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WINTER 1976 WILLIE K. FRIAR HAROLD R. PARFITT Editor, English Edition Governor-President ^ PANAMA A'.vg.'UANAL g RICHARD L. HUNT JOSE T. TUNON H. Spanish Edition Lieutenant Governor Editor,
FRANK A. BALDWIN Writers Panama Canal Information Officer Official Panama Canal Publication Vic Canel, Fannie P. Hernandez
Review articles may be reprinted without further clearance. Credit to the Review will be appreciated.
subscription: regular airmail single The Panama Canal Review is published twice a year. Yearly mail $1.50, $3, copies 75 cents. Canal to Canal Review, Box M, Balboa For subscription, send check or money order, made payable to the Panama Company, Panama Heights, C.Z.
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Printed at the Panama Canal Printing Plant, La Boca, C.Z.
Contents Our Cover
TOWERING TARAWA The "Tarawa" transits 3 THE is an appropriate term for the The Navy's newest multi- Navy's new assault ship shown on purpose ship is tight fit in the cover towering over the control the locks. house at Miraflores Locks. In this view one can see how the eaves of Twentv-thousand sailors on J the control house were folded down shore leave 8 to accommodate the flight deck Those were the days when which extended bevond the lock at the the fleets converged walls. Canal. Gathered on the deck are some of the 400 local residents who accepted Boom in trans-Canal the invitation of the officers and cruises 11 crew to join them on the inaugural ship was New breed, of vacationers transit of the new which seeing Canal on short air/ enroute from Pascagoula, La., where
sea trips. it was built to its home port, San Diego.
The cover photograph is by Frank Construction-day photos Baker, who was a student assistant displayed in New York 16 in the Graphic Branch at the time Exhibit of Hallen's work of the transit. attracts large audience. Inside the back cover is a Christ- mas greeting to all Review readers
Culinary' Capers 22 in the form of a mola with a Santa A dash of rum for a delect- Claus motif. The mola was photo- able difference. graphed by Arthur L. Pollack.
The case of the missing
portrait 28 Because the special bicentennial Old timers sponsored oil edition of the Review was distrib- painting as tribute to Goe- uted in July, there was no fall edi- thals. tion. Instead, this Review, the
the year, is being desig- < redit*: Photr,-, of M.O.St. A. p. 16 and 17 by second of Francavillo; interior view "Tarawa" John P. of nated the winter edition and is being p. 6 by lngalh Shipbuilding. Other photos by Arthur L. Pollack, Information Office Photog- distributed during the Christmas rapher, and Graphic Branch photographers Don season. /. . Kevin Jenkins, and Alberto Acevedo.
Winter 1976 V.S.S. "Tarawa" approaches Pedro Miguel Locks. The Tarawa transits
By Willie K. Friar
THE LHA SHIP SHALL BE The Tarawa, which is the first vessel built to transit the Panama Canal of the second largest class of Navy ship The Navy's newest without structural modification or addi- in service, had some protrusions re- tional buoyancy devices." This sentence moved before she would fit in the locks, in the basic contract for the construc- but as with the four other ships of her assault ship tion of the U.S.S. Tarawa, the Navy's class, scheduled for the future, her giant new amphibious assault ship, designers made sure she would be able made sure she would be designed to to utilize the Panama Canal. squeezes through take maximum advantage of the 1,000 The July transit of the Tarawa, not by 110 feet dimensions of the Canal only went smoothly, but it might be
locks. said that it got off to a flying start-the
The Panama Canal Review Panama Canal pilot was taken aboard by helicopter. Canal pilots usually are ferried to ships by launch but when the Tarawa, which carries landing craft and heli- copters, arrived in Canal waters, July 14, she dispatched one of her helicopters to pick up Canal pilot Capt. Frank V. Kerley, who had been assigned to guide the ship into port at Cristobal. The Cristobal Police provided two cars with flashing red lights to mark the landing area, which was a field in Old Cristobal opposite the Maintenance Division. The helicopter touched down at 10:45 a.m. and 3 minutes later was
airborne again with its passengers, which included several naval officers in addition to Captain Kerley. As soon as he was aboard the Tarawa, Captain Kerlev radioed that there would be some delay in the arrival of the ship at the pier as two of the launches carried by the vessel had to be lowered into the water and taken aboard on the port side to facilitate the docking of the vessel. The giant ship entered Cristobal breakwater at 12:40 p.m. and with the assistance of the towboats, Harding and Mehaffey, was berthed at Pier 6 AB. The Industrial Division began work immediately to prepare the ship for
transit. Since the vessel, which is 820 feet long and has a beam of 106 feet, was built to take maximum advantage of the 1,000 by 110 feet dimensions of the locks, this involved removing all protrusions such as antennas, catwalks and ladders which extended from the
Above: Guests and crew watch from the flight deck as the U.S.S. "Tarawa" ^-^k^i^u^^afa' &>_&£& which lias a beam of 106 feet, is fitted into the 110-foot wide lock chamber at Miraflores.
At right: The "Tarawa" towers
over towing locomotives and a
mercliant ship as she is
I through. More
than -100 guests gather
on deck to watch.
Winter 1976 hull and flight deck in such a way as to interfere with safe transit. This work was completed on the night of July 15 and the Tarawa began her southbound transit the next day at 6:30 a.m. Five Canal pilots were assigned to take the vessel through the waterway. Captain Kerley served as control pilot and was assisted by Capt. Louis H. Hixon, Capt. Ennis E. Daniel, Capt. Drummond McNaughton, and Capt. William L. Keller, a" pilot plat- form 33 feet high was erected from amidships to the control bridge for the use of the command pilot and the other pilots were stationed around the flight
deck, which is as long as three football fields. More than 400 Canal Zone military and civilian personnel and their families accepted the invitation of Capt. George E. Church to join the ship's officers and crew and the contingent of Marines, who were aboard, for the transit. The Tarawa entered Gatun at 8:31 a.m. and cleared Miraflores Locks at 3:49 p.m. The transit was without serious problems but a strong wind at
Miraflores made it difficult to center the huge ship in the lock chamber. She was lowered, however, without diffi- culty and docked in Balboa at 4:40 p.m. where all protrusions were re- installed. An open house was held July 21 and 22 before the ship sailed for San Diego, July 24, with Capt. Joseph McDaniel, Acting Assistant Port Captain, as pilot. Planning for the inaugural transit of the Tarawa began in October 1975 when Emil Cicchetto, of the Industrial Division's Planning Section, was sent
At top: the giant ship moves through
Gaillarcl Cut.
Above: Panama Canal pilot
Capt. Frank V. Kerley, left, and
Capt. George E. Church,
Commanding Officer of the "Tarawa,"
keep a careful watch during the transit.
At left: The "Tarawa" did not have to
tilt her antennas to get under the
bridge which spans the Canal at
Balboa although, in this photo,
it appears she might.
The Panama Canal Review ~9mL
1|? *z- i Uii
AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT OPERATIOSS to Pascagoula, Miss., to discuss plans with the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division The big LHA ships are built for amphibious assault operations—getting men and of Litton Industries, the designers and equipment ashore. Heavy equipment such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, builders of the ship. Ingalls, the largest trucks and jeeps, as well as men, ammunition and supplies are placed ashore by shipyard in the Hemisphere, amphibious craft through the ship's high well deck. Western employs 24,000 workers at one location (Seen above in a loading operation at Balboa.) Vehicles drive down ramps into in waiting boats, and supplies are loaded aboard by monorail cars that travel overhead. Pascagoula. Cicchetto later served as coordinator The well deck is 278 feet long and 78 feet wide. At the stern is a massive door for the 80 feet wide and 30 feet high, and weighing more than 90 tons. the Industrial Division when ship arrived at Cristobal. The door lifts vertically, in two sections, to open the well deck to the sea. Capt. C. W. Lewis, Port Captain, Danielson, Super- Cristobal, and R. J. intendent, Atlantic Locks, represented the Marine Bureau during the planning of transit arrangements.
The Tarawa is the largest Navy vessel to transit the Canal since the transits of the Missouri and her sister ships which are 108 feet wide. The Navy vessels now in service which are larger than LHA-1 (her official desig- nation) are the 13 attack aircraft carriers. They are the only Navy vessels now in service which cannot transit the Canal. (According to the 1975 Lloyd's Register of Shipping, there are 63,724 commercial ships of over 100 gross tons in the world's inventory of ships. Of these about 97 percent are able to transit the Canal.) Military officials have described the Tarawa as a "formidable deterrent force" because of her capability to transport combat troops and land them by assault craft and helicopters, evacu- ate citizens, and operate a hospital. Built to Marine Corps specifications, Protrusion* are removed from the vessel to make it possible for her to transit the Canal. the vessel has been called "the landing The work was performed in Cristobal by the Industrial Division. force commander's dream come true"
6 Winter 1976 by Marine Gen. Samuel Jaskilka. It an amphibious landing assault sched- team are stored below decks and trans- combines the operating capabilities of uled to hit the beaches at a.m. 6 ported to the proper deck by elevators. an amphibious assault ship, amphibious started with reveille at 2 a.m. When Helicopters are moved from the hanger transport ship, cargo ship, and landing the call came, the men made their way deck by elevator and trucks. Jeeps, ship dock. It was designed to maintain to the main deck and climbed over the tanks and landing craft are moved what the Marine Corps calls "Tactical side and down 40 or 50 feet with full within the ship on vertical ramps run- Integrity"—getting all components of a packs and weapons to a small wooden ning from the first platform, one deck balanced force to the same point at landing craft rising and falling on the below the well deck up to the flight the same time. swells near the ship. They might circle deck. Vehicles can be stored on any The Tarawa was named in honor of for hours, with 32 Marines packed in level and driven either to the landing the 1,020 Marines who died in the each craft, before being ordered to craft stored on the well deck level or to 76-hour battle on the Pacific atoll form into waves and head for the the flight deck. during November 1943 as American assault beaches. forces battled for their first foothold in While the Tarawa offers vast im- The first entirely new type of am- the Gilbert and Mariana islands during provements in moving men, the im- phibious assault ship to join the Navy World War II. More than 2,000 provements in handling material add fleet in the past decade, the Marine Marines were in this equally to the wounded battle. advantages of the ship. Corps and Navy amphibious forces' This was the first storming All supplies of an to support the landing largest vessel, the Tarawa provides the atoll by American forces and it was here that the concept of amphibious warfare was proven sound. During the terrible battle for the island, the great loss of life was due primarily to a lack The First of Her Kind of specialized equipment, communica- U.S. NAVY'S ERRANDS Has an electrical power tions, and prompt medical care. THE sub- of mercy have saved more system developing 14,000 With the U.S.S. Tarawa, the Marines kilowatts lives than its guns have ever des- of electrical power for the of today have a capability that few ship. troyed," the late Fleet Adm. This is enough electrical power to could have envisoned during that Cen- Chester W. Nimitz, once said. light 11,500 average-sized tral Pacific offensive of 1943. homes. And the Tarawa is better suited Has In addition to its full-length flight 1,200 tons of air-condi- than any other ship to carry on tioning deck, which can handle nine helicopters equipment-sufficient to this tradition. environmentally simultaneously, the Tarawa has a large control a 32-story Whether it's a typhoon in the office building or well deck in its stern, measuring 78 500 average size Philippines, earthquakes in Cen- homes. feet by 268 feet for launching and tral America or a hurricane along recovering landing craft. The well deck, Has a 900 horsepower bow a U.S. Coast, the Tarawa has the when flooded, provides ample maneu- thruster for lateral movement at capability of providing transporta- vering space and can handle any size low speeds that can move the bow tion, food, water, clothing, shelter, landing craft including the 134-foot with 20,000 lbs of force—equiva- medical care and communications ULC (Utility Landing Craft), which is lent to half the pulling power of to victims of disaster. capable of transporting three 60-ton a diesel electrical locomotive. Here are tanks and weighs tons some other facts which 400 fully loaded. Can ballast 12,000 tons of sea- the many people, who lined the The landing craft can be discharged water for trimming the Canal ship to and loaded while the banks, to watch the transit ship is underway. receive and discharge landing craft On their return might find of interest. to the ship, a unique from the well deck. line handling system is used to help The Tarawa: Was constructed with more guide the craft into the well for Stands 20 stories high and than 20,000 tons of steel, 400 tons docking. must stoop to pass under the San Diego Bridge— of aluminum, 400 miles of cable The troops, assigned to helicopters, the tallest mast is and 80 miles of piping. 221 feet above the keel it will go from their quarters to the flight but will tilt and, when folded, Has an internal communica- deck to board the waiting aircraft. the height is reduced by 23 feet. tions system with 692 phones (558 Those boarding the landing craft will touch tone, 132 net phones and go to the well deck and board boats Has 1,450 compartments about 2 switching phones). before the well is flooded. There will the same number as a large hotel. be no need, as in the past, for transfer- Has nine elevators and two Has a closed circuit TV svs- ring from a troop transport ship to a horizontal conveyors—more than tem which includes 14 cameras, specialized helicopter carrier or am- most major department stores. 22 monitors, 14 audio stations, phibious craft 3 video recorders, receivers, docking ship and no Has two boilers, the largest 48 TV more climbing 123 outlets down a cargo net with ever manufactured in the United TV and a complete rifle and full studio with film display pack to jump aboard a States, and can generate a total of 16mm and small boat in the video recorder equipment for live open sea. 400 tons of steam per hour. It can or broadcasts. Only those Marines, who served in develop 140,000 horsepower which taped landing forces during World War II. is equivalent to the horsepower of Has a flight deck 2 acres Korea and Vietnam, can fully ap- 700 average automobiles. square. preciate this new system. In the past,
The Panama Canal Review .
(Continued from p. 7) Those nere the davs . . greatest versatility in the history of amphibious operations. Although primarily a tactical vessel, which will be traveling with other ships in a convoy, the Tarawa is capable of providing a great deal of its own de- When the fleets converged at the Canal fense. With its greater than 20-knot speed it is less susceptible to attack from enemv shipping. Its armament includes three new lightweight 5-inch, 54 caliber guns, and two surface missile launchers, each with a capability of It was noted also that during the eight missiles per firing. The ship also By Eunice Richard period of heaviest naval business, from has six 20-mm machine guns, mounted July 24 to 27, 19 merchant ships and on the ship's four corners and amid- FIRST TO APPEAR OYER THE several Panama Canal craft were put ships, just below the flight deck. horizon were the battleships—eight through the waterway. An acclimatization room the size of of them. Big armor plated giants of Prior to this historic transit, the only a large gymnasium, in which the tem- more than 600 feet—the newest most U.S. Navy armada of any size to use perature and humiditv levels prepare modem of their time, steaming majes- the Canal was a practice squadron of troops to go ashore anywhere in the tically one behind the other into Limon six battleships which arrived earlier in world, is another innovation. Bay.' July enroute to South America with The Taraica is capable of moving Then came the cmisers—eleven sleek midshipmen. quickly to the scene of any natural heavily armored warships— each bear- The visit of the Pacific Fleet, brief disaster or military emergency where ing the name of a prominent United as it was, provided welcome fun and it can use its facilities to give assistance, States city. excitement for the residents of the including providing emergency elec- Following the cruisers were the fight- Isthmus. The Canal had been open only trical power or distilling enough water ing dogs of the Navy. The first con- 5 vears and during most of that time for the dailv needs of 6,000 people as tingent of the hundred and eight des- the world had been embroiled in a well as providing shelter and military troyers, showing their speed by cutting devastating world war. The allied protection. swiftly through the sun flecked Carib- navies and manv of the world mer- Medical facilities aboard the ship are bean, slowing down only when they chant ships were confined to the At- the most modem available and include passed the Cristobal breakwater. Like lantic. The navies of the United States two main operating rooms, two emer- a well trained team of gymnasts, thev and South America were on the alert gency operating rooms, a blood bank, went to their assigned moorings to off the East Coast to protect the coun- laboratories and a 300-bed hospital. await transit through the Canal. tries of the Western Hemisphere. Traf- There are also dental operating rooms, It was the first visit to the new Canal fic had been light during these years. a pharmacy, isolation and wards. of the 175 ships of the Pacific Fleet. In For her first transit of the Canal, tolls With the end of the war, new plans fact it was the first appearance of the T for the Taraica to $21,120. were being bv the ar Depart- amounted Pacific Fleet as a single unit. The U.S. made W Although ment for the U.S. fighting ships, a num- Panamanian and Colombian Navy, following the end of hostilities in ber of which had engaged in action in Government vessels pass through the Europe in 1919, had been divided with Canal toll free, all U.S. vessels, in- the north Atlantic and had been pre- half of its force to remain on the At- sent at the surrender of the German cluding U.S. Government vessels, are lantic coast and half to go to the tolls. Fleet. assessed Pacific. It was also the first time that
Transits of the Panama Canal by the strategic value of the Panama Canal It was a thrill for the local residents U.S. Government vessels—warships, was to be fullv tested. to see the powerful United States Fleet military transports, tankers, submarines. transit Canal And tested it was to the full satisfac- the new and a bonanza other types of military and char- tion of all military experts and of for the local merchants when the tered vessels—in the last 20 years have Admiral Hugh Rodman, who was the thousands of men got shore leave. ranged from as few as 182 in a yeai Panama Canal's first Marine Superin- There were manv parties given bv local to as high as 1,504 reflecting the ups tendent and was then commander-in- residents to welcome the thousands of and downs in the international situation. chief of the Pacific Fleet. white clad officers and men of the U.S. Navy. By sending troops, equipment, and The armada arrived in Cristobal all types of supplies through the Pan- July 24, 1919, and completed passage The first men who went ashore in ama Ganal during World War II, the through the Canal July 27. On July 28, 1919 mav have had a comparatively
Korean War, and the Southeast Asian Governor Chester Harding cabled the dull time of it however when the Mayor conflict the ability of the United Stal Secretary of War in Washington ad- of Panama, playing it safe, made the to react quickly and with large forces vising him that the Pacific Fleet had city bone drv for the sailors. The Star was substantially improved. left Balboa for the West ( oast having 6 Herald noted that he issued an order The four other ships of the Tarmi n "made an expeditious passage through prohibiting the sale of alcoholic bever- (lass being built with the capability to the Canal without untoward incident" ages of anv kind to the sailors and that transit the Canal, are the Saipan, and to the expressed satisfaction of they all returned to their ships bv 8 Belleau Wood, Xassau, and Da Nang, Admiral Rodman. p.m. in good order.
s Winter 1976 *.- --•-
At top: Ships of the United States fleets anchored at Balboa, March 10, 1926.
Above: The U.S.S. "Saratoga" is locked through Miraflores in March 1928.
At right: The U.S.S. "Missouri" moves through Gaillard Cut in August 1953. The "Missouri" and her sister ships, which are 888 feet long and 108 feet in the beam, arc the widest vessels to transit the Panama Canal.
No such order was reported in sub- Great White Way." There were two riers Lexington and Saratoga were sequent visits of the U.S. Navy which paydays while they were here and thev built, they too came through although following 1919 made Panama a base bought everything in sight including it was a tight squeeze. for joint maneuvers of the Atlantic and mangoes, pineapples, monkevs, squir- It was such a tight squeeze for the Pacific fleets up to the United States rels, iguanas and Spanish shawls. It U.S.S. Lexington that during her transit entry into World War II. was estimated that they spent more in March 1928 she demolished four When in January 1921, Admiral than a million dollars during shore concrete lamp posts at the locks and a Rodman arrived from the West Coast leave and the press, noting the gener- handrail on the Pedro Miguel Locks with his Pacific Fleet to join the At- osity of navy men, said there must have was smashed flat. The U.S.S. Saratoga. lantic ships for maneuvers, there was a been many jitney drivers and coach her sister ship, had made the transit a gala atmosphere. The joint fleets re- owners who became rich men over- short time earlier without incident. turned to Balboa from the Pacific for night. Thev were the largest ever to transit an 8-day stay during which 20.000 At one time in 1921, there were five the locks up to that time. Thev were sailors were given shore leave daily. U.S. admirals on the Isthmus. Most 888 feet in length and had beams of There were bullfights in Panama, pre- popular here, of course, was Admiral 107.9 feet. carnival dances and balls at the social Rodman, who had organized the new Crowds gathered to see the aircraft clubs. President Belisario Porras of Pan- Panama Canal Marine Division during carriers squeeze through and for many ama entertained the officers of the U.S. construction davs. He received local vears, the expression "be scraped by battle fleets at a banquet at the Union officials aboard his flagship, the U.S.S. like the Saratoga" was used in Panama Club. Also attending were 104 officials New Mexico, and went tarpon fishing to refer to someone who barelv passed of the Panama Covernment, officials with his old pals at Catun. in school. from the Canal Zone and members of During the following vears. the U.S. The aircraft carriers however were the diplomatic corps and their ladies. Navy made constant use of the Panama not the widest military ships ever to This was the first time that the joint Canal and converged here on an aver- transit the Canal. This record is still Beets had visited Panama and the local age of once a vear for joint maneuvers. held bv the U.S.S. Missouri and her press reported that the boys in white The tvpes of ships changed with the sister ships which are 108 feet in the made Central Avenue look like "the times but when the earlv aircraft car- beam.
The Panama Canal Review in reality lost 22 pounds on the grueling run.
When it was all over he Ten hours for the Tarawa but treated himself to a big pitcher of orange juice and began the long, only slightly more than slow process of relaxing. The day after the race, he ran a slow 8 miles and felt seven for the Colonel he was back to normal. It took much more than a week's intensive training to prepare Colonel Seiler for his Transisthmian trek. He has been By Dolores E. Suisman running for 5 years. His interest in long-distance running began with the regular "Marine FT" of
3 miles a day. Now, when he is ABOARD THE U.S.S. Tarawa Though he speaks of "the at home, he runs 11 miles to and during her transit of the lonely world of the long-distance from work and gets in more Canal, was marathon runner runner," he wasn't alone on practice at lunchtime. He totals Marine Lt. Col. David F. this race. Thirty volunteers from over 4,000 miles a year. Seiler who spent the 10 hours the Marine Barracks ran with him The 43-year-old colonel preparing for a trans-Isthmian in 5-mile relays, dousing him has won four marathons competing run the following day. with water to counter the against others in his age group. It was the final day of a week 86-degree temperature and In a number of other races, of intensive training that included carrying the fluid he needed he has been the first finisher strenuous daily workouts and a to sustain him. over 40. But he had never run special diet. Each day, he had During the run, he drank a race longer than 26 miles until run 20 miles—60 times around 3 quarts of water and 10 he crossed the Isthmus—a feat the flight deck of the giant ship. "pounds"—an amount equal to that many men half his age have The first 3 days, he had eaten a gallon—of a special racer's attempted unsuccessfully. only high-protein foods. The next mixture of fluids and salt. Colonel Seiler has 25 years of three, he had stuffed himself with The heat, he reported later, service with the Marine Corps carbohydrates. On that last day didn't bother him as he had and is a decorated veteran of of preparation, he ate only a expected it to. But he hadn't the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. peanut butter sandwich. expected to climb six major hills He and his wife, Gloria, On race day, he was up before on his way across the Isthmus, have three children at home: the sun. At 5 a.m. sharp, and they proved the hardest David, Jr., 20; William, 18; and he set out from the Fort Amador part of the race. Kathy, 14. A third son, who was Officers' Club heading down the The marathoner reached the adopted in Korea, is now 32 causeway on the first leg of his Atlantic Ocean shortly after noon, and the father of two. route, most of which followed the clocking exactly 50 miles in The colonel, who is assigned Transisthmian Highway. 7 hours 2 minutes 30 seconds. to the Operational Test and That break-of-day start was to He weighed in at 12 pounds Evaluation Division at mean that he would be near the under his normal 135. Since he Quantico, Va., was aboard the finish line before the midday had taken 10 pounds of fluid Tarawa on her maiden voyage heat overtook him. during the race, this meant he had to perform testing and evaluation of the new ship. The Tarawa was in port for a week. By the time she sailed from Balboa, Colonel Seiler had crossed the Isthmus by every means possible. He went by ship, by helicopter, by car and by train. But surely the most satisfying trip of all was his memorable transisthmian marathon run.
Above: Lt. Col. David F. Seiler, a marathon runner practicing for his trans-Isthmian run on the flight deck
of the "Tarawa" and, at left, (luring the run.
10 Winter 1976 Avalanche of publicity produces boom in trans-Canal
SHORT AIR SEA CRUISES OF 14 or even 10 davs are making it possible for a whole new breed of vacationers to see the Panama Canal. And thev are coming bv the thou- sands to satisfy their curiositv about "the big ditch," which has received an avalanche of publicitv during the re- cent political campaigns in the United States. "See the Panama Canal from vour bedroom window" and "One of the world's great hotels sails through the Panama Canal" are among the adver- tising slogans that are luring passengers to flv-cruise vacations, which the Prin- cess Line has called "seabird holidavs." Particularlv prominent among the new group of passengers are those from the landlocked states who are taking advantage of the package deals which include flving free or at special rates from various inland cities to the ports where the cruises originate.
The success of the air sea concept is a result of what Duncan Beardslev. Vice President, Marketing, for the Roval Cruise Line, calls, "The total marriafje of the airplane and the ship." He notes that as a result of skillful scheduling and marketing, passengers get a first class cruise plus air trans- portation at just about the cost of regular air fare alone. This is possible because the chartered jets used bv the Roval Cruise Line, which operates out of California, always go out full carry- ing the entire complement of passen- gers for the company's ship, the Golden Odyssey, which cruises the Mediter- ranean in the summer and features trans-Canal cruises during the winter months.
The Panama Canal Review 11 A room with
view
Whatever the variations in the air/ sea arrangements, however, passengers on trans-Canal cruises are assured of a transit in luxurious air-conditioned comfort with their ships getting pre- ferential treatment, including daylight transit, in the parade of less glamorous merchant ships which make up the bulk of the Canal customers.
The highlight of these cruises, of course, is the leisurely trip through Gaillard Cut and the locks complete with luncheon on deck so that everyone can watch the play-by-play action as the ship is lifted up and down the water stairway between the two oceans. Some of the passengers coming here during the dry season, may remember the Panama Canal during the war years. Although sailing through the jungles of Panama at that time was an awe- inspiring experience, it was often on crowded troop ships and anything but luxurious. Many are anxious to try it again on one of the new air-conditioned cruise ships.
A surprising number are repeat pas- sengers who are bringing friends along to introduce them to the engineering Ample glassed-in areas make it possible for passengers on the "Island Princess" wonders of the Canal. their In I Whatever tew the Canal transit in air-conditioned comfort but many of them other reasons for coming, line tlie the current deck railings to get an even closer view as the ship enters Mirafores Locks.
12 Winter 1976 crop of passengers like the new price tags. Short cruises and reasonable prices are attracting a younger more informal group who never before had the time or monev for a long expensive
( cean voyage which in years past was the only way to cruise through the Canal.
There is a greater choice of vessels this year than ever before. At least 21 new cruise liners have been built since 1970 and an equal number of older ships have been reconditioned. The newer ones are small enough to enter small remote ports but large enough to accommodate the full pas- senger load of the jumbo jets used to il\ passengers to and from the liners. Coming through the Canal in 1977 will be repeat customers like the Flag Jumbo jets Ship Cruises Kungsholm, Royal Cruise Line's Golden Odyssey; the Princess and smaller Line's Island Princess and Pacific Prin- cess; and the Royal Viking Line's ships, which pioneered the trans-Canal cruise ships route by scheduling regular transits for ships calling at both Caribbean and West Coast ports. produce popular The Sitmar Line will send its popular Fairsea eight times in 1977 from San Juan, Puerto Rico to the U.S. West package trips Coast on 14-dav trans-Panama voyages.
Sitmar is offering free transportation to
Above: The "Royal Viking Sky," a regular Canal customer passes through Gaillard Cut. Above right: West German tourists gather on the decks of the Soviet cruise ship, "Maxim Gorky," transiting the Canal on
an around-the-world cruise. On January 4, the "Gorky" will make a southbound transit on another around-the-world cruise.
a
Sitmar's "Fairsea," above, and Royal Cruise Line's "Golden, Odyssey," at right, are familiar dry season sights at the Canal as they shuttle back and forth on a regular schedule of short air/sea cruises.
The Panama Canal Review 13 The (anal, always
popular with
tourists, provided
train tours
through the Cut v *? during w^ the ship for these cruises. Passengers part of January on her way to the Far will be able to fly free round trip from East. any of the 114-air/sea cities to San Juan The Monarch Star, formerly the or Los Angeles on scheduled airlines. Veendam, will travel through the Canal They also will have stopover privileges the last part of April 1977, on a cruise in the port city before returning home. beginning in Florida and continuing to Sitmar's trans-Canal cruises, like the U.S. West Coast via St. Thomas, those of manv other lines, stop at La Guaira, Curacao and Acapulco. St. George, Grenada; La Guaira, Vene- After Los Angeles and Vancouver, the zuela; Willemstad, Curacao; and Aca- ship will continue on to Alaska on a pulco in addition to San Juan and Los special cruise. Angeles on westbound trips. Eastbound, The Golden Odyssey, which made the ships will sail from Los Angeles to its first Canal visit last Christmas, is Cabo San Lucas, then to Acapulco, scheduled for 10 Canal transits this transit the Canal, and stop at Willem- coming vear. It will dock at Balboa stad, La Guaira, Charlotte Amalie, on all trips whether eastbound from St. Thomas, and terminate in San Juan. Aruba to Acapulco or westbound from Sun Line's Stella Oceanis has just an- Acapulco to Aruba. Her stops are Aca- nounced a series of trans-Canal cruises jutla, El Salvador; and Cartagena, for January, February and March 1977. Colombia. Land tours in Panama and Another new wrinkle is the offer bv the Canal Zone can be purchased as a Holland America Lines to let customers part of the package. participate in segments of the 86-dav The Royal Viking line offers more world cruise of the SS Rotterdam de- trans-Canal cruises than anv other line "Golden Odyssey" passengers watch parting from New York, January 18, and permits passengers to sail from transit operations at Miraflores. and passing through the Canal the last the port that is closest to home—San The Prudential Line's "Santa Mercedes" is reflected in a A group of passengers join in a songfest with Lucho Azcdrraga, pierside puddle as she prepares to disembark passengers Panama's well-known organist, who provided in Balboa following an around South America cruise. Latin American music for the voyage of tlie "Santa Mercedes." 14 Winter 1976 PANAMA CANAL TRAFFIC Canal s historic photos displayed New York THIS FALL, THE MUSEUM OF photographs of the Canal and the when it is realized that all of these Modern Art in New York fea- Canal Zone—are the result of a brief photographs were made on the old tured an exhibit of 60 prints and 161 memorandum written bv F. B. Maltbv, 8 x 10 glass plates. He is especially to slides of the Panama Canal. All, but a Division Engineer of the Isthmian be commended for the high technical few, are the work of Ernest "Red" Canal Commission. It is doubtful that quality of his work considering the Hallen, the official photographer of the he realized the magnitude of this pho- cumbersome plates, camera, and oth^r Panama Canal from 1907 until 1937 tographic project when he wrote in equipment he had to carry to the when he retired. The MOM. A. pre- 1906: muddy construction sites while coping sented the exhibit in conjunction with "I should like verv much to have a with tropical rains and high humidity. the National Endowment of the Arts series of photographs taken at Gatun Hallen attempts no personal artistic and the New York State Council on the about once a month to show the prog- statements about the Canal but worked Arts. ress of the work. This should be done at carrying out his assignment—making Dennis Longwell, an associate cu- regularly and will become valuable. a documentary record of the construc- rator of photography at the Museum I think, in connection with progress tion and later the operation of the who spent the past 3 years planning reports. I, therefore, request authority waterway. However, the triumphs and and making arrangements for the dis- for the employment of a photographer, setbacks are recorded so proficiently play, said that he considers the Canal with whom, I understand, arrange- that, on viewing his photographs, one "one of the great earthworks of all ments have already been made, not to is immediately aware of the immense times." Speaking of the Canal photos, exceed two days in each month." engineering problems involved in the he said, "Hallen's pictures are an exam- Subsequently, Hallen was hired as digging of the Canal. ple of a major part of what photog- the official photographer and for the N. F. Karlins writing in the photo- raphy is all about—the miraculous abil- next 30 vears he went about his duties graphy column in the New York East ity to preserve time. What is now of recording the progress of the con- Side Express said: "Looking at these invisible can come to life." struction and operation of the Canal. photographs today, they are compelling Hallen's work—more than 12,000 His work is particularly remarkable statements about the manipulation of 16 Winter 1976 Arnold Marshall, who has worked in the Graphic Branch for more than 20 years, cfiecks a print with the glass plate from which it was made. A museum visitor reads the introduction to the exhibit of Panama Canal photographs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Panama Canal Review 17 Workers are dwarfed by the concrete sidewall monoliths under construction at Gatun, February 15, 1910. T/ie magnitude of the work is well illustrated in this scene at Pedro Miguel Lochs showing tlie east chamber, May 4, 1911. 18 Winter 1976 A culvert forms an interesting geometric design in this scene showing laborers at work at Gatun, August 5, 1911. Halhrn took this view of Miraflores lower locks from a crane November 10, 1912. The Panama Canal Review 19 All of Hallen's photographs are carefully identified on the glass plates. The one at left is labeled, "Culebra Cut—Looking south from Cunette. Locomotive No. 607 with train and steamshovel working on bottom of Canal, November 6, 1912." The one below is precisely identified as "Operation of Gatun Locks. Crowd on walls and lower guard gates watching water entering the west chamber of lower locks. View looking south from forebay, September 26, 1913." 20 Winter 1976 Gene Thornton, writing of the ex- magazine articles, and as background Hallen's photographs hibit in his column in the New York material for television programs and Times, said: "They are unpretentious movies. provide a permanent record shots but because of the subject Only a few of the thousands of matter some of them are quite bizarre. photographs are reproduced here. They record of even phase Without looking at the labels, we might serve as a reminder that except for suppose they depict the archeological "Red" Hallen or some photographer excavation of ancient masonry walls or like him to out everyday and simply of the building of go the construction of a set for a colossal take pictures, the heroic drama of the science fiction film. However, everv building of the Panama Canal could the Panama Canal photograph is clearly labeled and dated never have been told in such vivid and on the negative itself, so we are never precise detail. in any real doubt about what we are The Panama Canal was the first great seeing or about the photographer's in- engineering work to be thoroughly rock, sand, and water over time. tention to show it to us as clearly and recorded in photographs. An old timer Hallen's photographs more vividly truly as possible." noting this added. "Too bad they didn't reveal the immensity of the project and The exhibit at the M.O.M.A. was have a "Red" Hallen around when they the difficulties involved in constructing made up of photographs selected from were building the pyramids in Egypt. the Panama Canal when thev focus on the collection of the U.S. Militarv It would answer a lot of questions." one area and are viewed sequentially. Academy but these pictures are onlv a The transformation of the environment small part of the collection in the becomes a magical process in which Panama Canal historical files in the mountains are moved and mammoth Canal Zone. trenches cut. The cataloging of this invaluable col- "Not onlv does the principal trench, lection was done by Adrian M. Culebra Cut, appear closer and closer Bouche, Jr., who volunteered his time to completion in these photographs, but because of his great interest in the his- workers cottages suddenly pop up as if tory of the waterway. Bouche retired thev had blossomed overnight. In the recently after a long career with the last photo, just as man has succeeded Canal organization. He took on the task in cutting a huge swath in the earth, of sorting and filing the Hallen glass nature has succeeded in reclaiming negatives and those of the French some of her own land bv sending up photographers taken during the French huge palms before the worker's homes. construction period. Progress on the excavation is counter- It is unlikely that Hallen ever en- The quality of Hallen's work can be balanced by the growth of natural visoned the continued exposure that his more fully appreciated when conditions vegetation, and thev are captured to- work has received over the years. Re- under which he worked are taken gether by Hallen's camera. The pro- quests for his photographs arrive into account. He took this picture cesses, not just the object involved, are regularly at the Panama Canal Infor- after heavy rains flooded the Cut made visible." mation Office to be used in books, May 29, 1913. Like most photographers, "Red" Hallen seldom was in front of the camera. In this rare plwtograph, taken September 13, 1927, he is seen, at far right, sitting on a hank of tlw Canal, of which lie took more than 12,000 photographs during his 30-year career as official photographer. Others in the grtitp and their titles at tluit time, are: }. C. Clayhourn, Superintendent, Dredging Division; C. M. Butters, Assistant Engineer; and H. E. Snediker, Captain of Grader. The Panama Canal Review 21 Cooking With Rum By Fannie P. Hernandez 22 Winter 1976 THE NEXT TIME YOU ARE served a dish flavored with rum, as you enjoy it, reflect on the fas- cinating history of that liquor, As the major liquor distilled during the early historv of the United States, and a bvproduct of sugar-making, rum was relatively inexpensive and readily available. Casks of rum were sold alongside the staples in all country stores. By the early 1700s, the colonists were consuming approximately 12 million gallons a vear. Perhaps the oldest of all hard liquors, the drink has come a long way since a kind of rum was first made about 800 B.C. in India and China, where the juice pressed from tall, wild grass was boiled and fermented. The Moors took the grass to Spain and Columbus took some along to the New World. The root shoots were planted in what is todav Haiti and that was Chicken will have a golden glaze and a subtle flavor wlwn baked with rum and honey. Try the recipe on page 26 for a more festive holiday buffet. the beginning of the cultivation of during the long, harsh winter at Valley sugar cane, the production of sugar, Forge and helped to win the war. and rum making in the New World. While the populace was drinking the The British were largely responsible lowly rum, in the homes of the wealthy for the evolution of rum from a crude, in colonial Philadelphia, the best raw drink called "Kill-Devil" into the French wines flowed. Claret, Sherry, type mm that is popular todav. Port and Madeira were used in cooking Until recent times, rum was mainly also but it was good, old, mellow rum the workingman's drink, and the drink that was mixed with peach brandv and associated with swashbuckling sailors high quality French brandv to make and cut-throat pirates who were guz- the traditional punch that must have zling grog up and down the Spanish packed a wallop. To this day, rum is a Main in the 16th centurv. must in British punch and almost As the American colonies became svnonvmous with the word. involved in trade with Africa and the Rum is produced all over the world West Indies, a rum industry developed. wherever sugar cane is grown, and New England rum played a more there are basically two types. They than passing role in the American are the light bodied rums character- Revolution as England's import dutv istic of Cuba and Puerto Rico, and the on molasses for distilling rum was as dark full-bodied rums of Jamaica, objectionable to the colonists as the which have a strong molasses flavor. tariff on tea. After distilling, mm is colorless but it The British blockade tried to cut off rum shipments to Washington's Armv from the West Indies but the natives The chilled cucumber soup and table went out in their sloops in the dark of setting on page 22 are by Noreen Singer. night and loaded the American frigates Mrs. Singer is the wife of Panama at sea. It is said that hot rum kept up Canal pilot. Capt. Fritz Singer. the spirits of the American soldiers For recipe see page 26. The Panama Canal Review 23 e®5^ Rum Spiked Fruit Compote 3 cups watermelon balls 2 ctips honeydew balls 2 cups papaya balls 2 cups fresh pineapple, cubed Using scoop cutter, make fruit balls. After making the watermelon balls, hollow out the watermelon, leaving at least % inch of the rind to form a bowl for serving the compote. Mix the fruits carefullv and sprinkle with Vi cup sugar. Turn into the watermelon bowl and pour 2 cups of dark rum over the fruit. Chill before serving. C®^ C®5^ Rum Balls 1 cup butter or margerine 1 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon almond flavoring H cup dark rum 4)j cups flour 2 cups chopped nuts Additional powdered sugar for rolling Cream butter and sugar. Add salt, flavoring, rum and flour. Mix thor- oughly. Add nuts and mix well. Chill dough several hours or until it can be handled. Make walnut size balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. While they are still warm, roll the balls in sugar and let them cool. Then roll again in sugar until well coated. C®5^ 24 Winter 1976 a (Continued from p. 23) of rum will take a dish out of the ordinary and make it a "conversation picks up color from the casks in which Try sprinkling piece." Serve your next roast with rum- it is stored. Color is deepened by glazed onions. Make your holiday ham adding caramel after aging. Rum must rum over grapefruit more festive by serving it with pine- be 3 years old before it is put on the apple slices that have been market. sprinkled halves with brown sugar and rum and for an In the rum producing countries, broiled for a few minutes. Baste a roasting some still drink it straight. Elsewhere, chicken or duck with interesting rum is used in mixed drinks with light rum and honey. Add a teaspoon rum for cocktails and dark rum for tall of rum to the egg drinks. Devotees of the rum cult go so mixture when making French toast. first course far as to recommend switching to rum in making martinis. Rum is used also to flavor tobacco. C®5^ Bananas Baked With Rum 6 bananas, ripe but firm 3 tablespoons lime juice Ji cup brown sugar Vx cup rum chopped nuts sour cream Arrange bananas in baking dish. Combine the lime juice, brown sugar and rum. Pour over the bananas and baste while baking at 350° for about 40 minutes, turning the bananas care- fully. Add chopped nuts and slip under the broiler until nuts are browned. Serve with sour cream. Ripe plantains may be prepared in the same manner but will require longer baking time. C®5^ Not only has versatile rum found add it to barbecue sauce and use it Eggnog for a Crowd favor as an elegant drink, it has in- when baking bananas or plantains. 12 egg yolks vaded the kitchen, where it is becoming Sprinkle a little rum on fruit salads. 1 cup sugar more and more popular in the flavoring Substitute a couple teaspoons of rum 1 bottle of dark rum of sauces and desserts. Imaginative for liquid when baking cookies. Pos- 12 egg whites cooks are venturing into the use of rum sibilities are endless. in the preparation of meats, poultry 1 quart cream, whipped And for the coming holidav season, and fish. 1 quart milk prepare a frothy, delicious eggnog with In areas of Latin America, particu- 1 cup brandy one of the dark rums, make a basket larly the Caribbean, rum as the "wine Earlv on the day of the partv, beat of rum balls, prepare a fruit bowl bv of the country" is used lavishly. Cooks hollowing out half a watermelon and the yolks until thick and lemon colored. often add dark-gold rum to soups, fish stir in filling it with rum-drenched native Gradually beat in sugar. Slowly, and poultry. For years, thev have been fruits, or serve ordinarv bread pudding brandy and rum. Cover. Put in the preparing desserts reeking of rum, per- lightlv laced with creamy rum sauce. refrigerator. haps a little too powerful for the un- Here are a few recipes for those To serve, pour in punch bowl and accustomed palate. Raw rum is used who would like to venture into the fold in stiffly beaten egg whites, in the less affluent kitchens. world of rum cookery: whipped cream, and enough milk to Cooking with rum, carefully, and without getting carried away, glamor- Welcome vour friends this holiday thin as desired. izes dishes and imparts a delectable season with a symbol of fellowship— Sprinkle with a little nutmeg or flavor to foods. Sometimes just a whiff punch bowl brimming with eggnog. shaved chocolate. The Panama Canal Review '>r> Chestnuts in Rum Baked Chicken With Rum and Honey 1 3-pound chicken or chicken parts 1 pound dried chestnuts salt and pepper 3 cups boiling water 3 tablespoons butter 1 pound brown sugar, dark !j cup rum % cup water A dash of rum J» cup honey % cup rum 2 tablespoons orange marmalade Wash and drv chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a baking dish 1J» teaspoons cyrstalized ginger in pieces for a delectable and dot with butter. Bake 1 hour in Put chestnuts in boiling water and moderate oven (325°). Mix rum and simmer until tender. Drain and remove honey and pour over chicken pieces. shells and skins. Rinse off. Combine difference Continue baking until tender, turning sugar, % cup water, rum, orange mar- chicken and basting often. Chicken will malade and ginger. Bring to a boil and have a golden glaze and a subtle flavor simmer until slightly thickened. Pour that will have your guests saying over the chestnuts that have been "delicious, what is it?" packed into a sterilized jar. Cover smooth. Add remaining ingredients tightlv. When cool put in refrigerator. and mix thoroughly. Put about a table- Rum Glazed Onions Mav be used on top of vanilla ice spoonful of filling on each crepe. Turn or fresh native white cheese. cream in the edges and roll the crepe. Melt 1 lb medium size onions butter in a chaffing dish or skillet. Place U cup dark rum in pan over moderate heat and Rum Torte crepes K cup honey cook on both sides until golden brown. 2 tablespoons butter H butter cup Serve sprinkled with rum or rum /2 teaspoon salt sugar 1U cup confectioners flavored whipped cream. Boil the onions in salted water until 4 egg yolks On the Isthmus, many gallons of just tender and drain. Mix honey, rum U cup strong made with 2 tsp. coffee rum, each year, go into the preparation and butter in frying pan over low heat. instant coffee of Sopa Borracha, literally "drunken Add onions and turn carefully, spooning 16 lady fingers soup," a delicious, rum-soaked confec- the liquid over the onions until they Vi cup dark rum tion served at weddings, anniversary are well glazed. Cream butter, add sugar, beat until and birthdav parties and at other fes- fluffy. Add coffee and egg yolks and tive occasions. Here is the recipe for Chilled Cucumber Soup beat until creamy. Line a bread pan the rich dessert bv the late Mercedes 3 tablespoons butter with waxed paper. Place halved lady Smith, the wife of a former Panama )'t chopped medium sized onion fingers on bottom of pan. Sprinkle with Canal official. rum. Spread cream mixture on lady 3 chopped scallions 3 cucumbers peeled and chopped fingers. Repeat three times. Place in VA cups chicken broth refrigerator overnight. When readv to Sopa Borracha 1 pint whipping cream serve, turn out on serving plate and 1 sponge cake baked in a 12x8x2 'A cup rum frost with whipped cream. wax-lined pan 1 egg yolk Syrup 1 dash nutmeg 2 cups sugar Rum Nut Crepes In a 3-quart saucepan, saute onions 5i cup water 4 eggs and scallions in butter for 3 to 5 min- 5 whole cloves cover, steam 2 Clips milk utes. Add cucumbers, and 1 cinnamon stick Stir in broth and continue 1J5 cups flour for 5 minutes. ninch of salt for 5 more minutes. Cool, 1 teaspoon salt to steam 1 teaspoon lime juice Pour into 2 tablespoons melted butter puree in blender in batches. % cup dark rum 3-quart bowl. Beat egg yolk with cream 1 tablespoon dark rum % cup Spanish or Italian muscatel wine and rum and fold into cucumber mix- Beat eggs until foamy. Stir in milk 1 cup pitted cooked prunes or ture, refrigerate for at least 4 hours. flour salt and melted butter. Add and 1 cup white raisins Sprinkle top with nutmeg before and beat until smooth. Put in refriger- water, In a saucepan, combine sugar, serving. ator for an hour and then make crepes cloves, cinnamon, salt and lime juice. using a 6" or 7" pan. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Filling Cool to room temperature. Add rum % cup chopped pecans or walnuts and wine and pour into a jar. Add H cup sugar prunes, cover. Allow to stand for a 4 ounces cream cheese couple davs. Bake the sponge cake a 4 ounces cottage cheese, or 8 ounces day in advance; it takes the syrup more of either one readily when dry. Place in a large 2 tbs. rum serving plate. Remove spices and spoon 3 tbs. golden raisins svrup over the cake. Decorate with the 'i cup orange marmalade prunes or raisins. Yield 24 2-inch Cream the cheeses with sugar until squares. Winter 1976 PRINCIPAL COMMODITIES SHIPPED THROUGH THE CANAL (In long tons) Atlantic to Pacific Fiscal Year The case of the missing portrait Gov. Goethals by Gov. Harding By Pandora Gerard Aleman JUST INSIDE THE ENTRANCE to the newly remodeled Canal Zone Library-Museum on the second floor of the Civil Affairs Building hangs, in a simple gilt frame, a por- trait of a man wearing a white tunic. The casual visitor may not even notice it. And those who do take note will learn little of the story behind the painting from the simple plaque which reads, "George Goethals, by Chester Harding." Let us take up the thread of the story on the evening of March 6, 1915. The scene is the annual banquet of the Society of the Chagres, held at the Tivoli Hotel in Ancon. Two davs earlier, guest of honor George Wash- ington Goethals had been made a major general in the U.S. Army bv a special act of Congress in recognition of his accomplishments as chief engi- neer of the Panama Canal from earlv 1907 to its official opening on Au- gust 15, 1914. Now 56 and serving as the first Governor of the Canal Zone, he has asked to be relieved of his responsibilities. Looking out over the assembled guests, he gives his "army" a farewell salute: "We are gathered here tonight, not in hope of something yet to be accom- plished, but of actual accomplishment- Emily J. Price, left, Librarian-Curator of the Canal Zone Library-Museum, discusses the two oceans have been united .... the Goethals portrait, which hangs in the library, with Mrs. Kathryne Harding Deeble, The construction of the Canal means daughter of Governor Harding, the painter of the portrait. Harding succeeded Goethals but little in comparison with its as Got ernor in 1917. Tlu n ra\ In for the 3-cent stamp, above, was made from coming usefulness to the world and the same photograph that Hardin" selected as a basis for the painting. what it will bring about. Its complc- 28 Winter 1976 tion is due to the brain and brawn of army of workers of their beloved Washington he returned in 1915 as en- the men who are gathered here—men friend, 'the Colonel.' Your husband's gineer in charge of maintenance. On who have served lovallv and well; and sterling qualities will remain a happv Januarv 11, 1917, he succeeded George no commander in the world ever had memory while we live, and his work W. Goethals as Governor of the Canal a more faithful force than that which here will endure always as a monu- Zone. worked with me in building the ment to one of the world's greatest In 1921, after serving out his term Panama Canal." engineers." as Governor, Harding went to Paris, But if those men were the bodv of And the men collected funds for a where he studied art and began to the Canal enterprise, Goethals was its memorial volume of "items relating to make a name as a portraitist. \ ei \ soul. He knew even- detail of the his life and work on the Isthmus" for There is obvious delight in his re- complex operation; he was out on the presentation to Mrs. Goethals. sponse to Mcllvaine's querv about the lines from early morning, checking But still they had not done enough. Goethals portrait: progress, encouraging the men, solving On July 29, 1931, Executive Secre- "If the old timers et al. are con- problems; and he was easilv accessible tary C. A. Mcllvaine wrote retired sidering the presentation of an oil por- to anvone with a grievance. As the Brig. Gen. Chester Harding, saving trait of the General to the Canal, and refrain of "Tell the Colonel," a son-; Isthmians had heard he had painted would like me to paint it, I should feel popular among the workers, tells it: "an excellent likeness" of Goethals and most honored, and I would undertake "See Colonel Goethals, tell Colonel asking whether it was for sale. "A num- it under the inspiration of the affection Goethals, ber of old timers here," he said, "feel I shall alwavs feel for him and for It's the only right and proper thing that here is the place for the portrait those same old timers who supported to do. to be hung permanently." me so lovallv when I was with them." Just write a letter, or, even better, Bv September, Harding had formed Arrange a little Sunday interview." a good idea of what he would like to That his army of workers returned achieve in the portrait. The hanging of his affection and esteem was shown not "I have in mind what is known as a only in the way they moved waters and bust portrait, or at the largest, a half- earth at his command but in their the painting was length, and I feel that it should repre- words and deeds long after the con- sent the General as he was known and struction era had passed. the first local beloved, and is remembered, bv the Some 75 members of the Old Timers 'Canalers,' wearing his white jacket. It I think, be painted from a Society of New York City were on the recognition of should, Isthmus in Januarv 1928 to renew old photograph taken on the Isthmus." associations and memories and see with In his letter to Mcllvaine, Harding Goethals' role their own eves the success of the work added that he had been getting $500 thev had helped complete. Goethals for his bust portraits, "but if that figure too was to have come, but, too ill to in the building cannot be conveniently subscribed, travel, he sent a letter of greeting. I would not let the fact stand in the On Januarv 21, a committee of Old of the Panama Canal way of my having the opportunity to Timers acknowledged his thoughtful- paint the portrait." ness in a letter which concluded: The white coat which Harding men- described "A few vears ago a vast armv of But the painting in question be- tions—and which had been "a waiter's workers eagerlv toiled beneath a tro- longed to Mrs. Goethals, having been bv at least one man as 1 did indeed have special signifi- pical sun to remove a great natura painted at her request. It was the coat"— old timers. barrier to man's advancing civilization second Goethals portrait that Harding cance for the When Goe- thals, a militarv man, took over as chief Their success was due to vour leader- had done; the first was hanging at the ship, the patriotic, cohesive spirit that West Point. engineer after the resignation of popular capable civilian John F. animated them to accomplish the pur- It is, perhaps, surprising enough to and pose of their native land, and the find a retired Army general devoting Stevens, he faced a near-mutinous at- c friendlv cooperation of the Republic o himself to painting; that he had been titude on the part of the workers. Panama and her citizens. The barrier called on to paint two portraits of Thev were apprehensive that, as one is removed and mankind is the richer Goethals might be downright mystify- writer put it, "now the work would thereby. To have been a member of ing to one unaware of Harding's back- have to be carried on with due cere- that armv was a privilege, to have ground. monv and that when an officer ap- 1« i ii its leader an imperishable honor. Although Chester Harding was the peared evervone would have to stop "We affectionately greet you, our nephew—and namesake—of a well- and salute." Goethals wasted no time Chief." known portrait artist, there is nothing in putting those fears to rest, and This eloquent testimonv of their in his earlv life to suggest that he throughout his stav on the Isthmus his high regard for Goethals never reached might carry on the tradition. An 1889 uniform was not that of the Army him. He died al noon that verj day. graduate of West Point, Harding was officer but the distinctive white jacket. Panama Canal and Panama Railroad commissioned in the Corps of Engi- In late September, Mcllvaine for- employees on the Isthmus immediately neers and, as a major, in 1907 was warded to Harding eight photographs pooled their resources to send flowers assigned to the Panama Canal project of Goethals taken by official Panama to the funeral and cabled Mrs. as engineer of the Gatun Locks Divi- Canal photographer "Red" Hallen and Goethals: sion. From 1908 to 1913, he was asked Harding to begin the portrait. "The death of our former chief has assistant engineer of the Atlantic Divi- Incidentally, the photo General deeplv affected us all, and bereft an sion, and after a year's assignment in Harding selected was used again in The l'w \\i a Canal Review 29 a One of the few photographs of Goetlials during his years on the Isthmus when he was not wearing his white suit. Here dressed in a dark suit, he visits the Gamhoa dike in 1913. Witli him, back to camera, is Chester Harding, then a major and chief of dredging and marine operations. The other man is Lt. Col. H. F. Hodges, who was in charge of solving all the important engineering problems of the Canal. The men were accompanied by tlieir wives. No event during the construction of the Canal attracted more attention among employees than the blowing up of this dike, October 10, 1913, letting the penned-up water into tiie Cut and uniting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. The dynamite charge was set off in Washington, D.C. by President Woodrow Wilson. 1934, this time as the basis of an en- Painting and frame reached New times with the cheerful, quizzical light graving for a new Canal Zone stamp York in good time. Rossbottom dis- in his eyes which is so well caught and when the letter rate was raised to played the oil painting at the New portrayed by an artist who knew him 3 cents. The stamp was issued Au- York dinner and shipped it to the Isth- equally well." gust 15, 1934, on the anniversary of mus shortly thereafter on the SS Ancon A special committee had been ap- the Canal opening, and is still in use. in care of the purser, who was to per- pointed to suggest a permanent loca- In fact, the 3-cent Goethals stamp saw sonally deliver it to the railroad's tion for the portrait. After due a good deal of service recentlv after receiving and forwarding agent. On deliberation and experimentation, thev the 1 3-cent airmail stamp was discon- May 18, a railroad official carried it recommended hanging it in the rotunda tinued and before the new all-purpose aboard train No. 3 and, once in Bal- area of the Administration Building, 1 3-cent stamp was introduced. boa, hand-delivered it to Mcllvaine. outside the library. They chose the spot In order to give as manv Isthmian Mcllvaine advised Harding that he for its availability to the public and its old timers the chance to share in the could cash the check with a clear relatively good lighting, day and night. work, contributions for the portrait conscience. His tribute went further: Before the portrait was actually were limited to $1 each. This meant "We are exceedingly pleased: the hung, memos and sketches flew back there would be 500 contributors! portrait is much more lifelike than a and forth among Calhoun, Smith and Work on the portrait continued photograph and nothing but praise is Marstrand of the committee. Smith apace. On April 30, 1932, Harding heard of it. All of us who were for- advocated constructing a box-frame wrote Mcllvaine that he had shipped tunate in haying contact with him re- with a light or small heater to prevent "the Colonel's" picture to Panama member seeing 'the Colonel' manv mold and deterioration from dampness Railroad Vice President T. H. Ross- bottom in New York, that "the frame ordered from Chicago is promised to arrive at Rossbottom's office not later than the morning of May 7," and that he hoped both would arrive in time for unveiling at the New York Societv of the Panama Canal dinner, set for the evening of May 7 at the Astor Hotel. Harding went on: "As I like to con- sider myself as one of the 'old timers,'' I wish to contribute the frame, so there will be no additional charge over the amount of the check you sent me"— check which, however, he categorically refused to negotiate until he had the final word from Mcllvaine and the Chester Harding, who was appointed Governor of the Canal Zone in 1917, visits old timers as to the portrait's accept- Gatun Locks. His long association with Goethals, combined with his artistic ability, ability. made him the ideal person to paint the portrait. 30 Winter 1976 and with a glass face to protect the Goethals' white jacket had special significance for painting from "the flying insects which mlrst this building." But he was out- voted, and the unprotected painting the "old timers." They remembered how, during construction was hung within a few davs of its arrival. Goethals had alreadv been honored davs, he wore it whether reviewing the Marines at Camp Elliot by the New York Port Authority, which he had served as a consulting engineer, and which on Julv 1, 1928, or at social functions at his residence. inaugurated the Goethals Bridge be- tween Elizabeth, N.J., and Howland Hook, Staten Island, N.Y. But, as a Panama Canal press release of the time noted, the hanging of the portrait by Harding was "the first local recogni- tion of the fact that Gen. George W. r t " * " Goethals was connected with building ' ' the Panama Canal." -?* "15SSJJW58 Smith's misgivings about hanging the portrait without protection were apparentlv well founded, as in 1936 Marstrand noted that "the canvas is accumulating smudge, so it is soiled in spots." After some urgent consulta- tion, the painting was cleaned and treated with the same solution that had been used with success on the murals in the rotunda of the Administration Building. After that, the record becomes sketchv. Panama Canal Review A ^r^ i article in 1954 showed a 1940 photo of two of Goethals' grandsons standing to either side of their grandfather's desk in the Executive Secretarv's office, with the portrait hanging on the wall behind them. Another pair of grand- sons were shown in a 1947 photo, on either side of the easel-mounted por- trait in a niche outside the rotunda. The painting remained on display for vears after those visits. But when in September 1968 the chief of the Historical Division of the Office of the Chief of Engineers wrote asking for photos or transparencies of the portrait, it was nowhere in sight. For weeks, Canal officials scoured the building. At last, one searcher was inspired to try the safe deposit vault in the basement. Asked, "Have you seen anything that might be the Goethals portrait?" the woman seated behind the iron railing thought a minute, then an- swered. "Well, there's something down here bv mv right foot." There was, indeed—a package carefully wrapped in brown paper. The paper was torn quickly from one comer, and the Goethals portrait had been found. Getting it out was not easy, though; part of the railing had to be removed. The Panama Canal Review 31 V The "Genius of the Panama fanal" was also the founder of the Canal Zone Library In the foyer of the recently renovated Canal Zone Library-Museum Goethals' hatrack is displayed along with sonic wicker furniture from the Tivoli and t)ie hell from the "Ancon," the first ship to transit the Panama Canal. At left: Nan S. Chong, Panama Collection Librarian, and Beverly C. Williams, Chief of Readers' Services, check over some museum items including a rack used for carrying trays in the old Ancon Hospital during construction days. Left below: Michelle Duncan enjoys a book in the reading alcove of the newly refurbished children's section. Now that it had been brought to all sorts. The atmosphere was anything light, there was time to speculate on but conducive to contemplation of a how the prized portrait had found venerable portrait. The painting was such a resting place. Gradually, the taken down, carefully wrapped by the story was pieced together. mailing department, and placed, pro- In 1958, a major renovation of the visionally, in the safe deposit vault. interior of the Administration Building When a high drawer was installed was undertaken—as a December 1957 behind the railing, the supporting Review put it, "the first change of boards sandwiched the painting in, any extensive nature to be made in giving it real "protection." And there the Canal's Administration Building it remained for a decade. since it was built under the watchful The years and the climate had not eye of Col. George W. Goethals 43 been kind to the Goethals portrait, but vears ago." Ironicallv, the renovation, its rediscover}- was greeted with joy in which involved chiefly installation of at least one segment of the Canal or- air-conditioning, modern lighting and ganization. The staff of the Canal a new elevator, relegated to obscurity Zone Librarv-Museum wanted very the portrait of the very man who had much to display it in the library—and superintended the original construc- with good reason. tion. On August 24, 1914, 9 days after The building swarmed with car- the Canal had been formally opened penters, electricians, air-conditioning to world commerce, Colonel Goethals technicians, painters and workmen of issued a circular to all heads of de- 32 Winter 1976 Governor Harding's (laughter returns after 56 years DURING A NOSTALGIC VISIT esprit de corps and the pride of to the Isthmus a few months ago, involvement. Kathryne Harding Deeble, daughter of The Hardings left the Maj. Gen. Chester Harding, construc- Isthmus in 1913, returning tion-day chief of dredging and marine in 1915, after the opening of the Canal. operations, Atlantic Division, and later Harding was appointed Governor in the second Governor of the Canal Zone, 1917, serving until 1921. recalled a happv childhood at Gatun from 1907 to 1913. The Hardings lived It was during his tenure of office in a wooden structure she referred to that Kathryne married the young Armv as a "bird cage." It was on stilts, had officer she had met at West Point who a wrap-around veranda and windows later was assigned to Fort Sherman. that had to be nailed shut during the Capt. William Deeble proposed under dry season trade winds. the big tree that still stands in front of Children spent most of the dav the CHESTER out Governor's house and thev were HARDING of doors. Being from the north, and married on April 14, 1920. It was a PANAMA CANAL missing the fun of snow and sledding, simple but beautiful evening wedding they devised sleds of cardboard boxes at the Governor's house. Following the and soon were sliding down the hills reception, the couple got into the to the trenches, often dodging the Governor's victoria which was drawn Kathryne Harding Deeble takes the wheel sanitation men with their oil cans as by two matched bays. The driver, tlw tug, which of was named for they were spraving for mosquito immaculate in his white uniform and her fattier who served Governor as of the control. pith helmet, drove them to the station, Canal Zone 1917 from to 1921, on Mrs. Deeble spoke of the constant where they boarded the "Yellow Peril" her recent visit to the Canal Zone. stream of visitors who came to see the for a trip across the Isthmus to the Mrs. Deeble christened the tug in Canal and how her father verv often Washington Hotel. They sailed the fol- New Orleans in October 1970. She was brought unexpected guests for dinner. lowing day to the United States on a accompanied on her visit to the Comparing the Canal construction to United Fruit boat, stopping at Car- Isthmus by her son, William. today's space projects, she recalled the tagena, Barranquilla and Jamaica. partments and divisions, announcing serves the Panama Canal Company- restored portrait of George Washing- that "in connection with the consolida- Canal Zone Government as an official ton Goethals was hung in the library, tion of records, a library is being es- reference and technical resource li- when- "the Colonel" is doublv hon- tablished in the new Administration brary, while serving the general public ored—as the "Genius of the Panama Building at Balboa to provide for the as well. It has grown to include the Canal'' and the founder of the library. accumulation of official books, docu- main library, three branch libraries, ments, reports, etc., which are indis- three small circulating libraries, and criminately kept in the various offices two job-site libraries. Its collection com- on the Isthmus at present." prises 305,000 items, including docu- From the nucleus of books contri- ments, pamphlets, bound and unbound buted by offices of the Panama Canal magazines, maps, prints, manuscripts, and Panama Railroad grew the library - photographs and microforms in addi- museum we know todav. For vears, its tion to books. And it houses a world- collection was housed in what is now famous collection of material on early the Press Section of the Information surveys for a canal at Panama, the his- Office, and it was outside this area that tory of the Panama Railroad, and the the Goethals portrait originally hung. construction of the present Canal. Then the library moved to the Civil The portrait was promised to the li- Affairs Building in Ancon, where its brary, and restoration work was begun quarters were recently expanded and bv local artist Mrs. "Pete" Johnson. modernized. General Harding's frame was repaired j\dir Ford and her son, Mark, clieck a list Today, some 62 years after Goe- bv the Maintenance Division, and of new books. Tlie wicker table and thals started it, the librarv-museum still within a vear after its rediscovery the chair are from the old Tivoli Guest House. The Panama Canal Review 33 ^ .f* C HOBblM VOAOM ^ ^; #F ** CT* '*s rHERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy New Year but the mola with the Santa Claus design, on the opposite page, says it in an art form unique to the Cuna Indians of the San Bias Islands. The special qualities of the Cuna art, which can be seen in this Christmas mola, are produced by sewing several layers of contrasting colored cloth together and cutting the design into each layer so that the contrasting color underneath creates the desired effect. Then the edges are carefully folded under and sewn by hand. Perennially popular with local residents as well as tourists, molas continue to stimulate new ideas for their use. The latest Christmas gift idea is a wall hanging made from 12 to 24 molas. 34 Winter 1976 Du« 3 1262 04054 8504