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HAROLD R. PARFITT WILLIE K. FRIAR Governor-President Editor PANAMA ANAL RICHARD L. HUNT j Lieutenant Governor Writers Vic Canel, Fannie P. HERNANDEZ, FRANK A. BALDWIN Dolores E. Suisman Panama Canal Information Officer Official Panama Canal Publication

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 $1.50, airmail $3, single copies 75 cents. For subscription, send check or money order, made payable to the Panama Canal Company, to Panama Canal Review, Box M, Balboa Heights, C.Z. Editorial Office is located in Room 100, Administration Building, Balboa Heights, C.Z.

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

Contents OurCover

Postage stamps provide a unique

The bridge stamps are from the Those were the days when ... 13 col- lection of the Canal Zone Library- Passengers had the luxury Museum which has 50 of these rare wicker chairs of and stamps; 50 are in the Smithsonian In- open windows stitution in Washington, D.C.; and the only others in existence are 50 that arc Canal Zone—Paradise for in the hands of private collectors and hird watchers 14 stamp dealers. (For further information on this famous stamp, see the storv Preservation of forests which begins on p. 4.) assures profusion of tropical birds Among the other stamps on the cover are examples of the handsome 25th Panama Canal anniversary stamp series Painting the birds 22 showing the "before and after" of Lois Morgan's watercolors Canal construction sites; the regular delight library patrons series which honors the builders of the ("anal; and the new 13-cent dredge Culinary Capers 25 Cascadas stamp. All of the stamps are from the collection of Louis R. Reves, Marine Bunkering 30 Administrative Officer in the Canal Zone Postal Division. A vital service for Canal customers To produce this photograph, the stamps were arranged on a sheet of glass and suspended several inches above the shears and the red. white, At left: The "Quern Elizabeth 2" and three and blue ribbon used in the ribbon- other nipersized thlpt moot through Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal. The "QE2" cutting ceremonv that marked the (loti set a netv left) toll record when *hr opening of the bridge, October 12. transited Starch 29 on an around-the-unrld 1962. cover cruite. Shi vaid $68,499.46. The was designed bv (Photos are by Kmn Jenkhu, Don Goode, and Willie K. Friar and photographed by Arthur I.. Pollack.) Arthur L. Pollack.

The Panama Canal Rlvii:\ CANAL ZON E POSTAGE • , E P S A

-

The story of the United

States' construction of

the Panama Canal, one of

the world's great

Stamps provide engineering achievements,

is told in Canal Zone stamps a colorful look

at local history By Eunice Richard

when Henrv L. Harris, prominent PHILATELY IS ONE OF OUR The 1-cent green Gorgas stamp, Boston stamp dealer found, in checking most interesting hobbies. It also which came out October 3, 1928, is his order of 5,000 of the commemora- has a distinct educational value. Here believed to be the oldest stamp in the tive stamps, that he had a sheet of in the Canal Zone, the stamp collector's world in terms of continuous use. Other 50 stamps without the bridge. attention is drawn to one of the richest oldsters and their dates of issue are About the same time that collector sagas in the history of the United the 50-cent Blackburn, issued in 1929; Harris found that he possessed what States, the man-made funnel through the 20-cent Hodges, 15-cent Smith, amounted to a philatelic bonanza, the which flows the commerce of the world. and 20-cent Rousseau, all issued in Canal Zone Postal Service discovered "The postal history and stamps of 1932; the 3-cent Goethals issued in that it also had 150 of the misprinted the Canal Zone Government vividly 1934; and the 30-cent Williamson, last stamps. reflect the early trials, heartbreaking of the lot, issued in 1940. The United States Post Office De- failures and glorious completion of the The Caribbean Stamp Club mem- partment suggested to the Governor Panama Canal. These bits of postage bers and other stamp collectors have of the Canal Zone that more of the depict the ingenious planners, scenes of scanned stamp catalogs and journals stamps without the bridge be reprinted their work and the determined Canal for possible rivals to these venerable in order to flood the market with iden- gers accomplishments." stamps but no close competitors could misprinted copies, which would Thus wrote former Gov. William E. be found for the 1-cent Gorgas or the ticallv have destroved the potential worth of Potter in his introduction to the book, 50-cent Blackburn. the 50 original misprinted stamps il Zone Postage Stamps," which Stamp collectors are interested in bv Harris. was published bv the Canal Zone these stamps but perhaps the most owned This was an act that would have eminent in 1961. coveted bv collectors and best known blunted much of the fun and excite- Prepared bv the late Judge E. I. P. to the average citizen is the 4-cent of stamp collecting for the Tatelman, Magistrate of the Cristobal Thatcher Ferrv Bridge commemorative ment millions who are alwavs hopeful of Court, this book, which is still sold at stamp, issued in 1962 to mark the finding a rare error. Harris promptly ( local post offices, gives a thorough opening of the bridge across the C .mil to the Federal District Court account of Canal Zone stamps, dis- at Balboa. appealed restraining order. cusses the subjects depicted on the A full sheet, 200 hundred of these for a There were protests from stamp col- stamps, and tells the story of the I handsome stamps, was printed per- lectors all over the world and Harris Zone Postal Service. fectlv like all of the others in the champion of The Canal Zone regular stamp issue issue, except for one important detail— proved to be a stalwart their cause. After nearlv 3 years of is, bv far, the oldest in use anywhere the bridge was missing. Somehow during the press run that legal action, the Federal District Court . according to research by the Caribbean Stamp Club. These stamps overprinted the bridge in silver, this in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of prevent Canal Zone are referred to by collectors as the sheet did not come in contact with the Harris in his suit to deliberately "14th Canal Zone series." Stamp buffs printing plate. This sheet probably postal authorities from bridgeless stamps. term these regular issues "definitive" had adhered to the sheet directly on printing more of the misprinted stamps in the pos- issues. This issue was first recom- top of it as it passed through the press. The

session ol ( anal Zone postal authorities mended in 1928 by < ilhoun, The Thatcher Ferrv misprint became following who was Director of Posts for the one of the world's most famous stamp were disposed of in the laminated (anal Zone from 1916 to 1947. errors. Word of the error spread fast manner. A sheet of 50 was

Summer 1977 - i ^B I M

and deeded to the Smithsonian Insti- tution in Washington, D.C., where the stamps have become a star attraction; 50 more were laminated and given to the Canal Zone Library (6 of the 50 appear on the cover of this magazine); and the remaining 50 were destroved. Seeing that these stamps are now worth $3,500 each, this must have been an heartbreaking task for some emplovee. The Canal Zone Postal Service has a colorful history that dates back to 1904. when it was established as part of the Department of Revenues under the supervision of the Treasurer of the Canal Zone. Paymaster L. C. Tobev, CSX, was the first Director of Posts. Post offices were first opened at La Boca, Ancon, Cristobal, Gatun, Cule- bra, Bohio, Corgona, Matachin, and Empire. They were operated then by railroad station agents as postmasters. The Canal Zone Postal Service has operated as an independent postal svs-

tem from the beginning and is estab- lished as such by Act of Congress of the United States. When the Canal Zone Postal Service was first established on June 24, 1904, a small supply of 2i, 50, and 10c Panama provisional stamps overprinted "Canal Zone" horizontally in roman capitals were obtained and used. Colombian stamps overprinted "Pan- ama," "Canal Zone" and stamps issued by Panama overprinted "Canal Zone" were used between the years 1904 and 1924 in conformity with the provision of an executive older issued in 1904 b) Secretary of War William H. Taft. U.S. stamps overprinted "Canal Zone" were initially used in 1904 for a short period of time and again commencing CANAL ZON E POSTAG

President Roosevelt

suggested the design

for the 25th anniversary

1928, but this particular stamp is no longer in use. The current Canal Zone commemorative stamps postage stamps consist of a series of 14 ordinarv stamps. Ten picture mem- bers of the Isthmian Canal Commission and others who plaved a major part in Canal Zone historv or in construction and operation of the Panama Canal. The other four picture the Canal's scenes, the makings of a fine stamp Administration Building at Balboa the design and the excellence of series which could be used to com- Heights; the Goethals' Memorial at handling. memorate the 25th anniversary of the Balboa; Fort San Lorenzo, on the Tatelman reported an interesting opening of the Panama Canal. Atlantic Coast; and the dipper dredge prologue to this series involving Pres- The Governor of the Canal Zone, on Cascadas. ident Franklin D. Roosevelt, his in- December 7, 1938, approved the sep- There have been a number of com- terest in stamps and his interest in this arate scenes of "before" and "after" memorative stamps, the most hand- issue in particular. for a series of 16 denominations for the some being the set of stamps issued on A few years before the 25th anniver- ordinarv stamps and six values for the 25th anniversary of the opening of sarv of the Canal, President Roosevelt airmail stamps. In addition to the the Panama Canal. Judge Tatelman, arrived in Balboa aboard the U.S.S. 25th anniversarv, the airmail stamps writing in the book on Canal Zone Houston. He was presented, by Canal commemorated the 10th anniversary stamps, said thev were considered the officials, with an album showing Canal of the Canal Zone's regular airmail finest in designing and engraving and scenes of the construction era and service. even the Bureau of Engraving and matching pictures of the same areas Some of the other commemorative Printing in Washington, which is showing the completed job. Fascinated stamps issued bv the Canal Zone Postal usuallv restrained in comments con- with the contrast, he suggested that Service over the vears honor the 25th cerning its work, expressed pleasure in there existed in these before and after anniversarv of the foundations of the Smithsonian Research Laboratorv at Barro Colorado Island, the California Gold Rush, the 75th anniversary of the opening of Gorgas Hospital, the West Indian workers who helped build the Panama Canal, the 100th birthday of President Theodore Roosevelt, and | the 50th anniversarv of the Boy Scouts of America. More recentlv there have been spe- cial stamps issued to recognize the world united against malaria and the golden anniversarv of the opening of the Panama Canal. But a new stamp does not appear from nowhere. When a proposal for

a new stamp is made, it sets in motion the Governor's Canal Zone Stamp Ad- visorv Committee which decides on the color, design, and occasionallv, the denomination of the new stamp. The ranklin D. Roosevelt, accompanied by the President of latter, as a rule, is decided in advance Panama, Dr. Harmodii urs the Canal 7< H to the Isthmus. It was at by the needs of the postal service. this time that h nd after" stamps seen at the top of this page. The advisory committee meets only

when it has work to do in connection

6 Summer 1977 with the Canal Zone postal system. This 1906 scene shows a mail icagon waiting at the Cristobal Post Office, A suggestion for a new stamp may be which at that time was located in the same building as the commissary. originated by a member of the com- The wagon, at right, is delivering goods to the commissary. mittee, by someone outside of the com- mittee, by an outside organization or by an increase in postal rates which of a series of paintings on Canal oper- ations necessitates issuance of a stamp in a which was reproduced in the new denomination. 60th anniversary edition of the Pan- ama Canal Review. All 13 of these Members of the committee are Civil paintings, including the one from which Affairs Director, Fred Cotton who is the stamp was made, are now on dis- chairman of the group; Executive Sec- play at the Canal Zone Library- retary Patrick Conlev; Donald \Y. J. Museum. Pate, Franklin Kwai Ben, and Robert As Tatelman noted, the receiving Donaldson of the Engineering Division; and distribution of mail in and Thomas E. Peterson and Bettv the Canal Zone as well as Boyer of the Personnel Bureau. efficient dispatch were of utmost importance if the Canal Approval of a design by the Advisory "diggers" were to remain here and be Committee is the last step before sub- kept happy. mission of the final sketch of the stamp Recognizing the importance of the to the Governor for review and final establishment of post offices, Gen. action before it is sent to the U.S. George YV. Davis cabled Admiral Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Walker in Washington as follows: Washington, D.C., bv the Director of "Must immediately institute a mail Posts. service upon Zone. Have appointed The most recent issues placed on acting postmasters Cristobal, Gatun, sale were the 13-cent ordinary stamp, Bohio, Gorgona, Bas Obispo, Empire, both in sheet and booklet form, and Culebra, La Boca, Ancon, which should the 22-cent and 35-cent airmail stamps. be officially designated United States Jin 13-cent ordinary stamp which post Offices; Cristobal and Ancon, generated great philatelic interest fea- money orders. Request Post Office De- tured the Panama Canal dipper dredge partment and Superintendent Posts re- AN UNUSUAL MAIL DELTVERY- Cascades. It is based on a painting \>\ port to me with equipment, blanks, Mail (subscriptions to Victory Bonds) Alwyn Sprague, a local artist, an,! instructions, supply of United States went through the Canal by submarine depicts the important role plaved h\ postage stamps surcharged Canal Zoni in 1919. the Dredging Division in the main- Panama. I send names of postmasters tenance of the Panama Canal. It is one by mail \Vednesday."

The Panama Canal Revif.w Above left: Lew C. Hilzinger, Director

of Posts, and Louis R. Reyes, Admin-

istrative Officer in tlie Postal Division,

discuss postal matters at the Philatelic

Agency in Ancon. Right above: Boat

mail brought by train from Cristobal

is unloaded in Diablo. At left: Mort

Jordan and Claude Burgess sort airmail

at Balboa Post Office. Left below:

Cristobal postmaster \V. A. Alonis

discusses a postal problem with

Eduin \V. Reid who is sorting mail at

tlie Cristobal Post Office.

A history of the Canal Zone post offices is a history of the progress of the construction work. As work shifted location or was completed, post offices were moved or new ones opened to follow the workers. When work started at Miraflores Locks, a post office was established there. When the waters of Gatun Lake commenced to rise, many of the construction townsites were abandoned and with them the post offices and some of the old post offices along the Chagres River valley now

lie beneath the waters of Gatun Lake. Todav, there are two main post offices in the Canal Zone. They are in Balboa and Cristobal. There are 13 branch offices and one delivery unit facility. Postal employees number 116 and include both United States and Pan-

8 Summer 1977 amanian citizens. They handled 27,838 Above: Conrad Blades serves patrons tons of mail during fiscal year 1976, including surface and airmail. Re- at the Gamboa Post Office. Above ceipts during fiscal vear 1976 totaled 81,729,261.17. right: Employees at work sorting mail This is a far cry from the first year are reflected in wall mirror. Below: of operation in 1904 when stamp sales in one month were $655.54. In sharp contrast to construction-day The Canal Zone Postal administra- facilities, which were often located tion is unique in its establishment and operation. It has its own postal regula- in the train stations, is this modern tions, yet the United States regulations building at Gamboa. At right: A bust/ are applicable. Its postal laws are con- tained in both the Federal Statutes and day at the Balboa Post Office, one of the Canal Zone Code. It does not belong to the the two main post offices. The Universal Postal Union but adheres to its policies. It is not Balboa Heights Post has Office been within the United States Post Office Department, but like that organization, changed to a delivery unit facility. is a unit of the United States Govern- ment.

The Panama Canal Revi ^ inaugural Central American flight in COL. LINDBERGH TO OPEN DAWN 1929, an editorial in the Panama TO DUSK SCHEDULE TO CRISTOBAL American noted that it was almost a vear since he had been greeted so NEW YORK, April 22 V enthusiastically in Panama and the lonel Charles A. Llndl €Pt.*rw take of| In a regular Pan- Canal Zone. Atrwaya piano dalar- "Little preparation is being made for & cA •ornoon from Mtn ni i ("or ,o*'« i from whew he will his reception this time while 12 months ^^ O 'ind.iv ni'ii n'.ns 6 00 1, Orlitobal in » rtawn Air, the C^ e^ ago, he was the Viking of the tff* fcV^fc M IhniiKuratlng th« Lone Eagle, the lone conqueror of the .<&>>. QS^eN xC° a nnll tervlre bo- ' and ^% <&\°'% via Gracll <*& "This vear, he is just an ordinary moll businessman blazing a trial for a com- mull mercial company which proposes to operate airplane service from the United

-V vV a* >^^> .J ronntrles States to Panama. His achievements in ' N The mnll «v is still fr^**4 at Cristobal the air remain supreme and he ^ rlcan Oraro \i r prominent. But the spark of romance 'or Buenoa Aires. has flickered out." These statements made the Lone

Eagle one of the bovs but it did not CRISTOBAL POST OFFICE mail on that first direct United States- THE detract from the fact that he was one was astir this morning over the Canal Zone flight kept the Cristobal of the pioneers that made airmail tact that mail can now be delivered Post Office personnel busy throughout service a household word and turned from York to the Canal Zone in the night and at dawn the following New both Lindy and the postal service into five and one-half hours less than two dav, the mail was loaded on a Pan such a routine matter that mere mortals davs," the Star and Herald of Panama American Grace Co. (Panagra) plane dared to criticize. reported back on April 29, 1930, fol- for the first long haul mail flight down Airmail service from the United lowing the arrival at France Field of the west coast of South America. States to Panama was first started in Miami, piloted b\ While establishing the new airmail the mail plane from 1929 between Miami and France Field other than Col. Charles A. Lind- services between the United States and none under contract with Pan American Air- bergh. Panama, Lindv soon became a familiar ways. The route went through Central Fortv-seven vears later this might figure on the Isthmus. But his comings America via Cuba, Honduras, Nicara- still be a record delivery time, many and goings were recorded in minute gua and Costa Rica, entering Panama of today's Canal Zone postal customers detail bv the local press. So much so at David. will tell you. that he descended from the realm of This route, also officially inaugurated back in the 1920's and 1930's the angels to the level of the common But bv Lindbergh, was set up following there were no complaints. Airmail man. several vears of study and surveys and service to the Isthmus was the marvel The Panama Spanish press in 1930 experimental flights along the proposed of the age and Lindbergh the hero of concluded that Lindbergh, who was routes. the centurv. As a technical advisor to given such a cordial welcome in Pan- Before the mail flights became com- pioneering American Airways, he ama in 1928 on his first visit in the Pan mercial, the U.S. Army Air Force, trips France Field from Spirit of St. Louis, had become "about made four to which controlled the only landing fields Miami as pilot of the plane delivering as inspirational as a Chicago sausage in the Canal Zone, was giving strong factory." the mail. support to the idea of getting mail out Sorting the 200 or more pounds of Prior to Lindbergh's arrival on the of the Canal Zone by air. The first mail ever to be carried by air in Panama, however, was a local job and was loaded in Cristobal aboard a U.S. Armv single engine amphibian plane October 18, 1918. As part of a campaign to promote the sale of Liberty Loan subscriptions during

World War I, most of the 919 pieces of mail were bonds. The so called "aero" dispatch from Cristobal to Bal- boa was carried non-stop on the plane piloted bv U.S. Army Air Force Maj. W. W. Wynne. It took 30 minutes of flying time but nearly an hour in all to deliver the mail to Balboa Heights. Bv 1920. the idea of sending mail to the United States was being U.S. Army seaplane prepares to take off for first local airmail flight, bv air dispatch of mail con- October 18, 1918. promoted and a

10 StlMMEB 1977 sisting of 621 letters, 89 cards and those days was 2 cents within the historic occasion "The airmail arrived 9 pieces of registered mail was placed United States and to countries having here on time today. Airmail Pilot aboard an Army Air Force plane at a postal convention with the United Charles A. Lindbergh was at the stick. France Field early on the morning of States. Those sending letters elsewhere "Scheduled to arrive at 4 p.m., the October 6, 1920. paid 3 cents. Lone Eagle zoomed over France Field Among the letters was a notice from The first airmail flights between the as watch hands pointed exactlv to Crede Calhoun, Canal Zone Director Canal Zone and Costa Rica were started 4 o'clock. Two sportive P. W. pursuit of Posts, to the U.S. Postmaster Gen- in 1925 following a trial run inaugu- planes were flying formation on each eral in Washington, D.C., noting that rated by the U.S. Army Air Force. side. Three minutes later he had the letter was being sent bv the first In February of that year a bill was landed the big Sikorskv and opened dispatch of mail to be made from the introduced into the U.S. Congress to the longest airmail route in the world. Isthmus of Panama to the United establish airmail service between New He estimated that he had flown about States bv "aeroplane." Orleans and the Canal Zone at rates 2,000 miles from Miami to France "I take this opportunitv to express prescribed bv existing law. It author- Field." to you my kindest consideration and ized the Postmaster General to pur- As reporters surrounded the plane, the hope that this mav be a forerunner chase or lease such flying fields, hangars Lindbergh refused to pose for pho- of the eventual establishment of aero- and other equipment necessary for serv- tographs until he had checked out the plane mail service between the United ice and to construct facilities with an mail bags and received a receipt for States and Latin America." appropriated fund of $1,500,000. them from Director of Posts, Crede This grandiose beginning of an early Calhoun and Postmaster Gerald Bliss. air age project had an anticlimactic When the famous flier opened the ending, however. Lt. Charles Lindbergh opened airmail B. Austin. Pan American Airwavs direct mail route pilot in the U.S. Armv Air Service, en- between Miami and Buenos Aires countered impossible condi- service weather between Miami April 28, 1930, he landed his twin tions nearing the island of Jamaica and motored Sikorskv at France Field ahead he was compelled to return to France and Cristobal lint of his scheduled fl\ ing time from Field. All mail, including the confident Havana to Cristobal bv almost 2 hours. message to the Postmaster General in U.S. Armv made first Said the Panama American; "Al- Washington, was unloaded and dis- though soaked to the skin after being patched from Cristobal by the SS local airmail flight exposed from an open cockpit to a Orhita sailing for New York via Nor- downpour of rain, Lindbergh was folk. smiling happilv as he crawled out of In an effort to speed up the mail Things did not move too fast and the plane. Delivering to Gerald Bliss. delivery' between the Isthmus and the although there was an airmail service Cristobal Postmaster. 215 pounds of United States, arrangements were made between the Canal Zone and Colombia mail consigned from various points in in 1922 between the Canal Zone Post and the Canal Zone and Costa Rica, the United States to South America and Office and postal authorities in New bids for the airmail line from Key West the Canal Zone, Lindbergh officiallv Orleans to have the Canal Zone mail to Panama were not advertised until inaugurated the new 7-dav airmail sacks picked up bv hvdroplane off in- 1928. The contract was awarded in service from New York to Buenos Aires coming mail ships at the mouth of the Julv 1928 to Pan American Airways and Montevideo." Mississippi River. which was then running a passenger Flying the mail or anv other air The sacks were flown back to New and mail service between Kev West service was not easv in those davs and Orleans and put on the first outgoing and Havana, Cuba. compared to the present dav routine railroad train. This advanced mail des- Lindbergh celebrated his 27th birth- jet flights, it was downright hazard- tined to New York and the U.S. West day by hopping off from Miami ous. In addition to the vaguaries of the Coast from 6 to 18 hours depending Februarv 3, 1929, to make the first weather at the low levels the tin- on the railroad connections. airmail flight to Panama. He made the pressurized planes had to flv, pilots Transcontinental airmail service was trip via Havana, Cuba; Tela, Hondu- also had to travel during davlight hours estahlished within the United States bv ras; Managua, Nicaragua; and David. and land at primitive, makeshift air- 1924 and the hvdroplane service was Panama. ports. used to connect with this too. Notices With him on this trip were John of the airmail service schedules were Hambleton, Vice President of Pan Taking over at the Isthmus from on that inaugural South put up in all Canal Zone post offices American, one mechanic and one radio Lindbergh American flight in 1930 was Llovd and charges were set at 8 cents a operator. He also had six bags of mail. mail postal zone with the addition of the Juan T. Trippe. President and founder R. "Dintv" Moore, veteran Pan Amer- regular 2-cent rate for the Canal Zone of Pan American, traveled part of the ican-Grace Airwavs pilot. added. wav. Moore left France Field at 6:26 a.m.,

Thus a letter weighing 1 ounce or Although his receptions in the vari- April 29. and landed at Santa Elena. less mailed in the Canal Zone would ous countries were to be informal, Ecuador at 5:48 p.m., stopping on the cost an Isthmian resident 10 cents to hundreds of people managed to get to wav to refuel at Buenaventura, and send it from the Canal Zone to Chicago the airport to greet the famous fiver Tumaco in Colombia. He was accom- via New York. If it went from New when he arrived. At France Field there panied onlv bv a copilot and a radio York to San Francisco or from San win- more than 1.500 including news- operator who reported a flight con-

Francisco to New York it would cost men and newsreel photographers. tinuously- harrassed bv strong head- 26 cents. The regular postal rate in Said the Panama American on this winds as far as Tumaco and an almost

The Panama Canal Review 11 ,

Panama Canal offering to the best ad- vantage its service and facilities to business interests using the waterway."

/ I Stamp collectors, an avid breed, * tended suela arid were no different in those davs from •a. what they are today. Post offices on the Isthmus had as much trouble with the collectors as they did establishing

the first regular airmail routes.

Both on this first flight via Central America and the later one direct from Miami, the bags contained thousands of first-day covers most of them con- signed to stamp collectors who made all kinds of requests, sent monev and stamps and generally gave a bad time to the hard working postal clerks. .^H'rtVt rBl Lines of people 15 deep waited at

' C r lB -.u '.--"~ the windows of the various Canal Zone post offices to purchase stamps and the " ' «i ; 'Hi. . .um> .

Interest was doubled bv the fact that impenetrable fog from Tumaco to Lindbergh was flving the inaugural Santa Elena. At Talara, Peru, the mails flight and bv the time post offices closed were rushed to another waiting plane on departure date, more than 30.000 which took them to Lima. letters were processed. From Lima the mail flight continued The work was accomplished not down the coast of South America to without some grief and a lot of burning Santiago, Chile. Bundled in arctic of the midnight oil. In a memo to flying togs, the pilot took off from San- Director of Posts Calhoun, Stacev tiago earlv in the morning, crossed the Russell, the Canal Zone Postal In- Andes, flying sometimes at an altitude spector, noted some of the difficulties. of 20,000 feet, and landed in Buenos Aires at 4:30 p.m. Of the approximately 22,000 letters received the first flight, were The express airmail service from on most individual requests for first flight covers Miami, inaugurated in 1930, was onlv contained one of many airmail routes Lindbergh Since thev monev and sponsored personally within the United stamps, he handled them personally and in dispatching 42.061 articles States and to Panama. The Colonel succeeded himself could not remember how many on the return inaugural flight. when he was interviewed at France Some of the collectors, he said, made Field. It was the beginning of the air- unreasonable demands that could not

mail age and still a matter of wonder. be filled and several hundred letters Canal Zone Gov. Harrv Burgess, arrived with 5-cent U.S. postage affixed which could not be used here. Others writing to J. M. Eaton, Pan American to Airwavs General Manager in New sent $1 and asked the post office covers. wanted York, said: "It has been brought to mv return 10 or 15 Each attention that letters originating as far special attention, perfectly centered post- west as Des Moines, Iowa, and Min- stamps and the autograph of the neapolis, Minn., arriving on Pan Amer- master and the pilot—who was Lind- ican Airwavs plane last Sunday, were bergh. received bv the Canal Zone postal serv- Postmaster Bliss complied with the ice 50 hours after thev were mailed at autograph in these cases, but, said the office of origin. Rapid and reliable Russell, naturally no attempt was made l.flxM l>. I communications service is vital to the to obtain the pilot's autograph. E.R.

12 Summer 1977 .

Those where the days . .

when the passengers opened the windows

THE TRI-MOTORED FOKKER would scarcely be noticeable. (Photos from 1928 Pan American brochure) planes used bv the U.S. The Pilot rises in a wide arc, Postal Service, were capable of and Key West with its white carrying 8 to 12 passengers and buildings slips gently away beneath. 800 pounds of mail. To give some Meacham Field, where the plane idea of what it was like to be took off, swings into view. a passenger on one of these flights, The Airliner straightens her an excerpt from a 1928 Pan Amer- course, heading out to sea—pink ican brochure is reprinted below. and white coral reefs are discernable It will be noted that passengers in through the clear blue water of those davs had the luxurv of the Gulf. The little island Key wicker chairs and could open becomes an emerald set in blue, the window to enjoy the breeze. studded with tiny pearls of white The fare on this trip between houses. Key West and Havana was $50 Ahead as far as the eve can see and included 30 pounds of are snowcapped waves in endless luggage. Excess baggage was carried motion, sparkling in the sunlight. at the rate of 25 cents per pound A refreshing breath of cool air "when the capacity of the plane pervades the cabin, as a seasoned permits." air passenger slides back the window next to his chair. ALL ABOARD! Others soon follow suit, finding the Motors drum pleasantlv, spinning operation absurdly simple and the glinting propellers in the earlv window easily adjusted to meet morning sunshine, as a little group individual taste. emerges from the Passenger Station Above are corded nets in which and strolls leisurely down the path. small articles of apparel mav be Palsengert boarding Pan America* Those who are making their first placed—hats, top-coats, sticks, trip by air are wont to exclaim briefcases and other things that and cheerfully supplies interesting at the size of the airliner— its sturdy the traveler mav wish to have at information to those who are taking yet graceful lines that impart such close hand. their first flight. It is learned that

a definite impression of power There is a compartment for the load carried by the plane is and reliability. The interior of heavier luggage aft, also a lavatory checked three times before the the plane, with its spacious and and storage space for mail. take-off, and limited to the point luxuriously furnished cabin arouses Pan American Airways, Inc., holds which enables any one of the admiration. Wicker chairs beautifully exclusive contracts for this service. three engines alone, to keep the upholstered are ranged four in The Post Office Department requires plane in the air until one shore a row on either side of the cabin- strict maintenance of schedules or the other is reached. leaving ample leg room and a clear and exercises a general supervision Suddenly land is sighted— the aisle up the center. over the Company's operations, coast of Cuba—and soon Havana As the passengers settle them- in order to protect and safeguard Harbor swings into view, with selves for the journey, the Assistant the mails. Morro Castle guarding its narrow Pilot furnishes each with reading But to return to the flight- entrance, and the famous Malecon matter, inquires after individual Passengers aboard this modem Drive stretching along the opposite comfort, then takes his place next Magic Carpet converse freelv, shore, and all around a sea of to the Chief Pilot. There is untroubled by the muffled roar white houses. Havana from the a subdued distant roar, as the of the engines. One points out far air—a sight not soon forgotten. propellers begin to whirl faster below a six-masted barkentine, Surelv a visit to Havana, the and the plane taxies gently forward reminiscent of the days of Captain enchanted citv, the Monte Carlo for the take-off. It gains speed. Kidd— another sights the car fern of the New World, is in itself a Some seasoned air traveler casually which appears at the halfway sufficient lure to the traveler, but - remarks—"We're off!," but were point in the air journey, on her add to this the fascination of making it not for the cessation of the run between Havana and Key West. the journey over the turbulent rumble of the wheels on the ground, The White-Uniformed Assistant Straits of Florida bv Airliner, and the fact that the plane had arisen Pilot emerges from the cockpit the urge to go becomes irresistible.

The Panama Canal Review 13 Canal Zone

Happy hunting ground

for bird watchers

By Willie K. Friar

FROM THE TIME THE FIRST Panama Canal were men of vision and work being done in the permanent parrots from the South American they made careful plans to preserve towns of the Canal Zone the horti- jungles were taken to Europe bv sailors forest areas, wherever possible, not culturist supervising the work is en- who had adopted them as companions only to protect the watershed so vital deavoring to secure the cooperation of for their long and arduous voyages, to the operation of the Panama Canal all residents in beautifying the towns tropical birds have excited the imagina- but to preserve the habitats of the by means of plants, shrubs, and trees. tion of nature lovers. wildlife in the area. He points out that no place in the The colorful profusion of tropical As soon as the permanent towns were world offers better opportunities for birds in such close proximity to homes built, top priority was given to the this purpose, as the climate of perennial and offices is one of the first impressions planting of trees and shrubs. A "Citv summer allows plants a continuous of the new arrival to the Canal Zone. Beautiful" movement was started and But it is not by accident that the the Canal Record of May 15, 1915, Canal Zone has become a paradise for reported: Preservation of forests bird watchers. The builders of the "In connection with the landscape and planting of trees

make the Canal Zone a

naturalist's paradise

development to more and more attrac- tive forms. Tasteful planting, he states, and proper community care, will relieve the glistening newness of the new con- crete town of Balboa, gradually conceal

its angularity, and eventually transform

it into a beautiful dwelling place, delightful to live in." The flower and fruit trees planted at this time quickly filled with birds and a large bird population developed in all the towns. Also helpful to the sur- vival of the birds in the Canal Zone, was the decision to place the utility lines underground, not only adding significantly to the beauty of the towns but eliminating a hazard for birds. Few people are aware thart flocks of migrat- Mateo Siincliez, of the Grounds Branch, waters a newly planted palm on the Prado ing birds frequently sever their wings in Balboa. These young trees will replace the old ones, now more than 62 years old. when thev accidentally fly into these which were planted when the permanent towns of the Canal Zone were built. lines. Early planting of trees assured the propagation of the colorful tropical birds An ornithologist's delight, the Canal in the housing areas. Zone has more varieties of birds than

14 Summer 1977 A sampling of the 880 species of birds found on the Isthmus, photographed by Officer John V. Brown, of the

Canal Zone Police. These are familiar to most local residents. Left to right, by rows: Toucan, Tropical Kingbird,

Red-legged Honeycreeper, Orange-chinned Parakeets, Red-crowned Woodpecker, and a flock of parakeets eating bananas

at a backyard bird feeder.

The Panama Canal Review 15 so slow that, for all practical purposes, tists to be the most biologically diverse One of the few places once the jungle forest is destroyed, it is country in the world for its size. Here abandoned forever bv the birds that one can find within a small easily ac- used the area as their habitat. cessible area, an enormous varietv of in the world where trees Manx' of the irreplaceable old bird life but conservation of habitats of the Isthmus have disappeared. But is an escalating problem as man's im- because of the foresight of the late great variety pact on the environment becomes in- such a Dr. Thomas Barbour, well-known natu- creasingly strong. ralist, who proposed the establishment It is significant that after Balboa of birds can be seen of the Madden Forest Preserve, and to the efforts of the late Canal Zone discovered the Pacific Ocean and Gov. Harrv Burgess, the Canal Zone claimed the land for Spain, a part of with so little effort remains a veritible wonderland for the his ritual was to cut down a tree. bird watcher or amateur naturalist. It is still almost a ritual in parts of the Writing in 1930 about the establish- Isthmus to attack the trees as soon as Forest Preserve, ment of the Madden a road is opened through an area and Dr. Barbour said, "This forest reserve all of North America above Mexico. the people come in. Approximately 880 species have been abuts on country with a considerable In addition, the constant burnings identified here. rural population as vou cross the during the drv season decimate the There are several groups of people boundary of the Canal Zone, to which forests. Although fires have little effect who are particularly interested in the the reserve extends, and passes into on the untouched thick tropical forest local birds. There are the bird watchers, the territory of the Republic of Pan- where no cutting has been allowed, the manv of whom belong to the Canal ama. The area is not sufficiently exten- to repeated burn- Zone Chapter of the Florida Audubon sive to support manv of the large native edges are vulnerable forest gradually retreats Society. They go on field trips and animals but manv of the small species ings and the wander through field and forest with are abundant and will increase with until only sawgrass and other undesir- binoculars identifying birds and keep- protection and the birds are very satis- able grasses continue to grow. ing annual records. Thev are especially fying indeed and are to be seen in Anvone driving through Madden in finding a particular tvpe numbers and great variety. There are interested Forest can observe this process. The bird unusually earlv or late in the several fine colonies of the hang-nests moment one leaves the protected area season or seeing a rare species, like the or oropendulas." there is onlv sawgrass. The tropical quetzal, which is still found in the It was also through Dr. Barbour's soil which once supported giant trees Panama highlands. efforts that Barro Colorado Island has has dried out from exposure to the A second group is made up of orni- been preserved. It is a hill converted sun and has become barren and all the thologists who represent a branch of into an island bv the rising waters of colorful birds have deserted the area. biological science and studv such things the Chagres River following comple- as how birds developed in the course tion of the Gatun Dam. Birds, as well of evolution and how the individual as animals, fled to safety here and as

survives, including feeding habits, i result, a great varietv are concentrated migrating, breeding, nesting, etc. in this sanctuary. Almost evervone, voung and old, Barro Colorado, administrated bv appreciates birds and feels a special the Smithsonian Institution, is ideal jov at hearing their songs and watching for the studv and observation of trop- their activities. ical birds as trails have been chopped

But for anv bird fancier to pursue through the jungle so that it is possible this interest, there must be, of course, to view birds in their natural environ- an abundance and variety of birds and ment. this requires preservation of their Todav, the Madden Forest Preserve

habitats. with its giant espave and cuipo trees Since many tropical birds make their covers nearly 6 square miles of the homes in the large old trees of the Canal Zone and is a popular spot for forest thev leave the area as soon as bird watching. the trees are cut. They need the jungle But the struggle to protect the area canopy for shade and the hollows in from squatters and timber poachers the trees in which to make their nests. began at the time of its establishment Once destroyed, the tropical forest and continues todav. Canal Zone police does not grow back as manv people keep a regular patrol and watchful eve believe. A dense jungle tvpe growth on the preserve but poachers si in in

does begin immediately but it is usually and squatters practicing slash and burn scrubbv growth and not the same as agriculture continue to invade and the old forest with the large sturdy destroy the forest. the Trans-Isthmian Highway, branches and the verdant growth of Panama is a biological crossroads of Bisected by leaves, orchids, and bromiliads, which North and South America containing Madden Forest Preserve, is an are typical of the trees which are manv plants and animals from both con- easily accessible wonderland bird lovers. years old. The process of regrowth is tinents and is considered by some scien- for

16 Summer 1977 Continued preservation of

habitats is necessary for the Canal

Zone to remain a bird sanctuary

Above: Canal Zone Police Officer, It is hoped that in all future plans pose. Amateur naturalists have made for the Canal Zone, measures will be many important contributions to orni- John V. Brown, a bird watcher, taken to permanently insure the pre- thology and the study of birds con- servation of forest areas such as tinues to contribute much to the shows some of his color slides Madden, Ancon Hill, the Pipeline Road theoretical and practical aspects of to Balboa Elementary students. area near Gamboa (a particularly biology. valuable area for bird watching) Barro As objects of general interest, birds Above right: Second grade students Colorado and other areas, such as Fort have always been a part of the writings place some crumbs on tlw bird feeder built Sherman and Fort San Lorenzo on the and art of man. Stories about birds are Atlantic side, not just for bird watchers a part of all ancient cultures. Bird for them by Officer Brown. but for the enjoyment of all nature figures are found in ancient Egyptian lovers. hieroglyphs and paintings. Aesop's

Bird watching is the hobby of an fables are filled with bird characters. increasingly large number of people, One of the most impressive of the as evidenced bv the number of tourists drawings on the Nazca plains of Peru who come to the Isthmus for this pur- is a bird.

Bird watching is a hobby tliat requires little equipment * However, to reach the habitats of some of the rarer

birds, a canoe and jeep are helpful.

The Panama Canal Review 17 Building in Panama City. The society The Natural History became a memorable part of Isthmian history and has served to foster interest reptile and other Society donated and studv of insect, wildlife forms on the Isthmus. The membership included many well-known bird watercolors to Canal Zone residents who were here during construction days and who con- Canal Zone tinued to work with the Canal follow- ing its opening in 1914. Quite a few influential citizens of Panama were Librarv-Museum included in the membership. Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt was a guest at the meeting addressed by Dr. Chap- In 1928, Bertha Bement Sturgis, who man and the President of the Republic was a strong advocate of conservation of Panama and the Governor of the in her popular "Field Book of Birds Canal Zone were honorary members of of the Panama Canal Zone," wrote: the society. "Many of the birds are valuable to Dr. James Zetek, at that time the man as destrovers of insects, as game director of Barro Colorado Tropical birds, or food; while those that are not Research Station, was the first president useful are for the most part quite of the Natural History Society and harmless and often very beautiful and Dr. Barbour and Dr. Chapman became interesting creatures, which all who charter members. have a love of nature enjoy seeing and The society was formed to stimulate becoming familiar with. interest in local natural history and "It cannot be too strongly empha- to give local residents contact with the sized that now is the time to begin eminent scientists who frequently come svstematic and earnest efforts to pre- to this region, particularlv to Barro serve the wildlife of the Isthmus, and Colorado to studv tropical wildlife. set aside reservations for the purpose to When the society was disbanded while it still can be accomplished with several years ago, the remaining mem- a minimum of trouble and expense. bers still on the Isthmus voted to use Ten or fifteen years hence the difficul- the funds left in the treasury to pur- ties and cost will be many times greater chase the watercolors of Canal Zone and it will be too late to save manv of birds which had been painted by the larger and rarer species of birds Lois Morgan. (Story on Miss Morgan and animals, as far as the Canal Zone is on p. 22.) These were donated to and the more accessible parts of the the Canal Zone Library-Museum and Republic are concerned." all 28 of them may now be seen She went on to propose the organiza- hanging on the walls of the recently tion of a natural history societv to work renovated library. for the preservation of the native birds Eight of these paintings are re- and animals. produced in the centerfold of the In 1931, such a societv was organ- Review. ized. It was called The Panama Canal Natural Historv Society and from the Birds in the centerfold are, time of its first meeting on August 19, shown left to right, top row: of that year, the list of scientists who addressed the group read like a page 1. Barred Antshrike (Thamnophilus from "American Men of Science." doliatus) There was Dr. Arthur H. Compton, 2. Palm Tanager (Thraupis pahna- professor of phvsics at the University rum) of Chicago, winner of the Nobel Prize 3. Variable Seedeater (Sporophila in phvsics. aurita) The Oropendula female is a skillful 4. Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus There was Dr. Thomas Barbour. gilvus) Director of the Harvard Museum of weaver. Here she weaves the bottom 5. Orange-chinned Parakeet (Bro- Comparative Zoology and Dr. Frank- togeris jugularis) of the nest while the male Chapman, Curator in Chief of Orni- 6. Yellow-backed Oriole (Icterus thology for the American Museum of keeps watch for predators. chrysater) Natural Historv, one of the world's 7. Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cya- greatest ornithologists. nerpes cyancus) The society held meetings for many 8. Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana) vears at the Smithsonian Institution

18 Summer 197 The Oropendulas are among the most interesting local birds with their long strange hanging gotird-like nests

which are built in colonies in careftdh/ selected trees. The female nest builders have the peculiar habit of stealing

fibers from a neighbor's nest when she is away and quickly weaving it into their own nests.

The Panama Canal Review 19

1

m THE BIRDS I HAVE PAINTED are not rare jungle birds but are ones that I have come to know. With a few exceptions, most of the birds are fairly common." This is the wav Lois Morgan explained the subjects she selected for her paintings of birds of Painting the Canal Zone. Eight of these water- colors are featured on pages 20 and 21. All 28 watercolors in the collection are on permanent display at the Canal Z-me Libran-.

Miss Morgan came to the Canal Zone in 1947 and taught science, art, social studies, and math to junior high school students until she retired in 1973 and returned to Toledo, Ohio, where she was born and grew up. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Education Degree at the Universitv of Toledo and studied art at the Toledo Museum of Art and with Eliot O'Hara at Goose Rocks Beach, Maine. She also taught art at the Toledo Artists' Club and Lois Morgan's watercolors Toledo Women's Club.

In her spare time, one of her hobbies delight patrons at the was capturing in watercolors the places she visited. She has painted landscapes in Maine, New Hampshire, Louisiana, fanal Zone Library-Museum Ohio, Michigan, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Panama. In addition to her well-known bird collection, she did a series of tropical flowers and grasses and another of her shows featured paintings of Louisiana landscapes painted while she was in Baton Rouge on a Ford Fellowship. The fellowship was granted to Miss Morgan to enable her to studv botanv, paint watercolors of local flowers, and visit historic sites relating to her teach- ing of social studies.

Her work is well known in the United States as well as on the Isthmus. She has had work accepted in juried water- color shows in Ohio, West Virginia. and New York as well as in her home- town, where she has had shows at the Toledo Museum of Art and the Toledo Artists' Club.

This 1962 photograph shows

Lois Morgan putting finishing touches

on a bird uatercolor at her home in Balboa.

Retired since 1973, she now lives

in Toledo, Ohio, where she continues

to pursue her interest in painting.

22 Summer 1977 It's fun to find

the female birds

whose feathers

may blend in with

the foliage

A familiar figure around the Canal Zone for manv vears, Miss Morgan attracted crowds as she sat absorbed in her work of painting flowers, grasses, or birds but she said this never dis- turbed her. She also noted that cats, dogs, and even one snake showed up to watch her at work. In discussing the bird paintings and her painting tech- nique, Miss Morgan said: "I paint in transparent watercolor and use no white for lighting. Anvthing that is light must be kept light or scratched out after the painting is done. I have no white in mv paints. "I have been interested in birds all mv life, and I have been interested in Ellen Martin, secretary to the Recreational Services Officer in the Civil Affairs Bureau, the different birds I saw here. I had been thinking of painting some of the compares the reproductions in the centerspread of this edition common birds as well as some of the to the original icatercolors on display at the Canal Zone Library-Museum. common plants of Panama and the Canal Zone and have been making bird sketches for some years. "In painting the birds I have done them from life making sketches and notes and watching them for hours dav and one that has been of increasing feathers and then stretch themselves after dav. When I felt I "knew" the interest. The Canal Zone Library has out and smooth down their feathers, birds well enough I would sketch them an excellent collection of bird books their size changes so much in life. They in poses that I had seen them assume and I have been interested in all of can change from tender, roundheaded, and that to me were characteristic of them. I enjoved particularly the in- lound-eyed Easter chick types to small- the bird. Then I would check mv notes formation about some of our com- headed, feathered reptilian contours. against Mrs. Sturgis' descriptions (au- mon birds—the blue tanager, crimson- Their color changes according to the thor of "Field Book of Birds of the backed tanager, blue honeycreeper, and light and the season, and I think, varies Panama Canal Zone" ) , and if there the boat-tailed grackle in "Life His- greatlv in different members of the was a discrepancy, I would study the tories of Central American Birds" by same species." birds some more. After I had painted A. F. Skutch. "Field Book of Birds of Her extraordinary collection of local the bird, I would keep on observing the Panama Canal Zone" by Bertha B. birds features those familiar to residents to see if I had painted it as I thought Sturgis is the best book on the birds of the Canal Zone as well as the not- it should be done. Some of the birds of the Zone." so-familiar "cacique," which Miss came within several feet of me but Morgan savs she just happened to dis- most of the studv was done through (A new book, published this year, cover at a feeding station on Ancon binoculars. "Birds of Panama" by Robert S. offers bird watchers up-to-date Hill. "Mv first bird paintings were done Ridgelv iiifui bird watching in the directlv in watercolor, but, as mv paper niation about Since her retirement, Miss Morgan (anal Zone. It is available in the Canal also donates supplv diminished, I began sketching continues to paint but stores.) for the final picture in pencil first and trans- Zone retail time to the mobile meals program ferring mv sketch to the watercolor "The birds are painted approximately shut-ins and teaches English to the International paper and then painting. life size. However, since thev can com- foreign born at the "It has been a fascinating projfH press ihonisclves and (luff out their Institute in Toledo.-WKF

The Panama Canal Review 23 24 Summer 1977 )

CALL TO LOCAL LOVERS Rushed to completion in 1906 for A of the culinary arts to share their the arrival of President Theodore favorite recipes with other Review Roosevelt, the first of a long line of readers brought forth a plethora of celebrities and distinguished guests to diner's delights for our summer issue. sign its register, the Tivoli closed its Among the many who responded doors in 1971. was a professional chef whose story The building was dismantled, but appears on page 28, and a long time many of the furnishings, silver and Canal Zone resident who came back chinaware were salvaged and put up By Vic Canel with a counter-request for a special for sale as nostalgic reminders of salad dressing fondly remembered from another era. First opened as a com- the days of the old Tivoli. mercial hotel, the Tivoli became a A little digging in the files of the government guest house in 1951. Canal's Supply Division produced not years only the requested roquefort dressing In construction days and in the but the more traditional Tivoli Dressing to follow, the Tivoli was a popular which was a trademark of the elegant social center and a favorite eating place old hostelry in its heydey. with Isthmus residents. Readers* Recipes

Lemon Cream Cheese Salad With Rakort Spenot Toasted Coconut Chips

Shrimp Dressing ( Layered Spinach 1 Coconut (Show-n at left) 2 5-Ounce packages wide noodles Salt to taste 2 Packages frozen chopped spinach or To prepare coconut, pierce eves in Salad: 2 cups fresh cooked spinach end of coconut and drain liquid. Crack 2 Cups boiling water (chopped) coconut open removing meat in fairly 2 Packages lemon jello (3 ounces each) 3 Tablespoons butter or margarine large chunks, when possible, and run 1 8-Ounce package cream cheese 2 Tablespoons four potato peeler down edges to make '» Cup light cream )i Teaspoon salt (or to taste) strips. Spread bv layers in roasting 1 Cup chopped celery % Teaspoon Hungarian paprika pan; sprinkling each layer generously 1 Cup pitted ripe olives, sliced ii Teaspoon black pepper with salt and toast in 300° oven for 1 Cup whipping cream ('A pint) !s Teaspoon cayenne pepper approximated 1 hour, stirring oc- Pour water over jello and stir. Chill 1 Cup milk casionallv. When done thev will be until just svrupv. Soften cream cheese K Pound Swiss cheese, coarsely grated golden brown and crisp. Cool. Pack with cream and fold into jello. Add Cook noodles as directed on pack- looselv in an airtight container. One celerv and olives. Whip cream and fold age, drain and rinse. Cook spinach and medium coconut will make 1 one- into jello mixture. Put mixture into drain well. Check both for salt and pound can of chips. mold and chill in refrigerator for 24 add to suit taste. In saucepan, melt Karen Palumho hours. butter, stir in flour, salt, paprika and pepper. Gradually stir in milk. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Pickled Carrots Dressing: Remove from heat and stir in the 1 Cup mayonnaise tomato soup spinach. Grease 12x8x2 baking dish. 1 Can 2 Tablespoons lemon juice 1 Onion, diced Arrange half of noodles in dish, sprinkle IK Tablespoons grated onion Green pepper, diced with one half of the cheese; spoon 1 4 Tablespoons fineh/ chopped pimento Cup salad oil spinach mixture over cheese; add re- K K Cup chopped cooked shrimp maining noodles and sprinkle other half 1 Cup sugar X Cup vinegar Mix well mavonnaise, juice, onion, of the cheese over top. (Paprika can be Teaspoon French mustard pimiento and shrimp and chill until sprinkled over top of cheese for faster 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce readv to serve. The dressing mav be browning or more desirable color.) 1 Salt and pepper to taste served over the mold (after it has been Bake at" 350°F 15 minutes or until 3 Cans sliced carrots, drained inverted onto serving dish) or on the cheese is bubbly. Yield: makes 8 gen- side. erous servings. Can be served with any Mix all ingredients. Add the carrots Serving plate mav be decorated with entree—chicken, beef, veal, lamb chops last. Place in covered dish or jar. small whole cooked shrimp, hard boiled or fish. Can be made day before and Refrigerate for several hours before egg halves and tomato wedges. refrigerated. serving.

Noreen Singer Sue Wallace Margie Ruoff

The Panama Canal Review Tivoli menu covers and Tivoli china are from the collection ^^> of J. Winter Collins, Retirement/ Housing Counselor. Tivoli silver is from the Canal Zone Library-Museum. Tivoli Dressing

1 Cup sugar

)s Teaspoon dry mustard 4 Tablespoons catsup H Garlic clove (pressed) K Medium sized onion, chopped 1 Cup oil

1 Cup cider vinegar Mix sugar, mustard, catsup and garlic. Add oil. Blend or whip until creamy. Add vinegar and blend or whip until thick and creamy. Pour into 2 quart container. Add onion and let set from 6 to 24 hours in refrigerator.

Roquefort Dressing

1 8-Ounce package Blue cheese 8 Ounces sour cream

54 Medium onion, grated

1 Small garlic clove Dash Louisiana Hot Sauce Dash Worcestershire Sauce Mayonnaise to thin dressing Crumble the cheese and blend with sour cream. Add the onion, garlic, the sauces and mayonnaise. Let set in refrigerator overnight. G^^

26 Summer 1977 Stuffed Olive Fritters

1 1-Ounce can pitted black olives (jumbo size)

5» Cup finely chopped onion

1 Tablespoon bread crumbs (very fine) 4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 2 Tablespoons tomato juice % Cup Bisquick mix

)* Cup milk

1 Egg Oil for deep frying Drain olives. Combine onion, crumbs, 2 tablespoons cheese and tomato juice to form stiff mixture. Stuff mixture into centers of olives. Beat Bisquick with milk, egg and remaining cheese to make batter. Pour about 1" of oil into pan and heat to medium-hot. Dip stuffed olives into batter and frv in oil until golden brown and crisp. Keep turning olives to brown evenlv.

Noreen Singer

Avocado Omelet 4 Eggs 2 Avocados 1 Tablespoon dry onion flakes Topping Barbecued Pot Boast H Teaspoon salt % Cup sugar Beef pot roast (blade, arm or chuck, 1 Cup grated Swiss cheese % Cup flour to pounds) 4 Teaspoons butter 1 Stick butter 3 4 2 Teaspoons salt Separate the egg volks from the Combine Vz cup sugar, 2 tablespoons whites. Peel and mash the avocados. flour and cinnamon. Sprinkle over Ji Teaspoon pepper Combine the mashed avocados with apples, coating well. Spoon in shell. 2 Tablespoons fat the egg yolks, onion, salt, and V2 cup Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine % Cup water cheese. Blend until smooth and topping ingredients, cutting in the 1 8-Ounce can tomato sauce creamv. In another bowl, beat the e^a butter and sprinkle over the apples. 3 Medium onions (minced or thinly sliced) whites until stiff. Combine with the Slide the pie into a large paper bag 2 Cloves garlic (minced) avocado mixture and stir until all in- and close it with paper clips. Bake for 2 Tablespoons brown sugar gredients turn bright avocado sreen. 1 hour at 425°F. Split bag open and li Teaspoon paprika Melt the butter over medium heat in serve. % Teaspoon dry mustard (Colmans) a frving 6-inch pan. Pour % of the Note: The paper bag will not work % Cup lemon juice batter into the pan, allow omelet to if it is recycled paper. J» Cup chili sauce turn a light golden brown, flip com- Beverly Hoffman pletely and sprinkle with the grated 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce cheese. Allow second side to turn Vt Cup vinegar Potatoes Supreme trolden brown. Cover and cook for Bub meat with salt and pepper, 6 Medium potatoes, boiled and peeled 2 minutes more while the cheese melts. brown in hot fat. Add water, tomato Salt and pepper to taste Serve immediately. Makes 4 omelets. sauce, onion and garlic. Cover and % Cup butter or margarine, melted cook over low heat F/2 hours. Combine Roy Howell 2 Cups shredded Cheddar cheese remaining ingredients and pour over % Cup chopped green onions meat. Cover and continue cooking for Paper Bag Apple Pie 1 Pint dairy sour cream about 1 hour ... or until tender. Be- Crust for deep dish pie Grate potatoes coarselv. Mix with move meat, thicken graw with either Filling remaining ingredients and put in shallow dish. flour or cornstach (whichever is -the 7 Cups of apple chunks I-IV2 quart baking preference). Serve immediately. (This K Cup sugar Sprinkle parslev on top and dot with recipe, like many, improves with re- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice butter. Bake at 350°F about 35 min- heating.) 2 Tablespoons flour utes. Makes six servings. H Teaspoon cinnamon Donna Grubbs Sue Wallace

The Panama Canal Bevtew 27 Cuanabana Sherbert

% Cup sugar 1 Cup water 1 Cup light cream 2 Cups guanabana puree

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Egg white

Puree guanabana pulp by putting it through a colander, forcing it through Alva L. Osavio, who sent a sieve, or squeezing it through cheese cloth. in his recipe for Combine sugar and water and boil Quiche Bretagne, removes 5 minutes. Cool to lukewarm. Add puree and unbeaten egg white, cream the delectable dish from and lemon juice. Freeze in an ice- the oven in the cream freezer using 8 parts ice to 1 part salt. Dredging Division kitchen

Muriel Anderson in Gamboa. ^^S

Quick Chocolate Mousse

1 6-Ounce package chocolate chips 2 Whole eggs 3 Tablespoons very strong hot coffee By Dolores E. Suisman 2 Tablespoons rum or Grand Marnier (GM preferred) SOME PEOPLE COOK AND times in one year he was promoted: H Cup scalded milk others are cooks. Alva L. Osavio to waiter, pantryman and cooks helper. Combine all ingredients in blender is a cook. As is so often the case, fate A little later he transferred to the and mix at high speed for 2 minutes. plaved a part in casting him in the role Lighthouse Division as a messman, Pour into four dessert dishes and chill he has filled to perfection. second cook, and, when the captain for about 2 hours. Top with whipped It began with Hungarian goulash. needed someone good at math to do cream before serving. Back in 1940 when Osavio was a subsistence reports, to steward over brand-new second cook on the tug men his senior in age and grade. Deborah Livingston Favorite, the captain wanted Hun- Osavio's career and the Favorite's asked garian goulash for lunch and menus brightened again in 1945 when Osavio if he could make it. Although the tanker Royal Oak transitted the the ambitious young man had never Canal. A cook-to-cook talk with the ^^) heard the words before, without batting ship's steward, a seagoing veteran of an eye, he nodded and dashed for the ships' galleys, ended with a gift that is Refrigerator Pickles nearest cookbook. When not only the now the treasure of Osavio's huge col- caDtain but the officers and crew agreed lection of cookbooks: volumes entitled 8 Cups sliced cucumbers it was the best goulash they had ever "How To Cook on Shipboard," "How 1 Cup diced onions tasted, Osavio's star began its rise. To Bake on Shipboard," and "How 1 Cup diced celery Di- Assigned now as the Dredging To Order Food for Shipboard." 1 Cup diced green peppers vision's Food Supervisor, Osavio is in The new tug Taboga came into Mix and let stand for Vi hour. charge of procurement, storeroom, service in January 1949 and Osavio, In the meantime make the brine. kitchen, and galleys on the division's now a real pro himself, was put in 2 Cups sugar floating equipment. But he doesn't charge of feeding all of the men work- 1 Cup vinegar cook. ing on the Canal's floating equipment. 1 Teaspoon celery seed The box lunches his cooks prepare He often went to sea himself to cook 1 Teaspoon mustard seed for men working overtime are as tasty for those who went out to repair light- % Teaspoon turmeric as he can make them, but it's not the houses on the reefs that guide ships same as poring over cookbooks, prepar- Mix all in pan. Bring to boil and let along the Atlantic coast to the Panama ing menus and serving big steaming cool. Pour over vegetables and mi\ Canal. hot lunches to hard-working hungry well. Put in jars and refrigerate. Let men. Twice he traveled far beyond the stand for 10 davs before using. Makes Osavio was 17 in 1939 when he lighthouse reefs. A trip to Jacksonville, 3 pints. went to work as a pinsetter in the Fla., to pick up a new barge and tow

Mickie Kramer Gatun Clubhouse bowling alley. Three it to Cristobal turned into a month's

28 Summer 1977 layover in the United States when the Coast Guard wouldn't allow the tug Dredging Division's to leave while hurricane warnings ^Q^Z) were up. food supervisor is The "Red Letter Days" in Osavio's Quiche Bretagne life involve feeding people: "Dredging a creative cook Division Day," August 15, 1970, when V4 Cup mayonnaise he walked around and around the en- 3 Eggs, beaten tire division area until his feet ached 1% Cup (7/2 ounce can crabmeat, drained supervising eight cooks as they pre- and flaked) pared fried fish, cole slaw, hamburgers 1 8-Ounce package natural Swiss cheese, and hotdogs for 3,000 people. And sliced and cut into pieces March 15, 1973 when Gov. W. P. Leber hosted 250 U.N. Security Coun- 1% Cups shrimp, cooked and cut into cil delegates aboard the Atlas tied up pieces

at Miraflores Locks. In rare unanimous Tablespoons flour agreement, the delegates approved of Cup white wine or cooking sherry the buffet lunch of tropical delicacies Teaspoon parsley flakes that Osavio served. Teaspoon salt Osavio has long had a desk-and- Cup thinly sliced onions paper-work job but he has never stopped cooking. At work he leaves his Cup chopped scallions (about % inch office to get out in the kitchen with his long) men "to keep his hand in." And at Cup pimientos, minced home he cooks when he's allowed in Cup thinly sliced celery the kitchen—which isn't often. His wife, the former Doriel Piggott of One 10-inch unbaked pie shell, Gatun, says he only wants to get into chilled in refrigerator. Combine mav- her kitchen to show off. But he does onnaise, flour, eggs, and wine and mix do the cooking for parties and church until smooth as velvet. Stir in crab- suppers when he makes his most meat, shrimp, Swiss cheese, celerv, popular, and often original, dishes. Most parsley, salt, pimiento, scallions and requested are his famous Johnny onions. Pour into pastrv shell. Bake at Mazetti and chicken chow mein. 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes. Serves 8. Above: The freshly baked Quiche Saturdays he and Doriel go to his Bretagne is seen close-up on the table cousin's home in Bethania were Osavio of a tugboat. In the background is experiments with new recipes. Once it G^^) the dredge "Cascadas." Below: was Quiche Bretagne (his recipe is at With wine, a special treat. right) which, he savs, "just happened" when he was making a Quiche Lorraine and his cousin came home from a fishing trip with some crabs. Osavio tossed in crab meat, added some shrimp that were in the refrigerator and had a dish that drew raves and has come to be one of his most sought- after recipes.

Now he is experimenting with three Ceviche recipes—one from Bolivia, one from Peru and one from Mexico. Osavio, who was born in Gatun and attended Gatun Elementary School and the Baptist Academy in Cristobal, lives in a home in Paraiso filled with letters of appreciation, certificates of com- mendation and many other forms of recognition. Twice he has received out- standing performance awards with quality step pay increases.

He is proud of these signs of the

success of his 38-year career but he is most proud of the sign of approval that comes when those eating one of his meals ask for seconds.

The Panama Canal Review 29 An aerial view of Balboa shows a part of the commercially owned and the Panama Canal Company owned and leased tanks at the La Boca Tank Farm. Marine Bunkering

By Fannie P. Hernandez

THE PANAMA CANAL MARINE the price of fuel in Cristobal was $3.85 Plays a vital Bunkering Division, one of the per barrel vs. $14.14 per barrel at the largest hunkering operations in the present time. The average bunker order world, handled 5,200 ships during todav has a value of approximated fiscal year 1976. On a comparative $53,000. role in the basis, this was about 43 percent of the The bulk of all products moved more than 12,000 oceangoing com- through Panama Canal pipelines is the mercial vessels which transited the propertv of six major oil companies Canal during that period. operating in the Canal Zone and Pan- operation of the In February 1977, the Remuera, a ama, and the Canal's Marine Bunker- northbound containership, took on ing Division charges onlv for hose 43,500 barrels of fuel at Pier 16, Cris- handling, pumping, and the use of Panama Canal tobal, having a value of some S600.000 pipelines. at current local prices. In July 1973, Prior to the recent decline in transits

30 Summer 1977 .

One of the largest bunkering operations

in the world

caused bv the worldwide recession, oil volume handled in the Canal Zone made it the largest bunkering service in the western hemisphere and the third largest in the world. The largest

operation in the world is in the Kuwait area and the second largest is Europort

( Rotterdam-Amsterdam) • **- _V'-A Following the end of coal bunker- Conveyors for transferring coal from the pit to ships can be seen in this ing at the Canal, the petroleum work- 1921 photograph of the old coaling station at Balboa. load climbed upward steadily at an annual rate of 4 to 5 percent until the middle of last vear when higher prices caused a downturn. From the two coaling stations es- tablished in Canal construction days, the Marine Bunkering operations at Serving Canal customers for more than 62 years the Panama Canal have evolved to become an integral part of services offered to transiting ships at the ports of Cristobal and Balboa. (The term

bunkering comes from the word "bunker," a compartment in a ship for storing fuel.) Todav, bunkering in- volves the use of heavy, portable oil hoses and fixed pipe connections between a storage tank and the ship with valves to control the flow of fuel. Reducing fuel costs and other ex- penses of ocean transportation were a basic consideration of the Panama

Canal before it was opened. It was recognized in toll studies made in 1912 that toll rates and the cost of fuel would greatlv influence traffic through the Canal. To attract shipping to the waterway, it was necessary for the Canal to be equipped with facilities for supplying vessels with coal, fuel oil and other provisions that would be comparable to those offered at the main ports of the world. bi "Panama Canal Traffic and Tolls," studies bv Emery R. Johnson in 1912.

it was indicated that "Government coaling stations will give the Panama Canal greater traffic and larger reve- nues." Providing coal at the Canal for merchant vessels making long voyages was an important factor in competing for the traffic which was free to move than one route. Business- The tanker, "Opalia." is serviced at Dock 7 in Balboa, a tanker discharge and bunkering bv more companies were aware berth. In the foreground is a gantry crane used for handling containers. minded shipping

Thf Pavama Canal Rfvifw 31 Fuel Distribution System Operator Hugh Cole conducts Operator John Webly makes an adjustment on a by-pass valve on tests at the boiler water testing laboratory in Balboa. a turbine pump at the Balboa Plant.

plants were established at Cristobal and Vessels took on coal at Cristobal Balboa, in 1914, soon after the Canal from barges or from cars alongside was opened to world commerce. At the wharf. It cost 85.40 a ton and the Cristobal, ample wharf space was built use of the steam hoist and crane was and coal handling machinery was pro- $1 an hour. At Balboa, the price was vided for loading and unloading the $1 more per ton. colliers bringing coal from Virginia and In addition to coal, fuel oil was

West Virginia, and for loading it onto available at 81.30 a barrel at Balboa the barges. Covering 20 acres, with from the Union Oil Co., the oldest "coal pile" space 1,800 feet long by petroleum company identified with the 460 feet wide, the Cristobal coaling construction and operation of the Pan- station was said to be the largest single ama Canal and the Panama Bailroad. coal receiving and distributing plant A lease granted bv President Theodore in the world at that time. Boosevelt in 1906 to Union Oil stipu- The two plants had a normal stor- lated that the company pay 8500 a age capacity of approximately 500,000 month for the support of the public- tons of coal and sales ran as high as schools in the Canal Zone and furnish 45,000 tons a month. The sale of coal the Isthmian Canal Commission and also that bv being able to cut bunker was then a growing business for the the Panama Railroad all the oil thev space in their vessels there would be Panama Canal and for several vears needed at 90 cents a barrel. more room for cargo. the coaling plant at Cristobal was one Later, the lease was amended by To provide this service, coaling of the most important harbor operations. doing away with the monthly payment

Above left: Fernando Romero, one of

the three fuel distribution system foremen

on duty 7 days a week, gives

instructions over the VHF radio as he

coordinates bunkering operations at the

La Boca Tank Farm. At left:

Froildn Diaz. Arcadia Batista and

Manuel Lopez hook up a

2.300 barrel per hour bunkering meter.

32 Summer 1977 '^ W^^k; ;*

At Mount Hope, James Dodd stands at the control panel of a new Walter F. Boyd, wears safety ear protectors, as

package boiler while coworker Henry Fergus drains the filter. he works at the Mount Hope Plant.

for the schools, exempting the com- of its ships to oil and the two coal pany from taxes in the Canal Zone, plants became less and less important. fixing the price of oil at $1.10 a barrel, Business picked up slightly during the and limiting the volume to 60,000 war when a few of the old coal burners barrels a month. Oil consumption, were pressed into service. however, increased at such a rate that But sale of coal declined so steadily supplemental agreements had to be after the war that the Panama Canal made. Union Oil constructed the first retired from the coaling business. Part pipeline across the Isthmus in 1907. of the equipment at the Balboa Plant It was the first pipeline across the Con- had already been altered to handle tinent and was removed bv the War sand and gravel and the plant was after the Canal was built. Department closed as a coaling station in Decem- In 1914, when the Canal opened, ber 1947. The Cristobal Plant was 89 percent of the world's shipping closed in December 1951 and the depended on coal, while bv 1936 onlv entire plant scrapped. slightly over 50 percent was using coal. operations were until re- Black smoke pouring from the funnels Bunkering a section of the Ter- of vessels was still a common sight at cently handled bv the Canal until the early 1950's but minals Division. Because of the im- ing functions, marine bunkering oper- coaling davs were coming to an end. portance of these operations to the ations were made an independent unit, During and shortly after World Canal's basic mission, the volume of becoming in 1974, the Marine Bunker- War II, the U.S. Naw converted most business, and the complexity of bunker- ins Division.

Above right: Jack Rtioff, left. General

Manager, Harbor Terminals Division and

Edward H. Benscn, Acting Manager,

Bunkcrittg Division, discuss

operations. At right: Mike Kandrin,

Fuel Distribution System Operator,

starts up a 4,000 barrel per hour turbine

scrcic pump to deliver fuel to

a customer.

The Panama Canal Review 3.3 piers. The shoreside pumping, gauging of tanks, and dockside assistance serv- ice an average of 15 vessels a day. At the real core of the operations at both plants are the pumps, manifolds and boilers manned by Fuel Distribution Svstem Operators, Boiler Tenders and Fuel Distribution Svstem Workers. Fuel Distribution System Operators, highly skilled employees, are respon- sible for round-the-clock operation of the manifold, pump and boiler systems. Bunkering crews usually consist of a leader and four employees who per- At right and on opposite page, form the hook-up of the heavy hoses. Once a vessel orders bunkers, the workmen install new fuel lines leader goes aboard the vessel and for bunkering and tanker checks with the engineer to verify the ship's requirements. He then reports to service at pier 16 in Cristobal. the Operator at the operations plant verifying the amount and type of bunkers to be taken on. Crews must accomplish their duties promptly as vessels usually want to move in and out of the ports quickly due to high operating costs. Various types of mechanical bunkering devices have been developed to reduce a ship's time in port, an important economic aspect in shipping operations. While the petroleum industry has

intensified its efforts to eliminate oil spills at terminals and elsewhere, ac- cidents inevitably occur due to human error or equipment failure. Bunkering Marine Bunkering operates two barrels working capacity in active serv- crews worry about these spills and major oil handling plants, one on each ice on the Pacific side and approxi- guard against oil pollution of Canal side of the Isthmus. The plants are mately 2,095,500 barrels of space in Zone waters. Bunkering personnel equipped with storage tanks, pipelines, 44 tanks at Mount Hope, including constantly monitor hoses and shore hundreds of valves, pumps, boilers, Panama Canal, commercial and some connections to detect any leaks. Con- hoses and other equipment to receive, U.S. Navy' facilities. Included in the tainment and clean-up equipment are store and deliver fuel to ships. Both operations is a direct pipeline tie-in available at both ports on a standby oil handling plants were placed into from the refinery at Las Minas. Daily basis, and in case of a spill, quick operation in 1914 and a number of the pumping of fuel is provided for the action is taken to stop the discharge original tanks, pipelines, pumps and electric plant in Panama Citv. and contain the spill, with the aid of other equipment are still in use. When oil is to be pumped to or Dredging Division's Oil Pollution On the Pacific side, a tank farm and from a pier, hoses, adapters, blenders, Control Unit. pumping plant are located in La Boca meters and other equipment have to be with pipelines to and installations on brought out, assembled and after use The heart of the distribution system at terminal is a manifold which or under Docks 4, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16 disassembled and stored. Other equip- each tankers and Pier 18. ment includes hose trailers and cranes allows products received from On the Atlantic side, the tank farm for lifting hoses into position. Connect- to be directed to the proper tanks and and pumping plant are at Mount Hope ing and disconnecting hoses and from the storage tanks to various with pipelines to and installations on blenders may take from half an hour pumps which then direct it through pipelines to piers, Canal or under Docks 9 and 10 and Piers 6, to two hours and the total bunkering Panama powerplants, or to other storage tanks. 7, 8 and 16. Docks 6 and 7, Balboa, time varies with the number of barrels and Pier 16, Cristobal, are primarily lifted and the pumping rate. There are seven oil transfer pumps, tanker discharge and bunkering facil- Approximately 185 employees work- ranging from 5 to 60 years old, at ities. Other docks and piers are used ing three 8-hour shifts, 24 hours a dav each terminal plant, varying in capacity for combined cargo operations and throughout the year, attend to Marine from 600 to 4,000 barrels per hour. bunkering. Bunkering activities on both sides of Power to operate the majority of these The common pipeline svstem in- the Isthmus. Their duties include the pumps is supplied bv three modern cludes about 28 miles of pipeline of discharge of petroleum products from "automatic" steam boilers of approxi- various diameters at each terminal. tankers and providing for the basic mately 700 horsepower each. The old There are 47 storage tanks of 1,885,600 fueling services of bunkering on the brick boilers were not automatic and

34 Summer 1977 required hard physical labor to operate them. Improvement projects have totaled Joseph Drake, a huskv boiler tender bunkering opera- whose service with more than one million dollars annually tions goes back to 1939, recalls that his work was more difficult in the old days before the new bunkering devices and for the past few years wharf equipment were developed. '"\Ye used block and tackle to boist the hoses up to the ship. The hoses were heavv and the 50-pound flanges on each end made them quite a load. Carning a 4-inch hose on my shoulders, sometimes quite a distance down the pier, was a hard job even for a big fellow like me. A less able-bodied man would have buckled under the weight," Drake remarked. He noted too that the location of a vessel's intake connection often created a problem as ship designers apparently did not take into consideration the necessity for fueling until the design was complete and piping connections were added anv place. As a result, the manifold on one vessel was found amidships, on another it would be near the bow, and on another, at the stern. Newer vessels have adequate piping and connections are conveniently lo- cated, but some of the old ones still in operation provide real challenges to ingenuity. For instance, where do you hook a block and tackle arrangement to lift and support bunkering hose for a connection located on the vessel's gallev overhead with nothing above but the blue sky? Drake recalled that since fewer ships were coming through the Canal in those pre-war days, the men had time to perform other duties on the piers or at the plant. On a slow night, it was not unusual for a couple of the men to get out the lawn mowers, turn on the flood lights and cut the grass near the plant. One fringe benefit the bunkering men had in those davs was the good meals thev were offered aboard the vessels thev were working on. "We could have all the food we wanted, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner," said Drake wistfully. This practice was changed a few vears ago and the men no longer are permitted to accept invitations to go aboard vessels for meals. Gauging tanks and assuring that thev are not overfilled are the duties of gaugers at the Balboa and Mount Hope tank farms. A gauger needs to be alert and agile while climbing the tanks or moving in and out and around the tank farm. He also soon develops a skill

The Panama Canal Review 35 with mathematics and knows that each Va inch of petroleum product in a large storage tank equals a certain From steamships to supertankers number of barrels for the different size tanks. In the petroleum industry, a barrel is 42 gallons. Fuel oil, gasolines, diesel oils, solvent and toluene (re- sembling benzene, used as a solvent and anti-knock agent for gasoline) are stored in the more than 90 tanks at Balboa and Mount Hope. A rigid accounting system is necessary for the various commercial firms to follow and monitor these highly valued commodities. Before tankers are allowed to dis- charge any product into the pipeline system, tests are made on samples taken from the vessel. Tests for flash point are made and products must meet certain minimum or maximum standards. Pointing out how important it is for the right fuel to be routed to a certain tank or a vessel to receive the

product it has requested, manifold oper- ator Manuel Aparicio recalled an inci- dent several years ago when a vessel supposedly unloading heavy diesel dis- charged ammonia instead. It took 2

years to clean out the tank and make it serviceable again. "A nightmarish mis- take, yes, but it can easily happen In 1917, wlien this photograph teas made, the Cristobal Coaling Station nowadays when vessels often carrv was the largest coal receiving and distributing plant in the world. three or four different products—gaso- line, diesel, crude or a blend", said Aparicio, adding that, luckilv, he had nothing to do with that costlv blunder years ago. He checks samples of pro- duct every half hour when loading or

unloading to make sure it is the right

product and is going where it should. Since vessels of many nations re- ceive bunkers at Canal Zone piers

'.. *** PANAMA CANAL TRAFFIC TRANSITS (Oceangoing) First quarter Firsf quarter Transition FY 1977 FY 1976 quarter

Commercial . 2,887 3,031 3,037

U.S. Government . 21 25 18 Free 5 7 4 Total 2,913 3,063 3,059 TOLLS • Commercial $38,167,041 $32,728,464 $35,286,837

U.S. Government . 180,176 257,773 168.585 TotaL $38,347,217 $32,986,237 $35,455,422 CARGO •• (Oceangoing) Commercial 31,851,363 29,953,719 30,888,300 U.S. Government-. 49,469 69,296 55,383 Free 18 Total- 31,900,832 30,023,033 30,943.683

° Includes tolls on all vessels, oceangoing and small. 00 Cargo figures in long tons. Note: Effective 10-1-76 the fiscal year for all U.S. Govern- ment agencies was changed from July 1 through June 30, to October 1 through September 30. For continuity purposes, July, August, and September 1976 were designated the Transi- tion Quarter. Figures shown for the First Quarter of 1976 correspond to A vessel takes on bunkers at Pier 16 in Cristobal. In tlxe foreground is a the new fiscal year. Statistics compiled by the Executive Planning Staff. tanker discharge riser for loading and off-loading fuel.

36 Summer 1977 through contracts with major oil com- panies, occasionally a language barrier OCEANGOING COMMERCIAL TRANSITS BY NATIONALITY arises. A selective use of sign language First Quarter 1977 First Quarter 1976 Transition Quarter (Oct.-Nov.-Dec.) (Oct.-Sov.-Dec.) (July-Aug.-Sept.) and terms common to the petroleum No. of Long business throughout the world are nor- No. of Long No. of Long Nationality transits tons of cargo transits tons of cargo transits tons of cargo bunkering mally sufficient to enable British 261 2,605,611 319 2,916,314 298 2,897,587 personnel to deal effectively with any Chilean 50 413,020 45 475,918 42 360,422 Chinese, Nat'l 28 415,677 27 324,208 31 412,129 vessels wishing to replenish their Colombian 45 76,980 51 70,324 49 77,388 bunkers. Cuban 20 118,745 13 52,370 20 83,447 Cypriot 24 95,944 24 87,428 22 93,345 addition to routine bunkering In Danish 74 550,846 77 496,429 62 503,223 operations, the Marine Bunkering Di- Ecuadorian 43 483,129 36 219,822 51 514,569 271,962 46 296,937 vision extends special assistance to French 43 303,344 49 German, East 26 30,189 19 21,972 15 24,189 experiencing problems while vessels German, West 145 970,379 150 890,739 157 856,210 transiting the Canal. Greek 246 4.174,787 227 3,546,080 279 4,311,095 Italian 43 230,032 65 514,151 57 297,029 Last year, when the gasoline tanker Japanese 233 2,439,741 250 2,034,314 229 2,289,244 461 7,150,210 Mobil Aero had its propeller back off Liberian 432 7,939,654 402 7,270,529 Netherlands 51 348,276 89 508,794 58 413,973 the tailshaft and lodge against the Norwegian 143 2,328,318 160 2,223,375 180 2,674,792 ship's rudder in Gatun Lake, it was Panamanian 269 1,970,427 235 1,715,370 263 1,789,166 37 393,676 necessarv to make arrangements for Peruvian 40 341,396 62 656,778 Poland 23 185,693 24 92,823 18 41,109 transferring the gasoline from one Singaporean 22 213,022 21 182,055 22 232,898 vessel in dis- tanker to another. The Soviet- 42 262,771 49 170,687 60 249,248 tress was moved through Gatun Swedish 78 778,094 80 1,095,785 75 756,804 281 2,341,817 276 1,965,761 248 2,046,044 Locks with tug assistance to pier 16, United States Yugoslavian 26 207,374 13 69,941 34 321,136 barrels of Cristobal. Later 252,474 All other 199 2,026,097 268 2,079,790 223 1,802,430 gasoline were transferred from one side TotaL 2,887 31,851,363 3,031 29,953,719 3,037 30,888,300 of the pier through pipelines into the tanker Mobil Lube. The ship transited OCEANGOING COMMERCIAL TRANSITS with the cargo on toward its destina- OVER PRINCIPAL TRADE ROUTES tion, while the Industrial Division First First quarter effected the necessary repairs to the FY Mobil Aero. 1977 (Oct.- Trade routes .Vot- When the crude oil tanker Lijko- Dec.) medis developed hull and other prob- East Coast United States-Asia 664 America 269 lems this past January, a cargo of Europe—West Coast South East Coast United States-West Coast South America 237 crude oil and 30,000 165,000 barrels of Europe—West Coast United States/Canada 220 barrels of fuel oil was transferred from Europe—Asia '"* 101 this vessel under strict precautionary Europe— Oceania East Coast Canada—Asia 81 measures to the Esso Parentis. safety United States Intercoastal (including Hawaii) 123 another tanker lving alongside the East Coast South America—Asia 8^ 95 opposite side of the pier. West Coast South America—West Indies All other 936 In both cases, the value of the cargo Total 2,887 at todav's prices was extremely high, the vessels were anxious to overcome their problems, safelv transfer their cargoes and get both ships and cargoes moving on toward their respective destinations.

Currently, the Marine Bunkering Di- vision has numerous plant improve- ments underway that include line renewal, installation of new pumps, and a meter prover at Balboa. In the last few years improvement projects have totaled over SI million annually. Every

effort is made to maintain the petro- leum distribution system in a first class condition and to continue serving shipping at the terminal ports of the Canal with dispatch and efficiency. PRINCIPAL COMMODITIES SHIPPED THROUGH THE CANAL

(in long tons)

Atlantic to Pacific

Transition First quarter First quarter quarter Commodity 1977 1976 (July-Aug.- (Oct.-Nov.-Dec.) (Oct.-Nov.-Dec.) Sept.) Petroleum and products 3,745,446 3,397,766 3,888,207 Coal and coke 3,444,108 4,496,014 3,545,265 Corn 2,380,572 1,887,020 2,436,430 Soybeans 1,315,491 1,433,790 1,032,309 Phosphate 864,845 799,149 735,478 Wheat 677,708 664,638 967,607 Sorghum 657,751 478,960 548,075 Ores, various 444,377 358,654 310,266 Metal, scrap 356,439 500,425 200,940 Chemicals, unclassified 278,337 246,943 299,236 Manufactures of iron and steel 185,481 175,989 288,014 Sugar 162,859 175,095 140,767 Fertilizers, unclassified 161,436 89,503 155,643 Paper and products 116,386 121,374 115,888 Machinery and equipment (excluding autos, trucks, and accessories) 110,991 147,466 118,249 All other 2,569,869 2,559,852 2,789,032

Total 17,472,096 17,532,638 17,571,406

Pacific to Atlantic

First quarter Commodity 1977 (Oct.-Nov.-Dec.) Petroleum and products 2,403,579 Manufactures of iron and steel 2,089,971 Ores, various 1,492,487 Lumber and products 1,162,362 Sugar 856,625 Barley 517,284 Woodpulp 484,978 Food in refrigeration (excluding bananas) 412,509 Bananas 375,251 Metals, various 353,993 Sulfur 255,406 Molasses 231,582 Autos, trucks, and accessories 194,037 Fishmeal 170,457 Paper and products 153.988 All other 3,224,758

Total 14,379,267

CANAL TRANSITS-COMMERCIAL AND U.S. GOVERNMENT

First quarter 1977 First Transi- (Oct.-Nov.-Dec.) quarter tion

' . . 1976 quarter Atlantic Pacific (Oct.- (July-

,-, . , to to Nov.- Aug.- Commercial: Pacific Atlantic Total Dec.) Sept.) Oceangoing 1,422 1,465 2,887 3,031 3,037 Small 1 98 78 176 141 204

Total 1,520 1,543 3,063 3,172 3,241 U.S. Government: Oceangoing 12 7 19 25 18 Small' 54 16 70 32 36

Total 66 23 89 57 54

Grand Total 1,586 1,566 3,152 3,229 3,295

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

Note: Effective 10-1-76 the fiscal year for all U.S. Government agencies was changed from July 1 through June 30, to October 1 through September 30. For continuity purposes, July, August, and September 1976 were designated the Transition Quarter. Figures shown for the First Quarter of 1976 correspond to the new fiscal year.

Statistics compiled by the Executive Planning Staff. %0SS3^ ,^ Y

• 1 \.\AL Z U .N K

3 1262 04054 8504 : -r ,': : :-.H^A