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From the Stacks: Lights, Camera, Action!
In this photograph, young girls in costume perform for a camera crew. Can you identify the people in this photo? Do you know what these girls were performing? Do you know which year this might have been? Where might this have been broadcasted? How did television differ in the Canal Zone from what you would see in the mainland United States? Make sure to join us for the 2018 Panama Canal Society Reunion in Orlando from June 27 – July 1, 2018, where there will be an exhibit about popular culture in the Panama Canal Zone on display. See more information and register here: https://www.pancanalsociety.org/reunion.html. We hope to see you there!
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From the Stacks: Sack Race
Here we see a mad dash for the finish line in a photo labeled “Margarita MRA sack race.” Can you confirm if “MRA” is the Margarita Recreational Association? What do you know about this group and/or event? What were some other recreational events you attended in the Canal Zone? Make sure to join us for the 2018 Panama Canal Society Reunion in Orlando from June 27 – July 1, 2018, where there will be an exhibit about popular culture in the Panama Canal Zone on display. See more information and register here: https://www.pancanalsociety.org/reunion.html. We hope to see you there!
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From the Stacks: President William Howard Taft
This photograph is from 27th President of the United States William Howard Taft’s visit to the Canal Zone. Check out the Library of Congress website for videos of Taft’s visit: https://www.loc.gov/item/mp76000111/. This website suggests that the visit was in 1910 and that he spent much of the visit inspecting canal construction. Do you know where in the Canal Zone this picture might be from? Can you remember any other political figures visiting the Canal Zone? Make sure to join us for the 2018 Panama Canal Society Reunion in Orlando from June 27 – July 1, 2018, where there will be an exhibit about popular culture in the Panama Canal Zone on…
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From the Stacks: Captain’s Dinner on the Panama Line
Here we see a menu from a Captain’s Dinner for the U.S.S. Ancon on June 17, 1951, complete with a watercolor image of the Panama Canal. . Did you ever attend a special dinner on the Panama Line? How did events like this occur? Was the cruise ship docked for the entirety of the dinner? Make sure to visit the Albert H. Nahmad Panama Canal Gallery and see Served in the Zone, an exhibit about the cuisine found in the Panama Canal Zone!
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From the Stacks: Red Wing Grasshopper
This Red Wing Grasshopper is a part of the Luke C. Palumbo (1912 – 2006) Insect Collection. The insects, amphibians, marine life and other jungle “critters” in this collection come from Coach Palumbo’s private collection. Having collected specimens in and around the Canal Zone and jungles of Panama, Coach Palumbo displayed portions of them in his home, at Cristobal High School and at presentations both in Panama and the United States. The Panama Canal Museum Collection gratefully appreciates the generosity of Judy Palumbo Gates and the rest of the Palumbo family for their donation of the specimens to the collection. Which insects and animals do you remember encountering during your…
