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HAROLD R. PARFITT

Governor-President JAMES H. TORMEY

Lieutenant Governor FRANK A. BALDWIN

Panama Canal Information Officer

^ PANAMA CTJra CANAL g kcvftV

WINTER 1978

Official Panama Canal Publication

WILLIE K. FRIAR

Editor

Writers Vic Canel, Fannie P. Hernandez,

Dolores E. Suisman, Vicki Boatwricht

Review articles may be reprinted without further clearance. Credit to the Review will be appreciated.

The Panama Canal Review is published twice a year. Yearly subscription: regular mail $2, airmail S4

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

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

VISITORS TO THE PANAMA

Canal cannot help but be im- pressed with the constant hum of activity that surrounds the waterway. The

Canal never sleeps. Ships transit dav

and night, requiring the presence of a qualified workforce both to operate the waterway and to maintain it.

This edition of the Panama Canal

Review salutes those thousands of employees directly involved in the task of maintaining the Canal. Their jobs range

in scope from changing a lightbulb in a lighted buoy to designing plans for an improved locomotive turntable. But

each task is essential to providing

smooth and continuous service to Canal

customers.

Equally important to the operation of the Canal is the preservation of the Gatun Lake watershed. Current problems

resulting from deforestation of the watershed are examined in this issue.

In This Issue

and the accompanying aerial photographs provide graphic evidence of

their existence. A Christmas issue would not be

complete without stories reminding us

of the delights of this season of the vear. A tale about toys will bring back nostalgic remembrances of davs gone bv for some readers, while others will relish the recipes for a Christmas dinner that feature delicacies available locally. The

issue is rounded out with a storv on

Stevens Circle, a meeting place for Canal Zone people at anv time of the year.

Special thanks go to Mel Kennedy

of the Panama Canal Craphics Branch

for designing the cover and for his professional guidance in the selection of

many of the photographs that appear

in this edition of the Review. Other

photographers whose work is included

are Arthur L. Pollack, Don Goode,

Kevin Jenkins, and Alberto Acevedo,

all of the Graphics Branch; and Ron

Jakaitis of the Dredging Division. On The Cover

n^HE DEWATERED CHAMBER

*- at Gatun Locks featured on the

front cover is the scene of locks overhaul. The back cover shows the same chamber alive with the activity of vessels in transit. Inside the front cover, passengers on the deck of a transiting cruise ship get an opportunity to see the floating crane Hercules lift a giant

miter gate off its pintles for transfer to a drvdock for overhaul.

Winter 1978
Maintaining the Waterway:

Dedicated Workforce

Key To Canal's Success

THE PANAMA CANAL CELebrated its 64th birthday in August. By that age most employees of the Canal organization have retired,

begun to take life at a slower pace. But the works of man's genius are meant to outlive man himself, and the Panama Canal is no exception. It is today, as in 1914, a viable, efficient structure still essential to the flow of world commerce. The fact that this is so is a tribute

to two groups of people: first, to the

designers of the Canal whose foresight

in planning the construction of the

waterway paved the way for its adaptation to meeting present day needs. Its simple, functional design has lent itself to improvements in both the physical

structure of the Canal and the tech- niques used in maintaining it. The

widening and deepening of the channel to accommodate increased traffic and larger vessels, the bank lighting

through Gaillard Cut which allows round the-clock operation, and the de- velopment of engineering techniques

for overhauling valves without dewatering the locks chambers are a few of the changes that were possible within the

By Vicki Boatwright

framework of the original plan for the waterway.

Second, it is a tribute to those who

through the years and to the present

keep the waterway in top running condition. To these people, the Panama

Canal is a living organism, worthy of

their respect and relying upon their

skills and their dedication for its con- tinued existence.

It is to this group of people, the employees who perform the thousands of jobs necessary to keeping the Panama

Canal open year round to ship traffic that this storv is dedicated.

Chamber work: A caisson holds hack the flow of water as Maintenance Division employees break out the old concrete locks sill. The sill will be restored while the miter gates are out for'overhaul.

The Panama Canal Beview

A better way: Left, tlie pouring of molteb are raised at one time on a platform, a babbitt into tlie hollow quoin bearing platl-r and faster way to accomplish the task. the juncture at which the miter gate meeif0W: A brand new 900-pound pintle ball, the loch wall, was once accomplished /» which fhe mUeT u rome^ {s eQsed

lifting workmen in a basket and lowering , , ,, , , . , , , ,

, . , ,

7 , ... , i7 _ , ,no place, one of the last lobs to be done

containers of babbitt to them. Today f/if r ' ' workmen and a container carrying enougf" rC the c}iamher » flooded and the gates

of the 650°F metal to complete the whohM> d back into position. )

Keeping the waterway in shape is a multi-million dollar a year business. It involves the combined efforts of every

operating division within the Canal

organization. The scope of the work is staggering. It encompasses such di- verse activities as the maintenance and

repair of the physical structure of the

locks; the continuous dredging of channels, harbors, anchorages and piers; the

surveillance of the stability of the banks

of the Canal; the maintenance of a sys- tem of aids to navigation; the treatment

of aquatic vegetation encroaching in the

channels; and the maintenance of the dams and spillways that control the

level of the lakes. Engineers, mechanics, machinists,

electricians, riggers, heavy equipment

operators, carpenters, painters, marine

traffic schedulers and control house

operators are but a few of the people

involved in the maintenance of the Canal. Some of what they do is schedul- ed work, planned and budgeted for well

in advance. Concurrent with that work

are tasks that must be tackled because

a need has arisen or an emergency has

occurred. The workforce of the Panama

Canal is capable of handling it all.

Locks Overhaul Is Planned Maintenance

Perhaps the most visible example of planned maintenance done to the water- way is the annual locks overhaul. Scheduled 7 years in advance, the work

is accomplished during the dry season months of January through April. During overhaul, the manpower and equip- ment of many divisions are deployed to get the job done in the allotted amount

of time. The workforces of the Locks,

Industrial, Dredging, Engineering and Maintenance Divisions and Marine

Traffic Control are among those that work in concert to see that the overhaul

is completed without disruption of Canal service. One of the most dramatic tasks per- formed during overhaul is the restoration of the giant miter gates. Each pair of the 44 pairs of operating miter gates

in the Panama Canal-88 gates leavesis scheduled for a thorough overhaul on

a 25 to 30 year cycle. The gate and its components are removed, inspected and

reconditioned and the gate is returned

to service in top working condition. For many years miter gates were

overhauled in place, requiring long lane outages while the work was done. Then

in 196-5 a new method was developed which involved lifting the gates off their

pintles, or pivots, and floating them to drydock for repair. This method requires

that the lane be out of service for only 2 days, 1 day to remove the gates and

1 to return them to position. Each gate leaf is 65 feet 7 inches wide and 7 feet thick. They range in height, depending on their location, from 47 feet 4 inches to 82 feet and

in gross weight from 440 to 770 tons. The Dredging Division's giant crane Hercules is the only piece of Canal equipment able to move the gates to a horizontal position. But the lifting capacity of the Hercules is only 250 tons. In order to raise even the lightest gate, the gate must

first be made buoyant. Air is pumped

into the flotation chambers built into each gate—again, an act of foresight in the original design—and the chamber is flooded. Locks locomotives steady the crane as it tilts the gate leaf to free it from the yolk at the top and lift it off the pintle ball on the floor of the chamber. Once the gates are in the drydock,

the real work begins. The pintle casting, which serves as the pivot point for the leaf, is removed and shipped to the Industrial Division headquarters in Mount Hope to be overhauled. Then the bearing plates, which form a perfect water-tight seal between the leaves and

the side of the chamber and between

leaves themselves, are blasted off and

the lead alloy behind them, called babbitt, is removed. New bearing plates precisely aligned within 5 1000 of an

inch tolerance are installed, and the space behind them is filled with molten

babbitt heated to a temperature of 650

degrees. At the same time that the major components of the gate are being worked

on, scraping and painting crews do their job on the entire surface of the leaf. Workmen also go inside the gates to clean out any silt and debris that may

have accumulated there. When the drvdock work is completed and has been inspected and passed by

locks overhaul engineers, the giant leaves are filled with air and floated hack to their place in one of the sets of locks. But before the gates can be replaced much work must be done within the chamber. In order for work crews to have full access to the locks walls, the chamber floor and the concrete sills against which the closed gate leaves

rest, the chamber is dewatered for a period of 96 hours. Engineers plan the work hour by hour, and each operation must be coordinated with the greatest precision so that every step is comWinteb 1978 I he Panama Canal Review
Explosive ditching at Velasquez spoil dump on the west bank of the Canal: Above, an aerial view of the 260 acres of drainage ditches dug with dynamite;

at left, Dredging Division blasting crew sets the charges in 500 foot strings; lower left, the red flag is down, fire in the hole; bottom right, a ditch created without machinery.

»*>

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pleted on target. At the same time,

Marine Traffic controllers schedule re- lay lockages to prevent a large backlog

of ships.

With the gate removed, work crews have access to the hollow quoin plates, the area where the gate meets the locks

wall; to the pintle ball and its assembly on which the lower end of the gate

pivots; and to the yoke which supports

the upper end. Each of these is re- worked and restored to fit the exact

specifications of the newly overhauled

gates. In addition, with the chamber

drained the concrete gate sill can be

inspected and, if necessary, repaired. At every step of the way the engineers must monitor and check the work to insure that when the gates are replaced every component will align properly.

The maintenance of the miter gates

is only one phase of a locks overhaul

and only one example of scheduled

maintenance. But like the dozens of other projects accomplished yearly, it demands the combined effort of many

divisions of the Panama Canal Companv

to see the work sucessfullv completed.

Innovation the Key

To Today's Problems

While our forefathers designed for the future, problems have arisen since 1914 that they could not have been ex- pected to anticipate. These problems

require an innovative response on the

part of those whose job it is todav

to operate and maintain the waterway.

Such a response was rendered this year by Canal employees on the problem of diminishing space for dredging spoil. The regular removal of the accumulation of silt and debris from Canal

channels in order to maintain them at a navigable depth is a continuous job. After more than 60 years of such dredging, the space set aside for spoil dis- posal was filled almost to capacity.

Without the possibility of developing new sites, the solution rested in making more space in the areas that already

exist. But the question of how to accomplish

that was a difficult one. The nature of the spoil material itself was a limiting

factor. Dredging spoil is composed of a small percentage of small rock that

settles out and dries quickly. The largest

portion is a fine textured silt with a high degree of water retention. This

material may hold its water content for

years, preventing the silt from consoli- dating to a smaller volume. Added to that is the effect of the hot tropic sun which acts on the surface of the deposited silt to form a crust which serves

to contain the water content beneath

it by preventing further evaporation.

What was needed was a system of drainage ditches that would remove

the contained water and allow the fine

silt to consolidate. The nature of the spoil, however,

made it impossible to use excavation

machinery for this purpose. The dry

crust would give wav and the machinery sink into the slushy material below.

Dredging Division employees came

up with a plan to create the drainage

ditches by using small dynamite charges

set at close intervals. After surveying

the spoil dump areas to determine the

best pattern for the drainage ditches,

tests were done to determine the proper

spacing and depths at which the charges

should be placed. After some trial and

error—that resulted in a few broken

windows—the blasting crew settled into a routine. In just 3 weeks of work at the Velas- quez dump area, located on the west bank of the Canal adjacent to Rodman

Naval Station, 21,000 linear feet of ditches were dug with dynamite at a cost of just one dollar per foot. Conventional methods, if they had been feasible, would have taken several months

and cost many times more. But the real measure of success of the project was the immediate increase

in drainage of water from the spoil area, which allows for additional amounts of dredging spoil to be deposited there. With one success behind them, the crews moved on to accomplish the same

feat at the spoil dump area on Telfer's Island on the Atlantic side.

Dedication Required

In Times of Crisis

It is perhaps in times of emergency

that the Canal workforce has most

effectively demonstrated its dedication

to keeping the waterway open to its customers.

In 1970, a herculean effort was mounted to raise the rice and cotton- laden cargo vessel Sian Yung after it struck the west bank of Gaillard Cut

and sank. It took 2 years of continuous

labor before the ship could be raised,

by means of cofferdams which floated

it to the surface, and towed out to sea

for disposal.

Slides, as recent as the 1974 disaster

at East Culebra Reach in Gaillard Cut,

have required immediate response and

'round-the-clock effort on the part of Canal employees to clear the channel

and return it to full service. Indeed.

Dredging Division painters maintain the lighthouse at Isla Grande, a primary

landfall for ships approaching the Canal from the north. Built by the French

in 1893, the steel structure traces its structural lineage to the Eiffel tower, which opened in 1889 at an exhibition

in Paris.

The Panama Canal Review

Replacing the soft nose at Gatun Locks: Left, at the Maintenance Division shed, employees

prepare the wooden form that wiU hold the concrete for the precast softnose unit. A steel strongback that will check the pressure of tfie bulging concrete is examined

to insure a proper fit, then bolted into place. Center: At high tide the Dredging

Division's craneboat "Atlas" lifts the 62-ton unit, one of four pieces of t)ie completed

softnose, from Dock 8 to transport it to Gatun. Above: An aerial view of the

unit being bolted to the centerwall at Gatun Locks while being supported by the derrick barge "Goliath."

since 1914, slides account for 54 million cubic yards of earth and rock that have been removed from the channel by the Canal's dredging forces. This year the emergency was not in the channel, but at the locks themselves.

In April the transiting oil tanker Overseas Ohio hit and sank the approach

wall nose tendering, known as the "soft- nose," at Pedro Miguel Locks. The

wooden approach wall tendering at Gatun had been similarly destroyed just 3 months before. The function of the softnoses is to protect ships from the damage they would incur if they hit the solid concrete

centerwall. Without the sofnoses, extra tugs were needed to guide ships safely

into and out of the locks, and traffic was

slowed as cautious pilots maneuvered

past the approach walls. To complicate

matters even further, there was already

a backlog of ships due to a time of

particularly heavy ship traffic. Although both the softnoses had been damaged previously and plans were being formulated for their eventual re- placement, the situation of having the

units at each end of Gatun Lake out of commission at the same time meant

that action had to be taken immediately. A limit of 6 weeks was set in which two new units were to be fabricated and

installed at Pedro Miguel and Gatun. The job of constructing the fourpiece, precast concrete softnose units was done at the Maintenance Division

in Balboa by crews working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Concrete slabs which would allow for the level construction of the units were cast on the

floor of the division's Building 10. Huge

wooden forms reinforced with steel into

10 Winter 1978 The Panama Canal Review 11
Above: A Locks Division employee descends 8 feet into a 6-foot lateral culvert

in the chamber floor to inspect for cracks in the concrete. Below: The mighty miter

gates at rest in Balboa Drydock. where they undergo a complete overhaid

in a 2-month period. Right, a gate gets a touchup.

which the concrete was to be poured were built on location bv division car- penters. After the poured concrete had

set, the forms were stripped away and

the rubber fendering put into place on

the concrete units. Three cranes were needed to pick up

each of the major pieces of the units, which weighed approximately 62 tons

apiece. The first unit was carried by

tractor trailer to the east wing wall of Pedro Miguel Locks, where it was

placed in position to be loaded aboard

the derrick barge Goliath. The second softnose unit was carried by tractor trailer from Building 10 to the dock in Balboa, where the crane- boat Atlas lifted the four pieces off the dock at high tide for transport to Gatun. At Pedro Miguel, and later at Gatun,

the Goliath was used to suspend each

of the pieces of the softnose unit as they were bolted into place on the centerwall. The entire job was completed

within the scheduled time and the locks returned to full service with only temporary lane outages of a few days.

Once again Canal employees demonstrated their willingness and proved

their ability to meet an emergency herd

on bv working long, grueling hours in order to keep the waterway operating

at peak efficiency.

12 Winter 1978
-<A' ;•i

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"When I teas a beggarly boy and lived in a cellar damp,

i had not a friend nor a toy, But I had Aladdin's lamp." —Tames Russell Lowell TWO EMPTY BOTTLES, TIED

together at the neck, are pulled

through the dirt by a small, barefoot

boy.Anyone who has ever lived in a sugar-producing country, where cane is transported to the mill in "carretas' drawn by a team of oxen, knows the

little boy is pretending the bottles are

Ins beasts of burden and that he is hauling the product of the day's work from

the fields. Where toys are not available, or simply beyond the means of the parents, children find a way. Dolls carved out

of wood or fashioned from rags or empty sacks; old tires or barrel hoops

to roll, broomsticks to serve as spirited

steeds, or discarded spools to be used

for wheels on homemade carts. Children's imagination, stimulated bv their environment, bv the events arounds them, bv movies, comic books

or TV, is not unlike Aladdin's lamp in

its ability to conjure up a world of

fantasy. From the earliest times youngsters have entertained themselves through

play-acting and make believe, casting themselves or their dolls in the role of famous personages of fiction or real life. And props need never be a problem. With a little ingenuity, a paper or card- board crown makes the child a king, a dishtowel tied about the neck turns him

into Superman and a simple black mask

into the Lone Ranger. But there have alwavs been adults

to devise more sophisticated toys, to

capitalize on children's fantasies and

stimulate their natural inclination to imitate their elders and their activities. Dolls of everv description, miniature

furniture, china tea sets, cooking utensils and stoves have traditionally been

provided for the entertainment of little

girls, on the long-established theorv

that thev must inevitably grow up and

assume the role of housewives. Bovs have alwavs been encouraged

to play with manlv things. Building

blocks, erector sets, tool kits and chemistry sets, and to participate in physical games to develop athletic prowess.

Since the struggle against segregation of the sexes has succeeded, promoAbove left; Kenneth Martin's gleeful reaction shows thai Teddy Bears remain

as popular today as in the days of Teddy Roosevelt for whom they are named.

Center: A "Spillway" story asking readers to bring in their antique bears produced

a number of venerable ones. Some of the oldest are shown here. Their ages and owners

are left to right: More than 60 years, Susan Om/tn; at least 40 years. Sue Follett; and more than 50 years, Pat Mercier. Above right: Tony Alves holds a 40-year-old

hear brought in by Winter Collins.

tion of playthings is no longer aimed

specifically at boys or girls and advertising frequently shows girls playing with toys formerly considered strictly for boys. Trends in toys are strongly influenced bv depressions, wars and technological breakthroughs. After the Panama Canal

started operations in 1914 and up until the time the United States entered World War I in 1917, toys sold in the Canal Zone commissaries were of the

traditional, peacetime variety, unless vou consider lead soldiers, cowboys and

indians as bellicose. But there were no

toy pistols, rifles or machine guns.

In those days the commissaries sold

toys only for a few weeks before Christ- mas at a temporary location. And since buyers placed their Christmas tov or- ders during February and March—as thev still do today—the first warlike toys

didn't appear on commissary shelves

until 1919. more than a year after the

armistice was signed. Before the war, a great manv of the

toys imported for Canal Zone worker's

children were German made—handsomely crafted wooden figures and heaw, cast iron cars, trucks and trains. But the supplv was cut off at the out- break of hostilities in Europe.

In 1916, the commissary increased

its toy order from the usual $10,000 to $20,000 "to avoid customer complaints about scarcity." That year, a special toy

section was set up at the Oil House,

near the Balboa substation. The facility went into operation at 8 a.m. on No- vember 20. To accommodate shoppers,

the Panama Railroad provided a 3-dav

shuttle service with 10 round trips a

day between Panama and the Oil House

with stops at the Tivoli, Bishop's Hal- low and Balboa Heights. The fare was

10 cents each way.

Entry of the United States into the war brought a period of austerity to the Canal Zone as efforts were directed at more patriotic concerns than exchanging Christmas gifts. The mood was

reflected in a memo in which the Supply Department General Manager advised store managers that Christmas

uders would be cut sharply "in line

vith a recommendation from the Council of National Defense that useless giving at Christmas time be discouraged ud that money ordinarily wasted on

resents of doubtful utility be saved

nd invested in Thrift Stamps and War

avings Stamps." Conceding that "there are times hen gift-giving is desirable if not abilutely necessary" the manager's memo

ent on to suggest a few practical hristmas gifts such as silk neckties,

tmisoles, chemises and ladies* silk ioomers. Commissaries also offered another

ay for Canal Zone people to do their

it for the war effort. "Comfort Christ-

:as Boxes could be purchased for about

1.00 as gifts for U.S. or allied troops, ackaged and ready for mailing." But whoever decided on the contents

I the gift packages must have assumed

iat all our troops were addicted to noking. There were two kinds of garettes— Fatima and King Bee, plus

tin of Prince Albert Tobacco, cigaret- paper and matches. This was counterb- alanced, however, bv a tube of tooth

paste, a tooth brush and a package of chewing gum.

But even during the war, Canal employees were able to buy imported

Christmas trees at their commissaries.

In 1917 a small tree sold for 60 cents, a medium tree for 90 cents and a large one for $1.90. Since the 1920's, Supplv Division buyers have gone to New York each

year to inspect the new offerings and

From Teddy Bears

to Star Wars

Toys

tell a tale

By Vic Canel

14 Winter 1978 he Panama Canal Review 13

* *

^-sea

LOW HANGING CLOUDS,

lush tropical growth and ships moving through placid waters cre- ate a scene of serene beauty, but to the trained observer this is more

thana pretty picture.

This aerial view of the Panama

Canal above Gamboa Reach look- ing northwest has many graphic examples of the maintenance and improvement works so indispensable to the operation of the water- way.A few hundred feet to the north I of the smaller of the two transiting

vessels, one can see

a tug pushing

barges loaded with dredged material out to disposal areas.

The muddy water, bottom center

of the photo, was caused by the

operation of the Dredge Cascadas I in Gamboa Reach. The excavation, vhich is evident on the two small

islands to the right of the channel,

is the initial work toward complete

removal of the islands to widen and

realign the Mamei Curve,

a major Canal improvement project.

Dark patches seen on each side

of the channel are growths of the submerged aquatic plant hydrilla. The light green area in the lower

left corner is an infestation of the

floating water plant pistia. En- croachment of this pest plant on ] the shipping channel is being pre- vented here by a floating log boom

which bellies out toward the channel between the two islands in the

left comer. If plants such as this and the floating water hyacinth were allowed to infest the channel, thev could be sucked into the water

intakes of ships and cause serious problems. In the past 2 vears the Panama Canal Company has intensified its efforts to eliminate aquatic weeds. One of the constant maintenance

problems in the Canal is keeping

the tropical vegetation from inun- dating navigational aids. Near the lower right of the photo, one can

see the brush cut away from the Canal side of a lighthouse to per- mit the pilots to see the light which

guides ships through Gamboa

Reach on the east sailing range.

Festive fare

for family and

friends at

Christmas

By Vannie Jones THE CHRISTMAS SEASON DINner table provides a splendid opportunity for expressing affection and

hospitality. Making holiday meals pleas- ing and festive occasions is a rewarding

experience whether the objects of your

affection are family members or friends coming in for a holiday party. Why not let the spirit of caring and

sharing permeate your kitchen and

dining room this season? You can start by converting "tedious kitchen chores"

into joyful "labors of love." Try mingling your chopping, sifting, stirring and measuring with pleasant thoughts

of those who will be sitting at your

table. Consider the tastes of every guests (even little Susie and Johnnie) and

plan something to delight each one. As

you prepare your dinner table, antic- ipate the warm fellowship to be shared with loved ones when your meal is finally served. During such busy days, it is unliketv

that you will want to undertake a gour- met dinner, but bv choosing recipes

that are family favorites and simple

'do ahead" dishes, holiday meals can

be leisurely and fun for all who partic- ipate in them. Using some of the many

delicious local food items can make

vour Christmas in the tropics even more

excitingly different. Some of the recipes appearing on

these pages are old family favorites, others are very special because they come from friends who enjov sharing good things. BEST WISHES FOR HAPPY HOLI- DAY DINING . . .

Minted Fresh Fruit

Cut favorite fresh fruits into bite-sized

pieces. Melon, pineapple, papaya, oranges,

apples, grapes, strawberries, etc. Place on bed of fresh lettuce. Top with Minted Lime Dressing (below); 3 Tablespoons mint jelly (commercial ap- ple-mint jelly will do)

2 Tablespoons honey

Grated peel and juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lemon Mix ingredients together and chill. Pour over fruit just before serving.

(If you have a shelf free in your

freezer, put these servings into freezer

for about 5 minutes before serving.

)

Lobster Imperial (with Rice)

3 Pounds cooked lobster (chopped into bite- sized pieces)

Sauce:

J/2 Cup minced onion—Sauteed in 1 stick margarine or butter until tender

1 Cup minced green pepper

5 Tablespoons flour—Stir into onion/pepper mixture 3 Cups chicken bouillon—Stir into onion/ pepper mixture

1 to 2 cups milk—Add gradually until sauce

is medium thick

1 Teaspoon salt Dash of pepper

1 Teaspoon Worcestershire or Soy Sauce

1 Chopped liard boiled egg Add and stir together. Place 3 cups cooked rice in casserole. Add lobster. Cover with sauce. Before baking sprinkle on seasoned bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese and dot generously with butter. Heat in oven until hot all the way

through—about 30 minute at 350°.

Serves 8.

Corn-Cheese Casserole

Margarine

3 Cups (about 6 ears) fresh-cut corn

2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion % Teaspoon salt

fj Teaspoon pepper

1 Cup shredded Swiss cheese

Ys Cup evaporated milk or half-and-half Dot bottom of shallow IVfe-quart baking dish with Vk tablespoons margarine. Combine next 4 ingredients with \z cup

shredded cheese and pour into baking

dish. Top with remaining cheese, then

dot with 1 Vz tablespoons margarine.

Drizzle with evaporated milk. Bake in preheated 350° F. oven 25 minutes, or

until com is tender. Makes 6 servings.

Western Coleslaw

/ Medium head cabbage, shredded

2 Onions—Sliced thin and placed in layers between cabbage % Cup sugar—Sprinkle on top

I Tablespoon salt % Cup salad oil

1 Teaspoon dry mustard

1 Teaspoon celery seed

1 Cup vinegar

Stir while cooking to a rolling boil. Pour dressing over cabbage and

cover. Do not stir. Put in refrigerator

to cool at least 4 hours before serving.

Cranberry Relish Salad

1 Medium thin-skinned orange

1 Medium apple 2 Cups fresh or frozen cranberries Hi Cups sugar

1 Package (3 ounces) orange or lemon

flavor gelatin 2 Envelopes unfavored gelatin Crated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Spiced Mandarin-orange wedge (optional) Cut orange and apple in eighths and remove seeds. Force with cranberries through fine blade of food chopper. Add sugar, mix well and refrigerate a few hours, stirring occasionally to dis- solve sugar. Prepare orange gelatin according to package directions. Soften

unflavored gelatin in one cup cold water. Put over low heat, stirring until dissolved. Add to orange gelatin with lemon rind and juice. Chill until slightly thickened. Fold in cranberry mixture, mix well and pour into 6-cup ring mold.

Chill until firm. Unmold and fill center with orange wedges, if desired. Makes

10 to 12 servings. Spiced Mandarin-orange xcedges: Drain svrup from one can (11 ounces) mandarin-orange wedges. Put in sauce- pan with 2 tablespoons sugar, dash of ginger and 12 whole cloves. Simmer,

uncovered, until reduced one half. Cool and pour over orange wedges. Chill overnight. Makes about one cup. Note: Recipe can be doubled.

Seashells, driftwood and tropical flowers

were used to create an imaginative

centerpiece for this holiday dinner table.

Recipes for all the dishes appear

on this page.

20 Winter 1978 The Panama Canal Review 21
Gifts from the

kitchen: to enjoy

on the spot or

to send home

with friends

Cream Cheese Pie

2 Cups graham cracker crumbs

% Cup sugar

ii Cup melted butter

'i Cup chopped nuts Mix together and press into bottom of 8 x 10-inch pan or large pie plate Knee cream cheese (softened)

2 Eggs

% Cup sugar

1 Teaspoon vanilla

'A Cup evaporated milk Blend together and put in crust. Bake

at 375° for 20 minutes.

Optional topping: Strawberry or cherry pie filling. Mix sour cream and dream

whip for decoration.

Orange Slice-Date Nut Cake

2 Cups sugar

1 Cup margarine

Cream together 4 Eggs

Add and mix well (one at a time) 2 Boxes dates, chopped

l'i Cups buttermilk Put in bowl together, mix with fork 4 Cups flour

1 Teaspoon soda

1 Teaspoon salt Add to sugar-butter mixture, along with dates and orange slices

1 Large bag orange slices candy chopped

and sprinkled with a bit of flour 2 Cups chopped nuts

1 Teaspoon vanilla

1 Can coconut (optional)

Bake in greased and floured loaf pans

at 275° for 2M> to 3 hours.

New Orleans Pecan Pralines

3 Cups sugar

1 Cup buttermilk 3 Tablespoon white corn syrup

1 Teaspoon baking soda % Teaspoon salt

Combine in large pan. Cook without

stirring to 150° on candv thermometer.

Add V2 stick butter, stir, then cook on medium heat to soft ball stage, on candv

thermometer (236°). Remove from heat,

add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with spoon

until it just begins to thicken. Add 2 to 3 cups broken pecans. Drop bv tea- spoonsful onto wax paper.

22 Winter 1978
Shrimp Toasts (Ya Do Shi)

1 Pound minced uncooked shrimp

!i Cup finehj chopped onion

1 Tablespoon minced green pepper

1 Egg slightly beaten

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 Teaspoon salt

/2 Teaspoon sugar

'A Teaspoon pepper Mix together and spread on bread

squares with fork. Press down so it does

not come off during frying.

Trim crusts from loaf of "heavy"

bread. Cut slices in 4 squares. Allow to "dry out" but not get "hard." After shrimp mixture is on bread,

sprinkle bread crumbs on top, then fry

(shrimp down first) in hot oil ( 1-2 minutes). Then turn and fry bread side down. Remove to paper towels and

gently pat tops with paper towel to remove excess oil. (Freeze or store in refrigerator. Reheat in 325° oven 15-20 minutes just before serving.

)

The Panama Canal Review 23

Stevens Circle

is the town

Square

By Dolores E. Suisman TO A CANAL OLDTIMER. IT'S

just the little park in front of the clubhouse. To a Canal historv buff, it's a tribute to John F. Stevens. To every- one else, Canal Zone residents and tourists alike, it's a colorful mini bazar of

local arts and crafts.

Officially, it's called Stevens Circle,

in honor of the outstanding engineer and able administrator who is credited with getting the Canal construction project on the right track. But it's not really a circle anymore. And it's not square, though over the

years it has been called Town Square,

along with such other names as Club- house Plaza, Balboa Park, Balboa Circle and Balboa Traffic Circle. The little park between the post office and the commissary has seen its share

of history. As far as anyone can re- member, it has existed from the time

the townsite of Balboa came into being

as permanent headquarters for the Canal organization in 1912.

It was there before they built the

original Balboa Clubhouse which was

torn down in 1973 to make way for the modern cafeteria that now faces the

circle. A long-retired schoolteacher

sharing her bench and her memories

with a stranger said at the time: "I sat right here and watched them put up

that clubhouse, and now I'm sitting here watching them tear it down."

Aside from its benches, the original

little park was as different from the Stevens Circle of today as the old wooden clubhouse building (moved in 1914 from the construction-day townA monument to John F. Stevens stands

in the middle of the Circle and in the background is the Balboa Post Office.
3£i
It was in 1962 that the circle acquired

its commemorative status. The little park underwent a complete facelift in preparation for the dedication cere- monies that would officially name it in honor of John F. Stevens. Decorative lighting was installed, and the middle of the park was raised and walled with brick. There officials unveiled with due pomp and ceremony,

a gleaming white three-sided memorial

bearing Goethal's tribute to the harddriving, gifted engineer who preceded

him: "The Canal is his monument."

One can imagine Stevens accepting

the memorial that bears his name. But what would he make of the county fair atmosphere that has changed Stevens

Circle from a proper little park into an

artsv-crafty miniature version of Paris' Montmartre?

It's hard to say just when the artists, jewelrv makers, metal workers, leather workers, and artisans of all sorts de- cided the park was an ideal place to displav and sell their wares.

First, non-profit organizations—the Gem and Mineral Society and Canal

Zone Bottle Collectors Associationheld their annual bazaar there. Scouts, boosters for school ball teams, and

church groups held bake sales. Then came people with plants, homemade macrame items, cookbooks—even

litters of puppies or kittens—to set up

tables and attract shoppers wending

their wav from post office to commissary

and back.

It wasn't long before the non-profit

organizations were joined by merchants

of all types and Stevens Circle became

a riotous confusion of Cuna indian molas, Colombian wall hangings, Costa

Rican rocking chairs, Mexican silver, and even native birds and monkeys.

Early in 1977, Stevens Circle was

back on the drawing board—that of a

traffic engineer, this time—and the parkbecame neither a true circle nor a square but a circle with three arms. While construction was in progress,

selling was not allowed. At that time,

it was decided to issue peddlers' licenses onlv to artists or craftsmen who would

sell what they made.

Space was parceled out in the 125-

foot-in-diameter park—72 square feet of ground or table space or 12 feet of wall space per "peddler." Some semblance

of order was restored, and with browsing room available again, the circle be- came a popular stop for shoppers look- ing for an unusual or last minute gift. One wanders past and around the

great variety of handicrafts. Wrought

iron plant stands, leather sandals, gingham beach hats, belts with silver buckles, leather dice cups, flower pots, soapstone animals, purses, pillows, carved-out coins, molas, bateas, oil rubbings, and jewelrv of everv kind—coral, jade, tiger eye or bone pins, bracelets,

necklaces, charms and rings.

One begins to wonder who these handicraft "peddlers" are. Onlv two other people were selling

in the circle in 1973, when Ken Myers

moved his artwork from the commissary steps to the park. One was a Cuna

indian, he remembers.

Now the Cuna make up the largest

contingent of the circle's merchants. One, Alberto Andreve, savs he sells 50

or more molas a month. But he quickly

adds that it takes a woman back on

the San Bias islands 3 months to make

each one. Fulvia Rodriguez, who is not a Cuna

but the daughter of missionary parents,

grew up on the island of Alligandi and

learned the art of making molas. Now

she sits in the park stitching special or- ders. A recent one carried the legend

"Don — Balboa High School" and an

outline of the school. An Ecuadorian, Jose Antonio Tiban,

travels each Sunday to market places

in the interior, seeking out the soapstone figures, clay flower pots and other

native crafts that he and his daughter

sell in the circle. Probably the best-known peddlers

are Ken Myers and Chrisse Harawaka.

As Stevens Circle oldtimers, they hold

seven-day-a-week licenses. Their fellow- peddlers are alloted space only 2 days

a week.

Ken studied art and jewelry-making

at Canal Zone College before attempting the oil rubbings that have become

so popular. To make these exotic art works, Myers stretches a piece of cloth over sculptured stones from Panama,

Guatemala and Mexico, and daubs oil paint gentlv over the surface until the high spots mark the cloth. He likens the technique to putting a piece of paper over a quarter and pencil-shading

until the image of the coin appears. Steven Circle won't hold Ken much

longer. After an exhibition in Panama,

he plans to go to art school in Califor- nia and then perhaps fulfill his dream:

to create a wall-sized oil rubbing.

Even those who don't know her name

recognize the little blond in the straw

hat who sits in the place of honor at the foot of the Prado.

The Panama Canal Review
28 Winter 1978
Chrisse Harawaka already had her

art degree when she arrived in Pan- ama from Delaware for a vacation that included a side trip to the San Bias

Islands. On that trip to the islands she met the Canal Zone boy she would re- turn to marry a year later. She and her

husband, an Army employee, have lived

in Panama ever since. Both learned the

"lost wax" process from former Canal

Zone resident and huaca expert Neville Harte. Chrisse makes the huacas herself. She also designs and makes necklaces. Today, Chrisse and Kent set out their displays on what was a great sea of mud when John F. Stevens left the Isthmus in 1907. As hard as it would

be for these young, vital artists to envision the starkness of the Canal Zone

Stevens knew, it surelv would be more

difficult for the Canal builder to understand the carnival atmosphere of that part of the Zone dedicated to him. But

then again, in his day it was mostlv hard

work and there were very few amenities other than those provided at the clubhouses run by the YMCA.

Few of the shoppers and probably

fewer of the peddlers one sees at the

circle today fully realize the merits of the man for whom it was named. It was dedicated in his honor on October

13, 1962, which coincidental^ was a Saturday and is now the day the peddlers turn out en masse. When he resigned as chief engineer

of the Canal construction project in 1907 he—and everyone else—was fully

convinced that the success of the undertaking was assured. Ten thousand people turned out to give him the biggest send-off the Canal

Zone had ever witnessed.

At left: This sketch of Stevens' Circle, by Maj. Jerry Fields, of the U.S. Army,

is among the many works of art available at the Circle. At top: Particularly popular with nostalgia

minded local shoppers are plaques and

pen sets fashioned by Steve Bolt from Panama Railroad rails and spikes. Above: Unique necklaces created from

sliells, coins, shark's teeth and other

native materials are offered by

several peddlers.

The Panama Canal Review 29
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Preservation of

Watershed

Vital to

Canal Operations

By Willie K. Friar FEW PEOPLE VIEWING THE

blue green waters of Gatun Lake

or Madden Lake are aware that Gatun

is not just a convenient part of the waterway across the Isthmus or that Madden is not merely a readily accessible recreation area. Actually Gatun and Madden Lakes

are vital parts of the operation of the Panama Canal. The water for lockages,

hydroelectric power, and for the water

svstems of the Canal Zone and the cities of Panama and Colon is supplied by

runoff from the Gatun Lake watershed

with Madden and Gatun Lakes serv- ing as storage and flood control facili -

ties.Most of this watershed of 1,259

square miles on which the maintenance

and the purity of the lakes depend lies

in the Republic of Panama.

At present, the conservation of forest resources and the protection of the watershed are severely hindered by the

rapid and alarming population growth

in the marginal urban areas of the cities of Panama and Colon; the movement of unskilled labor from the interior to the

cities; the high rate of unemployment

and continual spiraling inflation. Constant burnings during the dry season to prepare land for small agricultural

efforts or for pasture land has decimated

much of the forest within the Gatun

Lake watershed. As soon as the trees are removed, the tropical soils, which support the jungle growth, quicklv drv out from exposure to the intense sun and

are very susceptible to sheet, gullv and

landslide erosion. Most of the western parts of the Republic of Panama have been extensively deforested while the forest areas

of the Canal Zone, in comparison, re- main relatively undisturbed due to the

restrictions on access bv the public to the Canal Zone watershed and militarv

areas. From a helicopter, the Canal

Zone appears as a carefullv conserved

island of forest in the midst of a generally cleared countryside. Nevertheless such activities as timber

cutting, slash-and-burn agriculture, and

tree poaching for lumber remain a constant problem in the Canal Zone.

Although fires have little effect on the untouched tropical forest where no cut- ting has been permitted, the edges of the jungle are vulnerable to repeated burnings during the dry months and the

forest gradually retreats until only sawgrass and other undesirable grasses continue to grow. This process can be

observed by anyone driving through

the Madden Forest Preserve. As soon

as one leaves the protected area, there

are onlv sawgrass and large patches of exposed bright red soil with signs of continued erosion. The tropical forest, once invaded and

destroyed, does not recover as many

people believe. A dense jungle growth

does begin immediately, but it is only

scrubby, stunted vegetation and not the same as the old forest with the large

sturdy branches and the lush growth of leaves and bromeliads, which are typical of very old trees. Actually, the process

of regrowth is so slow that, for all practical purposes, once the jungle forest is destroyed it is abandoned permanently

bv the native animals and birds. The value of the forested areas of the Canal Zone cannot be overestimated.

At left: A favorite scene with photographers is the waterfall beside

the highway that passes through

the Madden Forest Preserve.

Below: The verdant tropical forest can be seen close-up from the highway which

cuts through Madden Forest.

The Panama Canal Review 31
From a helicopter, erosion caused by slash-and-burn agricultural methods is readily apparent as in this section of Madden Forest. Below: Corn grows in an area of Madden Forest which has been cleared by subsistence farmers who burned the trees.
OCEANGOING COMMERCIAL TRANSITS BY NATIONALITY

9 Months FY 1978 9 Months FY 1977

Long Long

No. of Tons No. of Tons

Nationality Transits Cargo Transits Cargo

British 805 7,385,602 820 7,210,800 Chilean 132 1,318,082 149 1,131,478

Chinese, Nationalist 85 1,103,220 84 1,110,885

Colombian 124 850,727 128 242,049

Cuban 72 448,808 50 238,747

Danish 208 1,893,867 233 1,864,664

Ecuadorian 142 1,183,656 134 1,196,378 French 92 842,382 106 830,280

German, West 420 2,988,774 434 2,935,295

Greek 977 12,862,124 873 13,240,105

Italian 197 1,247,373 162 859,377

Japanese 663 5,804,809 681 7,050,725

Liberian 1,359 21,407,777 1,395 22,650,180 Netherlands 132 946,056 171 1,079,236

Norwegian 384 5,431,095 450 6,706,404

Panamanian 711 5,529,674 829 5,975,905 Peruvian 160 1,553,176 136 1,504,925

Polish 64 407,885 58 445,752

Singaporean 115 1,157,144 78 763,414 South Korean 77 873,521 46 272,023

Soviet 183 1,053,420 150 984,519

Spanish 82 166,648 64 204,028

Swedish 193 1,871,157 199 1,947,451

United States 1,187 17,401,015 759 6,358,610

Yugoslavian 100 833,531 75 589,925

All other 690 6,025,050 658 5,197,508

Total 9,354 102,586,573 8,922 92,590,663

OCEANGOING COMMERCIAL TRANSITS

OVER PRINCIPAL TRADE ROUTES

9 9 Months Months FY FY

Trade route 1978 1977

East Coast United States-Asia 2,093 2,055 East Coast United States-West Coast South America 953 782

Europe—West Coast South America 840 852

East Coast United States-West Coast Central America 868 438

Europe-West Coast United States/Canada 697 661 South American Intercoastal 306 328

U.S. Intercoastal (including Alaska and Hawaii) 340 305

East Coast United States/Canada-Oceania 255 226

Europe—Oceania 221 317

East Coast Canada—Asia 216 205

All other 2,565 2,753

Total 9,354 8,922

OCEANGOING COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC BY MONTHS

Tolls (In thousands

Transits of dollars)!

Month FY 1978 FY 1977 FY 1978 FY 1977 October 1,028 976 $14,995 $11,488

November 947 968 14,280 12,777

December 1,002 943 14,848 13,887

January 1,000 983 14,433 13,818

February 942 916 14,199 12,978

March 1,135 1,057 17,022 14,064

April 1,067 1,060 16,960 14,947

May 1,142 1,048 18,176 14,601 June 1,091 971 17,130 13,456

Total 9,354 8,922 $142,043 $122,016

1 Before deduction of any operating expenses.

Statistics compiled by Executive Planning Staff.

PANAMA CANAL TRAFFIC

9 Months

1978 1977 TRANSITS (Oceangoing) Commercial 9,354 8,922

U.S. Government 70 63

Free 4 10

Total 9,428 8,995 TOLLS1

Commercial. $142,087,840 $122,061,026

U.S. Govern- ment 653,236 606,975

Total $142,741,076 $122,668,001

CARG02 (Oceangoing) Commercial. 102,586,573 92,590,663

U.S. Govern- ment 237,262 169,444

Free

Total 102,823,835 92,760,107

1 Includes tolls on all vessels, oceangoing and small. 2Cargo figures are in long tons.

Statistics compiled by Executive Plan- ning Staff.

It is the most extensive, readily accesi- ble humid forest available for ecological

study in all of Central America, in addition to protecting the watershed of the Canal. The continued preservation

of the forest and the watershed are such

important elements of the environment

that they have been made a part of the new treaty between the United States and the Republic of Panama.

However, despite careful patroling

of the forested areas in the Zone, during the past few years a significant in- crease of forest degradation and slash- and-burn type agriculture activities have been observed along the common

Canal Zone /Republic of Panama border

and throughout the watershed. Most of the encroachment and deforestation presently occuring in this area is done

by small groups of subsistence farmers, most of whom are engaged in growing

corn and rice. They live near the Canal

Zone border or have settled inside the boundary and are cutting down the

trees and burning vegetation to clear land for farming.

The trees and various types of natural

vegetation, which give the tropical

landscape its originality, have a chance

to survive on the Isthmus only in preserves and protected areas inside the Canal Zone, such as Pipeline Road.

Madden Forest, and Ancon Hill. The successful establishment of a working relationship for bilateral participation and action to protect the Canal watershed is of great importance

to the Government of Panama since most of the forested areas within the

present Canal Zone will in the future be

under its control. Most of the forested areas will become a part of any resource conservation program established bv

Panama in its long term development

The Panama Canal Review 33
PRINCIPAL COMMODITIES SHIPPED THROUGH THE CANAL

(in long tons)

Atlantic to Pacific

9 Months 9 Months Commodity FY 1978 FY 1977 Petroleum and products 8,598,879 11,220,342

Com 7,222,263 7,958,544 Coal and coke 6,092,295 9,675,469

Soybeans 4,559,001 3,588,894

Phosphate 3,347,458 2,838,691

Wheat 2,321,257 1,727,837

Sorghum __ 1,888,129 1,988,742

Chemicals and petroleum chemicals 1,462,784 1,208,324 Manufactures of iron and steel 1,422,356 559,519

Metal, scrap 1,345,369 922,848

Fertilizers, unclassified 1,019,713 832,756

Ores, various 1,019,124 1,020,296

Sugar 868,769 418,004

Ammonium compounds 495,031 341,408

Caustic soda 422,528 392,547

AUother- 7,117,785 7,198,956

Total 49,202,741 51,893,177

Pacific to Atlantic

9 Months 9 Months Commodity FY 1978 FY 1977 Petroleum and products 19,966,480 6,183,897 Manufactures of iron and steel 5,525,362 5,849,969

Lumber and products 3,819,331 3,710,125

Ores, various 3,582,732 4,225,445

Sugar 1,966,913 2,040,818 Coal and coke 1,468,033 362,264

Food in refrigeration (excluding bananas) 1,411,546 1,408,297 Bananas 1,247,952 1,190,348

Wood pulp 1,240,677 1,387,604

Metals, various 1,012,545 1,049,831

Wheat 880,221 579,637

Autos, trucks, and accessories 862,773 643,507

Sulfur 839,190 959,229

Molasses 571,182 474,829

Paper and paper products 546,360 449,203

All other 8,442,535 10,182,483

Total 53,383,832 40,697,486

CANAL TRANSITS-COMMERCIAL AND U.S. GOVERNMENT

9 Months FY 1978

9

Atlantic Pacific Months

to to FY

Commercial: Pacific Atlantic Total 1977 Oceangoing 4,731 4,623 9,354 8,922

Small'__ 382 219 601 616

Total 5,113 4,842 9,955 9,538

U.S. Government: Oceangoing 37 33 70 63

Small1 77 62 139 221

Total 114 95 209 284

Grand Total 5,227 4,937 1 0,164 9,822

1 Vessels under 300 net tons, Panama Canal measurement, or under 500 displacement tons.

Statisti-. s compiled b\ the Executive Planning Staff.

strategy to protect the quality of the

natural environment.

A plan of action has been set up to eliminate slash-and-burn type agricul- ture during the next 12 months. The

implementation of this plan would

establish basic guidelines which the Government of Panama will be able to continue when these forest areas come

under its control after the new treaty between the United States and Panama

goes into effect. With the financial as- sistance, technical training and institu- tional buildup that the proposed U.S. AID (Agency for International Development) watershed management project is to provide Panama's Renewable

Natural Resources Conservation Agency

(RENARE), the Government of Pan- ama will be able to play a strong role

in conserving natural resources. A biological crossroads of North and

South America containing plants and

animals from both continents, Panama

is considered by some scientists to be

the most biologically diverse country in the world for its size. Here one can

find within a small easily accessible

area, an enormous variety of plant,

bird, and animal life; but conservation

of this unique environment is becoming

a more and more difficult problem as man's impact on the limited natural

forest resources becomes increasingly

stronger.

The areas that have been the most

adversely affected by slash-and-burn

agriculture are the Chiva-Chiva area, Madden Forest Preserve, the northeast bank of the Canal along Pipeline Road

(well-known as a bird and animal sanctuary), and the west bank of the Canal.

Plans for the future include increased

aerial and ground surveillance, and

strengthened communication with the Government of Panama. Also planned is an increased joint educational campaign

using the Panama radio, television and news media to stress the importance of preservation of the natural resources of the Isthmus.

Christmas on the Isthmus means colorful molas with holiday motifs made by

the Cuna Indians. The one at right, an

intricately stitched horn of plenty,

is one of the favorite designs.

34 Winter 1978

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