- ents and civilians.

An anchorage in Chesapeake Bay shel- tered the S. S. Ancon and its passengers from hurricane "Edna" which swept up the

Atlantic coast from the Caribbean last month. The Ancon sailed from New York

the afternoon of September 9, two days

later than its usual sailing date because of the Labor Day holiday.

The following morning the ship was di- verted from her usual course in order to avoid the storm. She put into the bay

about noon Friday and remained there at anchor facing into the wind, until Saturday

morning. The bay was calm but the wind and rain were heavy.

Although one passenger reported that she wouldn't have known that there was a hurricane in the vicinity except for radio report--, the ship's supply of anti-seasick pills was immediately exhausted by less hardy

passengers who did not want to take any

chances as to what "Edna" might bring.

Twelve applications were submitted

by Company-Government employees

for entry in the third year's competition for the Rockefeller Public Service Awards for which nation-wide selection

will be made in the early part of 1955. As this issue of The Panama Canal

REVIEW went to press, the applications were being processed by the Personnel Bureau. Those which were endorsed were to be sent to Princeton LIniversity

which administers the program.

Only 10 or 11 civilian employees of the executive branch of the Federal Government are selected annually for the Public Service Awards which enable

each recipient to spend from six months

to a year at an institution of his choice

or in some comparable educational activity.

Another phase of the 60-cycle conversion program in the Canal Zone has been started by the advertisement of bids to furnish four new generators for the Gatun hydroelectric

plant. These are the first bids for equip- ment needed for the project.

The specifications provide that the four generators be furnished and installed. It is hoped to have the installation completed by

May 1956. Three of the generators will be

of 3,750 kva capacity, and the fourth ol 5,625 kva, which are of the same capacity

as those now in use. Meanwhile, the conversion program got further impetus during the past month by

the house-to-house canvass to survey fre- quency sensitive equipment in the homes

of the Atlantic side. The engineers in charge of this survey, which started the

first of the month in Gatun, say that they have received excellent cooperation in the program. Forty Years Ago

In September

The Canal had been built and ships were going through; the construction period was over. In September 1914, the Canal force numbered 28,199, a decrease

of almost 4,500 in a two-month period.

There is no better indication of the state

of things than this warning from The

Canal Record:

"The Isthmus is no place for men seeking work . . . The continued arrival of the unemployed at Colon, in the face of the present labor congestion, menaces the

welfare and sscurity of the resident population and it is necessary that all reasonable means be taken to curtail this undesirable immigration."

There is no record of the employees' reaction, but The Canal Record announced

the following: "Eaeh permanent male employee of the Panama Canal on the Gold

Roll is to he given a physical examination

. . . This procedure is in line with work done by life insurance companies

among their policy holders, and is comparable to a general examination and over- haul given machinery."
THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW October 1, 1954

YOUR TOWN

THE OLD TIYOLI makes a background for some of Ancon's newest houses. President Theodore

Roosevelt and his official party were the Tivoli's first guests.

If the powers that were in 1904 and

1905 had been able to figure out an inex- pensive and practical method of reaching

the top of Ancon Hill, Ancon would not

look anything like it do?s today. Glowing from the summit of the 654-foot hill would be the lights of homes and hospitals instead of today's constellation of aircraft warning lights. For months after the United States took over the rights and properties of the French Canal Company in 1904, American officials discussed some feasible way

of reaching the hilltop. They agreed that

it was a perfect location for anywhere

from 14 to 25 houses and two sanitariums. They considered and discarded the idea

of a regular railway, a cog railway, a cable

railway, and a macadam road "with a

stage running at frequent intervals." The

plans which were suitable to the steep

ascent were unsuitable because of cost. Finally, in April 1905, they abandoned

all idea of the summit site and settled on

the lower slopes of the hill for their town. Ancon: Anchorage

The name Ancon, which means road- stead or anchorage, goes back hundreds

of years in Isthmian history. In 1545 Gonzalo Pizarro, seeking to control the Isthmus of Panama and its rich ports, sent two expeditions from Peru. The first pillaged the old city of Panama before it was recalled. The second was divided into two forces, one of which, under Rodrigo

de Carbajal, landed at Ancon, a small

cove two leagues from Panama.

In 1674 the new city of Panama was

laid out beside this cove; 200 years later the French Company selected a hillside overlooking the roadstead as the site of

its hospital. When the Americans came

they used the name "Port of Ancon" for what was later to be the Pacific terminus

of the Canal. The first town of Ancon was one of five Canal Zone municipalities, each administered by a mayor and council. According

to the Isthmian Canal Commission, it was

to be "the seat of the government of the Canal Zone and the place of residence of a large proportion of the Americans on

the Isthmus." Although headquarters for the Canal construction force were moved

to Culebra three years later, Ancon did remain the main governmental and medical center for the Canal Zone throughout

the construction period. In 1912 a local writer commented that there were people

in Ancon who had never seen the Canal

construction except from the windows of railroad cars.Hospital Grounds

The first American construction in Ancon was the repair and expansion of the rambling 500-bed French hospital. Some

of its wooden wards dated back to 1883; they were reconditioned and pavilions and

second floors added. By 1907 Ancon Hospital had 96 buildings, 47 of them wards.

All of these wx're in what was known as the Hospital Grounds. A gate across its

palm-bordered entrance road, approximately opposite the present residence of the Episcopal bishop, separated the hospital grounds from the rest of Ancon. It was kept locked at night and late comers had to ring a bell for admission. The first housing was crude. Married

officers detailed to the Ancon police sta- tion lived in tents. One three-family

house had only one bathroom. New quarters were built or old French buildings

made fit for habitation as fast as possible

and by 190S Ancon was a village of 1,508. At that, it was Isss than a third the size of Culebra. Outside of the hospital, the biggest

buildings in town were the Hotel Tivoli,

which had been opened officially in Jan- uary 1907, and the Administration Building, now the District Court. After 190S,

it housed the offices of the Civil Administration and of Sanitation, which until that time had been in Panama City.

Ancon In 1907 A supreme court and a circuit court were located near the present post office in an old French building, and a corral

for the horses and mules which pulled

official transportation was close by. Offi- cials of the Isthmian Canal Commission

were housed in large quarters on Fourth

of July Avenue; the quarters once occupied by Joseph Bucklin Bishop, the Commission's Secretary, are now the residence

of the District Judge. The quarters of the Chief Health Officer were on a knoll behind St. Luke's Cathedral, then a steepled wooden chapel; other doctors and

officers of the civil administration lived in the large houses still standing on Columbia Road.

A frame building on Reservoir Hill, levelled two years ago when the present

housing was laid out, was the elementary

school. One of the teachers in that school was Mrs. Ora Ewing, now housemother

for the junior college dormitory.

No Commissary

She lived in a four-family house on Fourth of July Avenue, looking out over

a large field where the National Institute now stands. There was no commissary

in Ancon, she recalls. Each week she made out food orders for six days and

sent them and a $15 commissary book to Cristobal. The orders were delivered each morning after the train arrived from

the Atlantic side. Unlike most other towns, there was no

clubhouse in Ancon and therefore, no

.- «---."" mm- VJl; - ~ K

\LI. DRESSED IT', with someplace to go! The ladies donned their fancied hats, with veils, and the gentlemen their most dazzling white

flannels when the Ancon Amusement Association chartered the SS Ai/mn in February 1908 for a trip to the Pearl Islands.
October 1, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW

ANCON

HARRY CORN

In charge of Ancon's Post Office

planned amusement. The people made

their own fun. The men went to the various lodges, like the Masons, Kangaroos,

or the Knights of Pythias, which had

space over a quartermaster storehouse;

the women belonged to the very active Woman's Club, and later, to the Ancon

Morning Musicale Society, disbanded

only a few years ago. The Tivoli was the scene of regular cotillions; the Ancon Amusement Association, of which Mr. Ewing was a eharter member, arranged dances, picnics, sports, and even, once, chartered a large ocean- going steamer for a trip to the Pearl

Islands. Round trip was $2 a person;

children under six went free. Society was fairly formal. Calling cards were part of every lady's equipment, and

oldtimers remember one woman who al- ways wore a hat to her own tea parties.

Permanent Town

By 1907 Ancon was beginning to spread

beyond its original confines of Hospital

Grounds and Tivoli. Fourteen buildings were constructed in what is now the San

Juan Place area to house the insane patients who had been cared for originally at the hospital proper and later in a building near Miraflores. About 1915 the

patients were transferred to Corozal and

the buildings converted to quarters. For

years they enjoyed the dubious distinc- tion of being haunted by crazy ghosts

which, anyone knows, are worse than

regular ghosts. * In 1910 the corral was moved to a location not far from the Insane Asylum

where it remained until 1938 when it was moved to Gaillard Highway. As the Canal neared completion, Ancon's future was uncertain. Finally, in 1914 The Canal Record announced the

official decision that the settlement at Ancon be continued indefinitely. The

permanent force to be housed there was

to be about 161 families and 130 bachelors. A number of quarters were brought

in from Culebra, Empire, and Bas Obispo

and re-erected in Ancon and some new

houses were built. Construction Began

The present commissary was built in 1914 on the site of an old French building; for years tradition had it linked by a tunnel to the hospital buildings. Plans were drawn up for a new school, still in use, and a clubhouse, the town's first,

S. D. CALLENDER

Pacific Service Center Manager

was built near the commissary. This

clubhouse, a two-story frame structure, was burned to the ground in 1924 in Ancon's most spectacular fire. Capt, R. E. Wood, Chief Quartermaster, Dr. A. B. Herrick, then Acting Superintendent of Ancon Hospital, and Samuel Hitt, Canal architect, were appointed

to a committee to submit recommendations for reconstructing the hospital. The

first of the hospital's present buildings was authorized in 1915. The Ancon res- taurant, later known as the Clubhouse, was built in 1917. Up to that time the streets had no

official names. Houses were numbered,

and not very logically at that, and loca- ting a particular residence was difficult. C. A. Mcllvaine, then Executive Secretary, suggested a number of somewhat

poetic names—Lovers Lane, High and

Low Roads, Sleepy Hollow, and Palm

Court—but his suggestions were not adopted. It was not until 1920 that Ancon

Boulevard, Gorgas Road, Columbia and

Culebra Roads, for instance, came into

official being. For a decade the town went on its quiet way. Its only excitement in the early

1920's was a rash of burglaries committed

by a daring character named Peter Williams. Oldtimers declare that he used to notify the police in advance of the loca- tion of his next burglary. Whether or not

that is true, he eventually fell afoul of the law and was shot and killed by the police

CHARLES L. LATHAM, Jr. Ancon Commissary Manager

while fleeing along an Ancon drainage

ditch. Fishbowl, Doctors' Knob

By the early 1930's the Ancon housing

situation was acute; newcomers had no

place to live except "vacation quarters"

for sometimes as long as two years. Twelve two-family houses and two cot- tages were built near the hospital for doctors' quarters. The section was immediately and obviously christened the "Fishbowl."

The early 40's brought the completion

of the houses in the Old Corral area; emergency 12-family housing on Frangipani Street and new quarters for the doctors on Herrick Heights. Unnamed for some time, this section near the Ancon

Courthouse was irreverently referred to

in official files as "Doctor's Knob."

Then came the war. Like other towns,

Ancon lived through blackouts, air-raid

alerts, civil defense drills. Makeshift

sandbag shelters appeared under houses and in side yards; starred service flags swung in windows. Planes from North

and South America landed and took off from the Air Terminal on Gaillard Highway, now the Civil Affairs Building. Al- most overnight a huge building appeared

over the edge of the hill below the Tivoli;

built by the USO for use of the thousands

of local and visiting servicemen, it is now

the Pacific Clubhouse.

After the war, building was again re- sumed in Ancon. About (See page n)

MISS DOVA ANTILL

School Principal DR. ROBERT BERGEH

Ancon'a Doctor
10 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW October 1, 1954

Up And Down The Banks Of The Canal

Governor's Office

Winfield S. Ireland, of the Postal Service

in Balboa, was the firs) employee to receive

travel authority for home leave under the pew regulations. Several othei employees

who sailed on the first Panama Line ship in September were granted authority for reim- bursement "I their vacation travel expenses,

bul the Transportation Section completed

., travel order for Mr. and Mrs. Ireland and

tlu-ir three children to go to Phoenix, Ariz. He had planned to take local leave but changed to a Stan-' vacation after legislation was passed granting the free travel lor home Icav e.

• • •

Leo B. Harrington, formerly a municipal

employee in Wilkcs-Barre, Pennsylvania, has

been employed, as a slenotypist in the Administrative Branch. He is the first full-time

itenotypist to be employed in the Canal or- ganization.

m m •

\ general reshuffling of desks and assign- ment of office space has been made in the Vdmintstrative Branch office. All units which perform services for the general public are now located along the left side ol the big office in Room 244 of the Administration Building. These include the \ ital Statistics unit. Transportation Section, and

personnel in charge of issuing special Commissary authority cards, gasoline purchase

cards, police clearances, authentications, and Canal Zone entry and reentry permits. The Immigration Section has been moved

to the small office on the porch adjoining

Room 202.

Engineering and Construction

The design force of the Engineering Division has been concentrating its energies

I. itc !% on the conversion of Coco Solo Hospital Much of the design work is being done in the field with the construction forces. The major design work, such as the enlarged air conditioned laboratory, is being done in the office.

The work at Contractors Hill is proving of interest to diversified groups and

l.t. Col. E. B. Jennings, Project Engineer, has lately filled several speaking

engagements in addition to his busy

schedule at the project. The Panama

Rotary Club and the Natural History

Society were two large groups who re- cently' heard Col. Jennings explain the

big project.

• • •

/•:. II'. Zelnick, Chief of the Water ami

Laboratories Branch, recently returned from a three-month vacation in the States with his family. He started his leave by attending the convention of the American Water Work* Association in Seattle, Washington, as an qffi-

, ml representative. Later he and his family

visited in Minnesota ami Chicago.

The Dredging Division's craneboat Atlas had ,i busy day early in August when it

in. idi- three trips through the Cut with

school children from the Republic of Pan- ama. Pupils from the Chile School, No. 1. Simon Bolivar School, and the Jose Agusto

Vrango School made the sightseeing trip

I .<! w .-ill Pedro Miguel .mil Gamboa.

As a part of its employee relations program, the Electrical Division has

distributed its second "Annual Report

to Employees" covering the division's

activities for the past fiscal year. The

report covered 22 pages with a printed

cover showing Madden Dam. It was

illustrated by the pictures of supervi- sory personnel and retired employees.

The report, written in simple and understandable language, will give a better knowledge of the divison's work and

the part each employee plays in the

overall program.

Personnel Bureau Community Services Bureau

L. B. Burnham, Assistant Training

Officer, made an outstanding record during the summer session of the New

York State School of Industrial and

Labor Relations at Cornell University.

He led his class in three of the four

subjects and scored 94 percent in the

fourth, his position in this class not

being reported to him.

Before entering the school, Mr. Burnham attended the fourth annual Insti- tute for Training Specialists at Cornell. This four-day session was attended by

top personnel employees from all parts

of the United States, the Philippines,

and Hawaii.

He and Mrs. Burnham, Canal Zone

Librarian, returned from their extended leave in the States late in September.

Health Bureau

Six medical officers, five nurses, a medical technician, and seven local- rate employees have been added to the Colon Hospital staff because of the re- cent consolidation of hospital facilities. An additional ward was opened at the

hospital and the obstetrical out-patient

clinic was moved to the first floor for the convenience of patients.

Meanwhile, alterations are being

made at the Coco Solo Hospital preparatory to the move there. Additional

parking spaces will be made available. The alterations are being planned to care for the big increase in patient- load as well as additional requirements

of the various medical specialities.

• • •

Colonel Howard 11'. Do.in. Superintendent

of Gorgas Hospital, has h -en appointed the Health Bureau's Technical Staff Chief of the

Civil Defense and Disaster Relief. His assist- ant is Dr. J. .1/. Wilkerson, Superintendent

of Colon Hospital, and J . I'. Smith. Chief ol

th,' Division of Sanitation, li is heen appointed

Facility Defense Coordinator for the bureau.

• • • The interior of the buildings at Palo Seco Leprosarium are being repainted. The

color scheme has been appreciably lightened

to give a pleasing and cheerful effect . I he

walls will be aquamarine and the ceilings an "oft white" to lighten the interior of the rooms. The work is being done by contract.

• • • The Health Bureau has again issued

a request for residents to use inorganictypes of plant foods and fertilizers in their gardening and planting. Numerous complaints of flies have been re- cently received and investigations re- vealed that the flies were bred in or- ganic types of fertilizer used by amateur horticulturists. This type of fertilizer should not be used. Inorganic

plant foods and fertilizers which will not breed flies may be bought at the Commissaries, Storehouses, and stores

in the two terminal cities.

The last of the m-\x houses at Diablo

Heights were assigned by the Housing Division during the past month. Contractors

lor the M Type-336 houses, two-story, two

family masonry buildings, completed const met ion within the specified time. The

group of houses, built by Isthmian Constructors, Inc., constitutes one of the principal building projects of the past fiscal vear.

Framorco, Inc., contractors for the housing construction project in Balboa

Flats, plans to complete 40 of the houses between November 1 and the

end of the year. This group of houses

will provide 6(> new apartments. The

contracting firm has announced that the remaining 17 houses, with 32 apartments, will be available by the latter part of next January.

Mrs. Janet Pienz. who is well known to many hundreds of patrons of Service Center

restaurants on the Pacific side, has been m

charge of the food preparation at the Hotel Washington since its return to the Canal Company operation. Her job of supervising the restaurant service at Pedro Miguel and the Administration Building is being filled by L. A. Montavani.

• • • A new hot water system has been installed

in the kitchen of the Tivoli Guest House

which will provide an adequate supply of water at the proper temperature at all times

Even this far in advance of the Yuletide season, the Service Centers have

received and placed on sale such Christ- mas supplies as American and British greeting cards, candies, gift sets, and

other holiday supplies. New phonograph records have been received or are on order.

• • • One of the top tourist attractions in the Canal Zone other than the Canal and its big locks is the Canal Zone Experiment

Gardens. This show place is visited monthly

by approximately 200 persons who tour the gardens to see variety of plants. Main ol the visitors have a scientific interest in the

plant propagation and development pro- gram. Among recent visitors of this cate- gory was Dr. Theodore P. Hass, faculty

member of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.

Transportation and Terminals

A yisit to the Cristobal piers was made

last month by one of the two heaviest-lift ships under the American flag. It was the I'SXS Pvt. Leonard C. Brostrom, a converted C4 ship for loading and unloading heavy

cargo without shoreside lift facilities. It and

a sifter ship were recently converted by the Bethlehem Steel Company and both lifted as much as 180 long tons in a single-boom

lift during yard tests. Decision to convert

the two ships by the Military Sea Transportation Service grew out of experience in the Korean conflict in unloading heavy machinery and other cargo without adequate

port facilities to unload railroad locomotives and other such equipment.

Jack Kaplan who was employed as an aula

repair machinist in the Motor Transportation

Division for more than 10 years is now in Liberia. West Africa. He resigned from the Canal service in October of last year and had

been employed in Youngstown, Ohio, until

recently. His new job is "With the Firestone Plantations Company in Harbcl. Liberia. "After working here in Africa, the Canal Zone

is a paradise," he wrote to Till- Cvnai REVIEW.
October 1, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 11

Marine Bureau

John W. Litton who made a long trip to Tahiti and the South Pacific after leaving the Canal service in 1950 has been reemployed as

a machinist in the Industrial Division. He

is assigned to the Balboa Shops. He was employed in the Balboa Shops from September 1140 until his reduction-in-force in April

1950. He then joined a private yacht making

an extended tour of the South Pacific. He

relumed to the Isthmus and was reemployed

temporarily on the Locks overhaul in l'J53. He returned to Tahiti for another long vacation immediately afterwards. Before rejoining

the Canal service last month he had been employed for about six months at the Naval

Shipyard in Pearl Harbor.

A group of about 60 friends attended a

gala farewell party for Worden H. Cowen

who retired last month as Director ot Admeasurement. The party was held at the Army and Navy Club. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cowen, who have already left the Isthmus

to make their home in Illinois, were pre- sented with farewell gifts.

The Aids to Navigation Section has now completed its move from Gatun

to Gamboa. The transfer of the per- sonnel and equipment was the biggest

such move made by a Canal unit from

one side of the Isthmus to the other

since the headquarters of the Panama

Railroad were moved to the Atlantic- side three years ago last month.

A highly successful office party was held

early in September by the employees in the Balboa Port Captain's office. The party was held to celebrate the promotions of R. M. Collins to Harbormaster and George

Riley to Dock Foreman. Also thrown in as

part of the purpose for the celebration wrere the return of Pete Riley from vacation and

the recent consolidation of the Boarding

Party personnel.

Comptroller's Office

The Accounts Classification Section in the Accounting Division has been transferred to the Accounting Systems Staff. The move involved the transfer of two employees, Robert V. Chenalloy and Howard

Lewis.

Lindsley H. Noble, Comptroller, is presently on leave of absence in the States for a period of about six weeks. It is a combined

official business trip and vacation. He will attend a meeting of the Board of Directors of

the Panama Canal Company early in October, and will also appear with the Governor before

the Bureau of the Buiiget on hearings on the Company-Government budgets for the coming

fiscal war.

The budgets for the Panama Canal Company and Canal Zone Government for the

fiscal year 1956 were completed and for- warded to the Bureau of the Budget within

the due date set by the Director of the Budget. The budget was completed and

forwarded this year somewhat earlier than

in previous years.

New York Office

R. H. Halsey, Jr., Freight Traffic Manager of the Panama Line, arrived on the S. S. Panama last Monday for a visit to the Canal

Zone. He is accompanied on his trip by Mrs.

Halsey. Before coming to the Isthmus. Mr. and Mrs. Halsey spent a week in Port-au- Prince to give him an opportunity to meet

the various Panama Line shippers in Haiti. During his visit here he has been conferring with various Canal officials on matter-, re- garding freight traffic.

Civil Affairs Bureau Your Town — Ancon

SIDNEY KING

Sydney King, oldest employee in the Polit e Division and one of the oldest employees, in point of service, of any Canal employee, re- tired at the end of September after 43 years of continuous service. He came to the Isthmus from his home in Trinidad, and was employed November 10, 1911. He was one of the crack

pistol shots of the Police Division and had

been employed for the past several years at the Penitentiary in Gamboa. He will be honor guest at a big farewell party given by

friends, co-workers, and officials Saturday

afternoon in the industrial shops area at the Penitentiary.

• • • Bright yellow letters and figures on

a black background will be the color scheme for Canal Zone license plates next year. These are the reverse of this year's auto tags. Scientific studies

have established that these colors can

be more easily seen at a distance than

any other color combination. Beginning next year, the License Section

plans to adopt the use of standard

sized license plates, six by twelve inches

to conform with the standard now es- tablished throughout most of the United States. The new plates will be

issued beginning December 1.

• • • Captain Arthur J. 'Troup, Chief of the Fire

Division, has two big events on schedule during his present leave in the Stales. He will attend the wedding of his son, Arthur Jay

Troup, Jr., and the International Association

of Fire Chiefs which will be hcdl this year in Houston, Tex. During his absence, Captain

II'. E. Jones, Commander of the Balboa Fire

District, is acting as Chief of the Division.

William G. Dolan, Chief of Civil Defense

of the Canal Zone, is in the Stales to attend

the Federal Civil Defense operations course at Olney, Md., and a State Civil Defense Directors meeting in Chicago. Before his return on

October 16, he will also inspect the civil defense organization at the Oak Ridge Atomic Energy

installation. Lieutenant E. L. Cotton is Acting

Chief of Civil Defense during Ins absence.

• • • George V. Richards, teacher of auto mechanics at the La Boca Occupational High School for the past seven

years, attended the General Motors Institute in Flint, Mich., during the past summer. He completed a four-week

course in auto mechanic teacher train- ing to bring himself up-to-date on the

latest repair methods for automatic

transmission, power steering, and other

recent developments in modern auto- mobile transportation.

Mrs. Ella L. Pease, who has charge of the children's section at the Canal Zone Library.

left last month for a year's sabbatical leave to enter the University of Illinois. Miss Pease's home is Marion, Illinois, and she has been employed for 25 years continuously in the Library.

(Continuedfrom page 9) 1950 the new "Gyn-Ob" building was added to the Gorgas hospital group, and a site cleared

for a clinic building, still to be built. Flame Throwers

The haunted old quarters and the beautiful trees on San Juan Place fell before

the bulldozers. Reservoir Hill, for many

years a residence for women bachelors was so levelled that it can no longer be

called a hill. Ancon Boulevard was relo- cated and the dreary old four-family houses which had stood flush with its sidewalks became debris. Army flame- throwers burned some of the wreckage

where it lay. Today some parts of Ancon look like the gap-toothed mouths of little boys.

Old houses are being torn down as they

are vacated, and it will not be many

months before they are all gone. Boundaries

Where Ancon begins and ends is a matter of question. On one side it is separated from Panama by Fourth of July

Avenue, whose name dates back at least

to 1909 and probably earlier. The border,

generally, is the Panama-side curb of the avenue. On the other end of town the

dividing line between Ancon and Balboa,

for taxi-fare purposes, is the Administration Building. For school purposes, however, the Fishbowl, San Juan Place, and

the Old Corral area, and everything west

of these sections, are considered in the Balboa elementary school area.

It has three churches, all well patronized. Sacred Heart Chapel and the Cathedral of St. Luke began their lives as chapels inside the hospital grounds. The

First Church of Christ, Scientist, on Ancon Boulevard was once the Ancon court- house. It was moved to its present loca- tion in 1916 and has since been enlarged.

Voracious Deer Ancon has a greenhouse, the only one

in the Canal Zone. It has the only hotel

in the Canal Zone, though it is now known

as the Tivoli Guest House. Its hospital

is the only one on the Pacific side. The

marriages, adoptions, divorces, and es- tates of hundreds of its citizens are re- corded in the files of its District Court.

It also has some of the most voracious deer outside a jungle. One resident has an electrified fence around his yard to keep them out of his garden.

Many of the people who live in Ancon

have never lived anywhere else. Nor do

they want to. Once an Anconite, always

an Anconite, they'll tell you.

Two former Canal Zone customs inspectors have written friends that they have established business operations on opposite coasts of the tinted States. Charles E. Johnston, who re- signed several months ago, is now in the egg and poultry business in Kissimmee, Fla., while Waller H. Morton and his family are now well established in their Royal Motel at El Monte, Calif.
12 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW October 1, 1954

HOUSE OF HAZARDS

1. All [C

Fires arc caused by:

.i. Excessive storage "I old papers, car- tons, etc. in attic.

Ii. 1 sing matches to light \ our wa\

c. Piling things against open i-lrclric.il wiring

2. BEDROOM

Fires an- caused l>\ : a. Falling asleep while smoking in bed.

I. ( Garments touching or i overing dryclosel heatei -

c. Closet crammed with flammable

paper boxes which adds more fuel.

V BA I II Vim cm he injured or electrocuted by:

a. I sing a radio in the bathroom.

b. Pull-chain fixture without insulat- ing link over lavator)

c. Using an electric hair dryer or Ian

nut properly grounded.

d. II Mm --lip in a tub taking a shower.

I se nonslip rubber pads.

I Kl rCHEN

Fires are caused by:

a. Wind-blown curtains near the stove.

I I. Hot grease left with burner on high,

c. Oil stoves not kept clean and in re- pair.

(I. Kitchen matches left scattered a- round for children to play with. Accidents are caused by:

a. Grease spilled and left cm the floor.

b. Sauce pan handles left so the pan

can be knocked nil the stove.

c. Pull-chain fixture over sink without

insulating link.

d. Using defective electrical appliances where they can -hcirt through you

tu sink.

5. LIVING ROOM—

Fires are caused by:

a. Overloaded electrical circuits heating concealed wires.

il. Electrical lamp cords installed along baseboard and under carpet.

C. Electric lamp cords allowed to be- come worn down to bare wires.

d. Cigarettes left smoldering on ash

trays which may fall on a rug.

e. Flicking cigar or pipe ashes into wastepaper basket.

(,. LAUNDRY

Fires are caused by:

a. Leaving hot electric iron connected

while doing something else.

Ii. Substituting pennies for fuses.

C. Overloading one outlet with execssi\ e appliances. Accidents are caused by:

a. Metal floor lamp being used as an

extension cord.

I.. Old ice box drains which may be- come energized from electric re- frigerator.

c. Lead wire from aerial which may

become energized through radio.

7. HOBBY SHOPS—

hires may be started by:

a. Paint and oil-soaked rags left lying

in the corners.

b. Hot sparks or cigarettes tailing into wood sha\ ings.

c. Gasoline used as a cleaning fluid. d. Excessive lumber, paint, and other flammables lL s fuel for small fires. Accidents are caused l>\ :

a. Ungrounded electrical equipment

and unguarded saws.

Ii. Worn and exposed electric wires.

c. Using tools with which you are unfamiliar or in an unsafe manner.

s GAR VGE

hires are caused by:

.i I s( ot gasoline for cleaning parts.

Ii. Not storing gasoline in approved

safet\ cans.

c. ( lasoline and excessix e grease spilled on the floor. d. Short circuit in extension cord. smoking, or an) spark, around

gasoline fumes. Mont pile or store material w here il max

interfere with the automatic operation ol sprinkler heads.

\. i idents are caused bv:

a. Running an engine in a closed garage.

b. Depending on the jack alone to keep the car from falling. c Worn or defective extension cords which may short through you to ground.

Ten Years Ago In September

Although the war in Europe had seven months more to run something which

no one could predict 10 years ago last month the Canal Zone was going to be prepared for a Victory Celebration. Committees from both sides of the Isthmus

met to make plans for fitting ceremonies

to be held when the day came. The Pacific sitle settled on a ceremony at Balboa

Stadium; the Atlantic side chose a parade.

September I, 1943, almost 80,000 passengers had entered or left the Canal Zone

through the air terminals at Balboa and

Cristobal.

From Washington eame word that the War Department had declared former Canal Zone policeman Ruel K. Boone officially dead. A gunner on a bomber, he had been

shot down near Dieppe, France, in February, and had been reported as missing in action. He ivas 24 years old.

All 14 gates at the Gatun spillway were opened September 29 for the first time in Canal Zone history. The spilling was done

for lake level regulation and for spill- way channel tests. The highest number

of spillway gates which had been opened

previously was 13, in November 1932.

Within a two-year period the parcsnt- age of the Canal-Railroad payroll invested monthly in war bonds through the payroll deduction plan had practically tripled,

according to a report of the Canal Zone war bond committee. Over 95 percent of the employees were buying bonds by payroll deduction; 18.26 percent of the payroll was being invested in bonds each

month through this plan.

Canal Zone residents had to go back to

the old prescription system of obtaining

milk. A decreasing supply of fresh milk from Mindi Dairy made the action neces- sary. The plan was the same as that used

in 1942 when milk rationing had also been

necessary. Milk was to go first to small

babies, with priorities decreasing with the age of the milk drinker.

Air travel had increased markedly, fig- ures released by the Customs Bureau

showed. In the one-year period beginning

The sentences of four Italian officers who had been convicted in 1942 of sab- otaging the 23,000-ton liner Conte Bian- camano while the ship lay in Cristobal harbor were commuted by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt. They had been

sentenced to three years each for sabotage

and one year each for conspiracy. A

$5,000 fine had also been imposed.

It Is Later

Than You Think!

TOY PREVIEWS

WHKN? Friday, October 15; 3 to 5:30 p. in., 7 to 9 p. m.

WHERE? Atlantic Side Toy Center, near Camp Hierd

Service Center

Pacific Side Toy- Center, opposite Balboa Annex

Fa Boca Commissary

Tivoli Commissary

Camp Bierd Commissar)

Rainbow Citv Commissary

Toy Sale begins the following day
October 1, 1954 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW 13

ANNIVERSARIES

* t

GEORGE N. ENGELKE

Senior in Service

Everyone Calls Him "Brown'

At Diablo Heights Commissary

George N. Engelke, who has the longest continuous service of any American citizen now on the Panama Canal Company-Canal

Zone Government rolls, heads this month's

list of anniversaries, with 43 years of Canal

service. Except for five months of his working life, when he was a manifest clerk

for the now defunct California-Atlantic Steamship Company in 1911, he has never worked for any other organization.

Furthermore, all of his Canal service has been with the Commissary Division or its pre-1914 equivalent. He began September

5, 1911, as a wrapper and checker, and has worked his way up through the Commissary

Division to his present post, Assistant General Manager. Born in Athens, Ga., he came to the Canal Zone in 1909; his father, H. N. Engelke, was a machinist in the Canal shops for many years. Mr. Engelke

holds the Roosevelt Medal and is one of three employees whose service dates back

to the construction period.

Three employees share the No. 2 anni- versary post. Each has 35 years of govern- ment service. All have continuous Canal

service. Gaspar de Paredes, a native of Panama,

has always worked for the Commissary Division. He is now a Commissary Assistant at the cold storage platform at Balboa. W. H. Esslinger, as Chief Hydrographer,

is the Canal's weatherman; he just talks about the weather and says he doesn't do

anything about it. Born in Alabama, he came here as an Observer in the Surveys

Branch. Cleveland Schecker, Secretary of the

Disability Relief Board, is a native Brooklynite. He began his service here as a clerk

in the Personnel Bureau and has always

been in Personnel work.

September was Silver Anniversary month

for four Canal employees. They are; Miss

Hallie Beavers, who teaches mathematics

at Balboa High School ; George Carter Orr, an operator on the big suction dredge Mindi;

Walter G. Peterson, whose title is Supervisory Meat Processing Specialist for the Commissary Division; and Gordon H. Thompson, Marine Bunkering Foreman

for the Terminals Division in Balboa.

Two of this month's 20-year employees

both teachers—went to work for the Canal

organization on the same day—September

20, 1934. They are Miss Thora M. Baublits, who is at the South Margarita School, and Miss Helen M. Starr, principal of the Fort Kobbe school. Eight other 20-year employees have un- broken Canal service. They are: Arthur A. Albright, Lockmaster at Gatun—his service is continuous with the Locks Division; Harry V. Cain, Head Stevedore Foreman

for the Terminals Division; W. F. Cunningham, Auditor in the Internal Audits

Staff; George P. Fullman, Supervisor with

the Meter Repair Unit of the Maintenance

Division; Parker P. Hanna, a Steam Engineer with the Terminals Division; William

Kosan, who works with the Industrial Division as a machinist; Charles A. Stewart,

a Lock Operator Machinist with the Pacific

People who see him buzzing around the Diablo Heights Commissary or ask "Brown" to help them carry packages to

their cars probably have no idea that he was once a lightweight contender and

that his name isn't Brown at all. The "Brown" comes from the days

when he was fighting in Jamaica, Panama,

Colombia, and the United States, under

the name of "Baby Al Brown." The name by which he was christened some

34 years ago in St. Ann's, Jamaica, is Horace Lloyd Morgan.

Today his ring days are far behind

him. Occasionally, when he has an

opportunity he goes to local prize fights or listens to radio broadcasts of big bouts

in the States, but he hasn't touched

leather to skin for several years. He has no regrets about his ring career, however.

He said, philosophically, the other day:

"Boxing, generally, is a clean sport.

It sets a man up to realize what the

world's made of. How much he can give

and how much he can take, that's what

makes a man."

Started As Amateur

"Brown" started boxing as an amateur

in Jamaica, about 1935, as a paperweight, Before he ended his fighting career he had

fought men 10 pounds heavier, although most of his last bouts were in the lightweight class. He came to the Canal Zone as a contract worker in March 1941. His first job was with the Municipal Division;

later he worked for the Commissary and

Schools Divisions and for the Receiving

and Forwarding Agency at the Balboa

Docks. He has been with the CornLocks; and Joseph C. Turner who, in his capacity as Treasurer of the Panama Canal Company, signs checks worth millions of dollars every month.

Other 20-year employees are Mrs. Ethel

E. Askew, whose job is that of Accounting

Clerk with the Agents Accounts Branch; Ralph H. Kirkpatrick, a Cabinet Maker

for the Industrial Division and, like Mrs. Askew, a native Canal Zonian; George T. McLintock, Industrial Division Electroplater; Robert G. Richardson, a Shipping Foreman for the Commissary Division, also a native Zonian; and Stanwood O. Specht,

a Mechanic Operator-Foreman for the Electrical Division. Four of the 14 employees who completed

15 years of Government service in September work for the Locks Division; two of the four have the same service date and hold

identical jobs. The 15-year twins are Frank J. Dolan

and Harry F. Willenbrock. They went

to work for the Canal September 21, 1939 and both are Control House Operators at Miraflores Locks. The other Lock employees who had 15th anniversaries last month

are Charles J. Sorrell, a Lock Operator

Wireman Leader at Miraflores, and Charles

Swearingen, a Control House Operator at Gatun. All have unbroken service. Also with unbroken service are: Miss

Claude M. Aycock of the Balboa High

School faculty; Curtis B. Darden, a cus- tons inspector at Balboa; Maenner B. Huff, Systems Accountant in the Accounting Systems Staff; Herbert G. Kelly,

Plant Electrician for the Commissary Division; John F. Meehan, pilot; and Isaac

Price, an engineer with the Railroad Division. Other 15-year employees are: John F. Frensley, Jr., a Railroad engineer; Dor- othy Hood who, as a Copyholder at the

Printing Plant, helps get out The Panama

Canal Review; John Montayne, a Sys- tems Accountant in the Accounting Division; and Mrs. Lillie W. Wood, Staff Dietician at Gorgas Hospital.

"BROWN" is usually available to help Diablo Heights Commissary customers with their packages.

missary Division again since 1946 and

at the Diablo Heights store for about a

year. He began to fight professionally in Panama soon after he arrived on the Isthmus. Most of his first bouts were

in Colon but he soon extended his activities to Panama City. He believes his > best fight was one with Young Finnegan

of Colon before what newspapers described as a record-breaking crowd in the National Stadium in July 1943. The

fight went 10 rounds and "Brown" had

Finnegan on the canvas in the second

round. The final decision went to Finne- gan but, quoting the local press again, it was a close one. The next year "Brown" fought Chalky

Wright, former world's featherweight

champion, in Panama. Wright not only

reported him to be a "rough, tough,

fellow," but persuaded him to go to the

States to try his luck. "Brown" did, via Colombia and Jamaica, where he

received a tumultous welcome as a local boy who had made good.

Madison Square Garden

His States fights included two at Madison Square Garden, one of them

against Julio Jimenez, Mexican lightweight champion, and several in New

Jersey. What with one thing and another,

fighting did not prove to be as profitable as "Brown" had expected although he was doing well and was receiving good

press notices. So he came back to Panama and since about 1946 has been an "ex" in the fighting game. Today he keeps himself busy working

in the commissary and being a family man. He lives in Panama with his wife and three little Morgans, two boys and a

girl. The older boy is Orelio Washington—he was born on Washington's Birth- day in 1948. The little girl, who was

born a few months after her family lost

all their belongings in a fire in Panama

City in 1949, is Hortensia, and the baby, now 18 months old, is named Alleroy Marcus.

Orelio is in school now, in Panama.

So far, he hasn't shown any interest in boxing, but if he does he has a good

teacher right in the family.

"I'll teach him, if he wants to learn,"

"Brown" says.
14 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW October 1,1954

PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

August 15 Through September 15

Employees who were promoted or transferred between August 15 and Septembei

15 are listed below. Regradings and within- grade promotions are not listed. ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH

Mrs. Virginia D. Cunningham, from

Clerk-Typist, Duplicating Unit, to File Clerk, Records Section. CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Division of Schools Mrs. Artemis M. Sousa, Mrs. Bellamy

P. Laatz, Mrs. Wanda J. Layne, Mrs. Grace R. Larimore, Mrs. Suzanne S. Granzow, Mrs. Theresa E. Hunter, Mrs.

Jacqueline M. Conn, Mrs. Mary E. Cost, from Substitute Teacher to Elementary School Teacher. Mrs. Miriam S. Hirschl, Mrs. Mary

G. Conklin, from Kindergarten Assistant

to Elementary School Teacher. Mrs. Ethel V. Bialowski, from Junior High School Teacher to Elementary School

Teacher. Ross E. Anderson, from Recreation Supervisor to Physical Education Teacher.

Physical Education and Recreation Branch. Linda C. Appin, Clerk-Stenographer, from

Police Division to Division of Schools. Mrs. Alfhild M. Maedl, Mrs. Mercedes

A. Smith, from High School Teacher to Substitute Teacher. Clarence R. Vosburgh, from Junior College Instructor to High School Teacher. Ann L. Prahler, from High School

Teacher to Junior College Instructor. Robert C. Connor from Student Assistant. Surveys Branch, to Life Guard, Physical Education and Recreation Branch. Mrs. Harriet K. Serger, Mrs. Norma

C. Belland, Mrs. Vera G. Irving, Mrs.

Bessie C. Herring, Mrs. Vera C. Phillips, Mrs. Ethel P. McDermitt, from Elementary School Teacher to Substitute Teacher. Jacqulyn M. Schofield, from Library

Assistant to Substitute Teacher. Mrs. Jane N. Clinton, from Elementary

School Teacher to Kindergarten Assistant.

Richard W. Angstadt, from Student

Assistant, Navigation Division, to Student

Aid, Library OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Richard H. Egolf, from Accountant,

General Accounts Branch, to Bookkeeping

Machine Unit Supervisor, Machine ('nit Branch. Catherine Joustra, from Clerk-Typist, General Accounts Branch, to Bookkeeping

Machine Operator, Machine Unit Branch. Mrs. Edna J. Hummer, from Accounting Clerk, Cost Accounts Branch to Bookkeeping Machine Operator, Machine Unit Branch. Mrs. Catherine B. Sigl, Mrs. Frances

P. Smith, Shirley A. McNall, from Card

Punch Operator, Cost Accounts Branch to Bookkeeping Machine Operator, Machine

I nit Branch. Mrs. Janet S. McLaughlin, Bookkeeping Machine Operator, from Cost Accounts Branch to Machine Unit Branch. Mrs. Jeanne M. Wheeler, from Ac- counting Clerk, General Accounts Branch

to Bookkeeping Machine Supervisor, Machine Unit Branch. Philip L. Steers, Jr., Chief, Accounting

Systems Staff, to Deputy Comptroller.

Norbert A. Jones, from Accounting

Clerk to Supervisory Accounting Clerk, Cost Accounts Branch. Mrs. Jessie W. Degenaar, from Ac- counting Clerk, Vgents Accounts Branch to

( lerk-Typist, riant Inventory and Appraisal Staff. Charles W. Balser, from Accounting

Clerk to Inventory Clerk. Plant Inventory and Appraisal Staff. ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

BUREAU

Robert C. Stanley, from Powerhouse

Operator to Senior Powerhouse Operator,

Electrical 1 livision. Alexander M. Parker, from Senior Powerhouse Operator to Powerhouse Operator Dispatcher, Electrical Division. Kenneth M. Jorgensen, from Engineering \id. Hydraulic, to Hydraulic Engineer,

Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch. Mrs. Laura C. McLintock, Clerk-StenOCTOBER SAILINGS

ographer, from Maintenance Division, to Contract and Inspection Division. Donald W. Journeay, General Construction Engineer, from Maintenance Divi-ii hi to Survey Branch. John W. Muller, General Construction

Engineer, and Otis C. Myers, Supervisory Construction Management Engineer, from Maintenance Division to Engineering Division. Mrs. Laura J. Nelson, from Clerk-Typist to Clerk, Electrical Division. Mrs. Eloise G. Boon, from Substitute Teacher, Division of Schools, to ClerkTypist, Electrical Division. HEALTH BUREAU

William F. Grady, Colon Hospital, and

Manuel Lichtenbaum, Gorgas Hospital, from Pharmacist to Supervisory Pharmacist.Dr. Harry Westerberg, from Medical

Officer to Assistant Chief, Surgical Service, Colon Hospital. Mrs. Gladys W. Brayton, from Clerk- Typist to Accounting Clerk, Colon Hospital. Mrs. Patricia R. Nellis, from Typist, Terminals Division to Clerk-Typist, Colon

Hospital. Mrs. Rebecca L. Hatten, from ClerkTypist, Housing Division, to Clerk-Stenographer, Colon Hospital. Mrs. Mildred R. Largent, Staff Nurse, from Colon to Gorgas Hospital.

MARINE BUREAU

Roscoe M. Collins, from Dock Foreman

to Harbormaster, Navigation Division. George E. Riley, Jr., from Supervisory

Signalman to Dock Foreman, Navigation

Division. Adrian W. Webb, from Lockmaster to Lock Operator Machinist Leader, Pacific Locks. Charles A. Stewart, from Lock Operator Machinist Leader to Lock Operator

Machinist, Pacific Locks. Hugh M. Thomas, Jr., from Lock Operator Machinist, Pacific Locks, to Motor

Boat Maintenance Mechanic, Aids to Navigation Section. Donald R. Kimzey, from Guard, Atlantic Locks, to Clerk-Typist, Pacific Locks. Charles W. Brown, from Clerk-Typist,

to General Storekeeper, Pacific Locks. Alfred Gloss, from Second Assistant Marine Engineer, Aids to Navigation Section,

to Chief Towboat Engineer, Navigation

Division. James M. Lacey, from Third to Second

Assistant Marine Engineer, Aids to Navigation Section. Leonard N. Martin, from Guard to Assistant Chief Inspector, Locks Security Branch. SUPPLY BUREAU

O. E. Enfield, Jr., from Accounting

Clerk to Supervisory Storekeeper, Commissary Division. John J. Sproul, from Supervisory Store- keeper to Commissary Supervisor, Commissary Division. Mrs. Alicia M. Crasto, from 'Transportation Rate Auditing Clerk to Property and

Supply Clerk, Division of Storehouses. Maria L. Lupi, from Clerk-Typist to 'Transportation Rate Auditing Clerk, Division of Storehouses. Philip Arrieta, from Procurement Clerk

to Cash Accounting Clerk, Division of Storehouses. TRANSPORTATION AND TERMINALS

BUREAU

Mrs. Alda L. McLeod, from Kindergarten Assistant, Division of Schools, to Typist

Terminals Division. Mrs. Gloria M. DeRaps, from Mail and

File Clerk to Accounting Clerk, "Terminals

I Hvision. John A. McClain, from Cribtender Foreman to Steam Engineer and Cribtender Foreman. Marine Bunkering Section. Walter L. Ilund, from Steam Engineer and Cribtender Foreman to Steam Engineer

Marine Bunkering Section. Walter R. Fender, from Cribtender Ganger and Foreman to Cribtender Fore- man, Marine Bunkering Section. Howard H. Carey, from Guard, Locks

Security Branch, to Ganger and Cribtender Foreman, Marine Bunkering Section.

From Cristobal

Panama-. ..October 1 Ancon.. ..October 8

Cristobal- . ..October 15 Panama 'October 23 Ancon. - "October 29

From New York

Cristobal Panama

A neon

Cristobal

October 5

* "October 14 October 10 October 26

"Leaves Cristobal Saturday; arrives Xew

York Frifay.

""Leaves New York Thursday because

of Columbus Day holiday.

(Northbound the ships are in Haiti from

7 a. m. to noon Sunday; southbound the

Haiti stop is from 7 a. m. to 4 p. m. Sat- urdavl.

RETIREMENTS

Retirement certificates were presented

the end of August to the following employees who are listed alphabetically, together with their birthplaces, titles, length of service, and future addresses: Worden H. Cowen, Illinois; Director of Admeasurement. Marine Bureau; 35 years,

17 days; Arenzville, 111. H. Conrad Dodson, Virginia; Accountant, Accounting Division; 29 years, 1 month,

3 days; Leonia, N. Y. Mrs. Eva G. Jones, Kansas; Accounting

Clerk, Accounting Division; 34 years and

6 months; Canal Zone for present.

C. A. M. Monsanto, Germany; Motor

Transportation Division; 28 years and 24

days; Iowa City, Iowa. John D. Stephens, Florida; Chief Engineer, Pipeline Suction Dredge, Dredging

Division; 28 years, 4 months, 9 days; Tallahassee, Fla. Earl C. Tarr, Pennsylvania; Superintendent, General Products Branch, Commissary Division; 23 years, 10 months, 25 days; address uncertain. Eugene K. Willett, Kentucky; Maintenance Mechanic, Gorgas Hospital; 25 years,

7 months; address uncertain.

Company-Government Will Participate

In Fourth Senior Management Program

(Continued from page 8) 1948-49; Administrative Assistant in the Supply Department, now Assistant to the Director,

Community Services Bureau.

Employees who attended the Career Development Program are: Norman B. Davison, 1954, Commissary Supervisory Accountant, now Supervisory Accountant, Commissary Division.Robert Stevens, 1954, Salary and Wage

Analyst.

Frank Wilder, 1953, Internal Security

Officer, now Security Education Officer.
October 1,1954 THEiPANAMA'CANAL REVIEW 15

Recreation Areas For Young And Old

Part Of Planning For Zone Townsite Two Zone Teachers Back On Job

After Year On Ford Fellowships

GOTTA GO UP before you can come down,

says Yvonne Hopson, 2, of Los Rios.

(Continuedfrom page 6) small areas within

the block which give children ground to romp and play without danger from traffic. In addition, the principal playground

activities are centered at the school where

extensive grounds and some equipment are

available for both supervised and unsupervised play of adults and children. In addition to these, a comparatively

large playground is available for Rainbow

City residents at the southern end of town

in the old Camp Coiner area. This has not been developed other than clearing.

The principal recreational facilities at Margarita are centered around the two

schools. In the older section of the town

an area big enough for one football field and the ball park is located on Margarita Avenue. Another big recreational area has been opened adjacent to the new

school but the equipment which has been

installed at present is primarily intended

for the use of smaller children. A third play area is at the older school and it has

the normal playground equipment.

A small play area, without equipment, is located back of the Margarita police sta- tion and is convenient to a large number

of residents in that general area.

Temporary Rules Cover Employees Travel

(Continued from page i) cannot be greater

than that which would have been granted

if travel was by common carrier. Since many employees do not go di- rectly to their homes or return to the port of embarkation by the most direct

routes, mileage will be granted only for the usually traveled routes betwen those

points. Therefore, allowances for travel within the United States will be on a constructed basis except where direct travel by common carrier is involved. In either case, however, employees

must submit vouchers for their travel expenses.Questionnaires Issued

Two questionnaires have been sent to

all U. S. citizen-employees eligible for free vacation travel by the Personnel Bureau. One of these is for planning purposes only

and the information requested is for the establishment of a general leave pattern, mode of travel desired by employees to and within the States, and the number

of dependents. These questionnaires were

to be returned early this week.

A second questionnaire is for the pur- pose of establishing the "place of actual

After a year's absence in the United

States, on Ford Foundation fellowships, two Canal Zone teachers are back at their desks, full of new ideas from their months'

of travel and study. They are Miss Lois Morgan, who teaches English and math

at Balboa Junior High School, and Miss

Leafy C. De Sousa, who instructs students at La Boca Junior High School in

social studies, art, and Spanish.

Miss Morgan divided her year into three phases: academic work at Louisiana

State University and the University of Miami, painting, and travel. Because she is especially interested in botanical painting, she took two courses

at LSU in Baton Rouge where the courses

offered were of special interest, where the weather was mild enough for outdoor

painting and where there was much of

historical and scenic interest in the sur- rounding area.

residence" in the United States for each

employee. This information is necessary

for the payment of travel expenses in the United States. Many employees were

born on the Isthmus and others were ap- pointed from states other than their legal residence; it will be necessary in such

cases to establish an approved "place of actual residence." The Personnel Bureau has requested

that both questionnaires be completed

and returned promptly.

Conditions Vary

One of the great difficulties in formulating regulations governing free vacation

travel has been in the great variety of conditions to be covered. One of the subjects which has brought

the greatest variety of questions has been

the "husband and wife" subject. In many cases both husband and wife are employed in the Canal organization, in others one is employed by the Canal and

the other elsewhere. In very few cases

are both from the same home town. Other questions involved: Must they

travel together to benefit by the free vacation law? Can vacations be taken

separately? Must dependent children ac- company their father? And countless

variations within these and other questions. These problems and the many others

arising as a result of the free vacation

travel will be covered by permanent reg- ulations and until these are issued, the

present temporary rules will be used. And, until regulations are formulated,

employees are still being requested to be

patient about questions unless their vacations are in the immediate offing.

Canal Employees Begin To See Effects

Of Recently-Passed Fringe Benefits Bill

(Continued from page i) regulations become

effective. The 127 employees who became "Career" employees comprised the group who

had Civil Service status when employed

and who have completed three years of continuous service. The "career conditional" employees are those with Civil Service status who have not completed

three years of service required for the "career" classification. These will be changed as they complete the required

service.

Miss De Sousa took her academic work

at New York University, Columbia, the University of Southern California, and

the Workshop for the United Nations.

In addition she attended several educational conventions, including the National

Council for Social Studies in Buffalo, N.Y.

and the Association for the Supervision

and Curriculum Development in Los Angeles, Calif. She considers that highlights of her

trip were the Grand Canyon, the White

House, a visit to Congress in session, a view of Gainsborough's "Blue Boy," in the Huntington Library, the Mardi Gras

parades in New Orleans, and a view of the Land of the Bible Exhibit in New

York. This last showed the Dead Sea

scrolls containing Hebrew manuscripts of Genesis and Samaritan inscriptions on

stone mosaic.

The same general provision with re- spect to the permanent or indefinite sta- tus of employees for the past four years

also applies to all promotions since that

date. Under the fringe benefit legislation,

all promotions will now become "per- manent." Uniform Allowance

Several hundred other Canal employees

have been or will be affected by the fringe benefit legislation. The largest group will be those required to wear uniforms in

their work. These include firemen, police- men, guards, and a few smaller groups. These employees may be granted $100 a year for uniforms. Approximately 125 employees in the

Crafts, Protective, and Custodial (CPC)

schedule will be changed to GS ratings or moved to the wage-board system. The

legislation provides that no employees be

reduced in salary because of the change,

and those moved to the wage-board sys- tem will be materially benefitted in most

instances. An indefinite number of employees will be benefitted by other provisions of the

fringe benefits legislation such as: True

time-and-a-half for overtime up to GS 9; increased incentive awards; longevity

steps for employees in GS 11 through 15; recruitment at salaries above the mini- mum of a grade; and call-back pay for a minimum of two hours of pay at the overtime rate. Of these, one of the most important for Canal employees will be that which pro- vides for full overtime pay up to Grade 9 employees. Up until now only employees

with salaries up to $2,980 a year and on

a declining scale at higher rates of pay

received full time-and-a-half overtime pay. Awards Liberalized

The existing incentive awards programs have been liberalized and for the first time provision is made for special awards

by the President for exceptionally meritorious service. The Civil Service Commission is responsible for the administration of the combined program and agencies may make awards up to $5,000.

A special study is already being made

of this phase of "the fringe benefits legis- lation and the rules outlined by the Civil Service Commission. A special announce- ment on the awards program for the Canal organization will be made in an

early issue of The Panama Canal Review.
16 THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW October 1, 1954

Nurse Recruitment Program

Sponsored By Isthmian Group

The Isthmian Nurses' Association, one

of the youngest of local profe3si inal groups, will do its bit this month to in- terest Canal Zone teenage girls in nursing

as a profession. The purpose of this re- cruitment program will be the same as that of similar programs being carried on

all over the United States: To relieve the acute and growing shortage of nurses. The program is the latest of the many

activities of this energetic group. During the week of October 11 to 16, which has been declared by Presidential Proclamation as National Nurse Week,

nurses will visit Canal Zone high schools and the Junior College to talk about nursing and answer questions of girls inter- ested in becoming registered nurses. The nurse-speakers, some of whom will be graduates of the high schools where

they are talking, will outline the require- ments for entering schools of nursing, explain the qualities which a girl needs to become a successful nurse, describe the various courses offered and the allied

fields which are open to a girl who obtain her R. N. They will point out that in addition to bedside nursing, registered nurses are in demand for public health, industrial,

school, and civil defense work and that

the Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurse

Corps absorb many registered nurses. Specialized Fields They will also explain that an increas- ing number of nurses are taking post- graduate work which enables them to enter such specialized fields as hospital

administration, physiotherapy, pediatrics

or that comparatively new field, geriatrics—the care of the aged. At the time this issue of The Panama

Canal Review went to press, the Nurses'

Association was arranging to obtain from

the United States a 16-mm film describing the training and work of nurses. If this arrives, it will also be shown during

National Nurse Week.

Until the organization of the Isthmian

Nurses' Association in March 1951, nurses working in the Canal Zone had to belong

to State and District Associations in or- der to have a voice in national nursing

affairs. Nurses who came to the Canal Zone on graduation from their schools

often had no opportunity to affiliate with

a State or District Association and were, thereby, deprived of representation.

The local association applied for membership in the American Nurses' Association April 19, 1952, and the following

January was admitted as the fifty-third constituent unit of the ANA.

Education And Welfare

According to its Constitution the pur- pose of the local group, in general similar

to that of nurses' organizations elsewhere,

is: "To advance high standards of ethical and professional conduct among nurses,

to promote their professional and educational advancement in every proper way,

to survey periodically the nursing resour- ces of the Canal Zone and its environs, to promote and protect the economic and

general welfare of nurses, to provide professional counselling service to individual

nurses, and serve as their spokesman with

allied professions and governmental groups and with the public."

To a certain extent, the Association's monthly meetings, frequently held in the Gorgas Hospital conference room, serve

as refresher courses for its members.

During this calendar year the subjects discussed at the meetings ranged from

atomic medicine to dietetics; the speakers

included six doctors and a dietician. Several months ago, the Association

successfully pointed out to the Chief

Health Officer the need of an increase in salary for private duty nurses. During

the Isthmian-wide campaign to preserve

the 25 percent pay differential and free medical care, the Association took an active part, giving Canal Zone facts and

arguments to the Washington representaTHESE THREE went on from Canal Zone high

schools to become nurses. Miss Lucille Hearn, Assist- ant Chief Nurse at Gorgas Hospital, is seated; Miss

Betty Lou Watts, left, and Miss Conway Maphis,

standing. All are on the Gorgas staff.

OFFICERS and directors of the Isthmian Nurses' Association meet monthly, between meetings of the general membership.

Seated: Mrs. Linnie Turner, secretary; Mrs. E. Helen Daniel, president; Miss Cecilia Wensing,

treasurer; and, standing: Mrs. Mary Ausnehmer, Mrs. Ann Cunningham, both directors; Mrs. Lucille Wilson, second vice president; Miss Rebecca Kendal, a director. Mrs. Querrida Berger, first vice presi- dent, and Mrs. Elvira Byrne, a director, were not on the Isthmus at the time the group was photographed.

five of the American Nurses' Association. Two Isthmian nurses, Mrs. Maybel

Orton and Miss Irene Ladrack, have

represented the Association in the United

States. Mrs. Orton was sent as a local delegate to the ANA Work Shop in Phil- adelphia in 1953, and Miss Ladrack rep- resented the Association at the ANA

Convention in Chicago last April. Nurses' Forum

The Inter-American Medical Convention, held in Panama City last spring, was a special event for the Nurses' Association. A Nurses' Forum was arranged

for the last day of the convention through

the efforts of Miss Catherine Jackelen,

Chairman of the INA Convention Committee and a member of the convention's

executive committee.

The speakers that day were Panama's

First Lady, Mrs. Cecilia Remon, who dis- cussed her experiences in rural health work in isolated locations in the Republic

and showed moving pictures of some of her trips, and Mrs. Sylvia Duncan, Chief

Public Health Nurse in Panama.

Membership in the INA has grown and

today it has a total of 154 members. Of

these, 130 are active, 22 are associate, and

two are special. It also has three honorary members: its first two presidents,

Capt. Helen Dietsche and Mrs. Bernice

Springall, and Mrs. SpringalPs husband,

Dr. Arthur N. Springall who gave the

association a helping hand at the time he was Assistant Superintendent at Gorgas.

Its members work in Gorgas, Colon,

and Corozal hospitals, the Palo Seco Leprosarium, the Balboa, La Boca, and Gatun

first aid stations, the dispensaries at Fort Clayton and Fort Kobbe, the infirmary

at Rodman, the Canal Zone Well-Baby

Clinic, for Point Four in Panama, and

serve as school nurses in the Canal Zone. Present officers are: Mrs. E. Helen

Daniel, president; Mrs. Querrida Berger,

first vice president; Mrs. Lucille Wilson,

second vice president; Mrs. Linnie Turner, secretary; Miss Cecilia Wensing,

treasurer; and the following directors: Mrs. Elvira Byrne, Miss Rebecca Kendal, Mrs. Mary Ausnehmer, and Mrs. Ann

Cunningham. Mrs. Cunningham is in charge of the local observance of National Nurse Week.