• Digitization

    Digging Through our Photo Albums and Scrapbooks

    December 11, 2024 /
    A steam shovel dumps dirt onto a train of flat wooden cars during construction of the Panama Canal.
    Photograph by Ray L. Quick. A handwritten caption on the back reads, “a steam shovel and Lidgerwood flat car train on west side of cut between Pedro Miguel Locks and temporary wooden trestle at Paraiso Junction.” February, 26, 1913. Photo Album of Ray L. Quick. 2011.999.142. Ray Quick worked in the Engineering Department during the final years of the construction of the Panama Canal.

    We saved the last post of our series highlighting the collection’s digitization efforts to showcase the number one item on our priority list of things to scan – photo albums and scrapbooks. The goal of these posts is to show you what kinds of amazing treasures we have and to get you excited about the digitization campaign.

    Our photographs and papers are physically stored according to subject matter which makes them easier to find when you are looking for something specific, but you can’t do this with albums, scrapbooks, or groups of photographs – there could be countless topics included in one item. Finding the perfect photo or piece of information buried inside one of them can be difficult. Being able to search through them digitally is much easier and it is also safer for the objects.

    A group of people sit in a motor boat tied to a wooden dock in Gatun Lake on September 23, 1978.

    It happens to us every year when we are working on our annual exhibit for the Albert H. Nahmad Panama Canal Gallery here in the library. (Did you know our gallery is dedicated to the BHS Class of 1958?)

    A few weeks after an exhibition opens, we will be looking in a photo album or scrapbook and discover an object that would have been perfect for the exhibition and it’s too late.

    Gary Hudson Album, 1974-2020. Gift of Barbara Hudson. II.2021.67.7.

    Enjoy a few treasures that we found while working on the blog post and looking through over 33 linear feet of albums and scrapbooks.

    Preserving the Past

    Brown cover of a scrapbook.
    Scrapbook of Betty Snow (Betty Chan, Betty Sutton), 1930s-1940s. Gift of Cheryl and Pat Williams. 2015. 235.1.
    Page from the Balboa High School 1943 Yearbook. There is a photo of Betty Chan.
    Betty Chan (Top Right) Balboa High School Yearbook. The Zonian. 1943

    This incredible scrapbook was created by Betty Chan, a member of the Balboa High School Class of 1943. In addition to documenting her life and Balboa High School during those years, it includes a significant amount of information about what was going on in the Canal Zone and in Panama during World War II. It is especially unique because it has materials from the Chinese community in the area and their war relief efforts. The contents include letters, school papers, tickets, invitations, programs, war bonds, ephemera, photographs, drawings, clippings, and more.

    It will be wonderful for everyone to be able to browse this scrapbook online, but digitization is also important for preservation purposes.

    The paper is extremely brittle which makes it prone to breaking and loss. As you can see in the photo below some of Betty’s writing is already gone. Digitizing it now ensures that nothing more is lost to time.

    Close up of torn paper at the bottom of a scrapbook page. Some of the writing on the page is missing.

    We have showcased this scrapbook in two classes here at UF, but it is too fragile to bring out very often or let a patron look through without assistance from a staff member.

    Because of the significant amount of fold outs, letters still inside envelopes, and other details it will take a lot of time to digitize this scrapbook property.

    Use the left and right arrows to enjoy these selected pages.

    Scrapbook of Betty Snow (Betty Fern Yee Chan, Betty Sutton), 1930s-1940s. Gift of Cheryl and Pat Williams. 2015. 235.1.

    • scrapbook page with photographs of Betty's pen pal in Hawaii, the program for the 1943 Balboa High School commencement excercises, and a program for the Order of the Rainbow Girls Installation of Officers in 1943.
    • Scrapbook page with a Pacific Side Indipendence Day 1942 program, an envelope addressed to Betty, The 1942 Balboa High School Annual Awards Day brochure, a ticket for a baseball game, and a napkin with a note on it.
    • Programs for Christmas performances, two school passes, and a handwritten note
    • A paper about the Espionage Act and a handwritten note that says, "Paper explaining the espionage act, which I had to sign when I worked for the Office of Censorship, Balboa, Canal Zone, from June to September 1943.
    • A UWSO program and ribbon. A war bond for the U.S.S. Shangri-La, and a receipt for her graduation cap and gown rental.

    Did you know…

    Cover of a photo album that reads Panama Canal Company 15 Cubic Yard Dipper Dredge "U.S. Rialto M. Christensen" History of Construction 1976-1977.

    Did you know that the Panama Canal’s famous dredge, the Rialto M. Christensen has been covered in snow?

    Although it was commissioned by the Panama Canal Commission in the 1970s and has spent its entire career in the tropical climate of Panama, it was built at a shipyard in Japan. This album contains a photographic timeline of its origin, 1976 through 1977: from the keel laying ceremony, to construction, and then testing. It also includes a photo of the workers playing soccer during a break in a snow storm.

    History of the Construction of the 15 Cubic Yard Dipper Dredge “U.S. Rialto M. Christensen, 1976-1977. Gift of Robert and Alice Christensen. 1999.8.1.

    • The Rialto M. Christensen under construction and covered in snow.
    • Three photos of the Shinto Keel Laying Ceremony in Japan.
    • A page from the album with three photos showing the dredge under construction in the snow.
    • The dredge under construction before it got its paint job.
    • Testing of the Rialto M. Christensen. The dipper bucket is coming out of the water.
    • The workers in the yard playing soccer during a break in a snow storm. Five individuals are in a snowy scene and you can not see many details of their surroundings.

    What might have been

    Cover of a scrapbook.

    This scrapbook album, “Golden Memories of My Years in the Canal Zone,” documents the years around 1958-1979 when Don Date worked as an architect in the Administration Building of the Canal Zone and includes various projects he designed: Canal Zone College, Gorgas Hospital, Cristobal High School, Balboa High School, housing, Coco Solo gym, Rainbow City theater, and more. The renderings below of proposed designs are a few of our favorites.

    Album of Don Date. Gift of Don and Loretta Date. II.2022.81.23

    • Black and white rendition of a proposed design for the Canal Zone College, at the base of Sosa Hill, Balboa, Canal Zone. It was designed by Don Date. A baseball diamond shaped building sits on a hillside.
    • A black and white rendering of a proposed design for the Ancon Passenger Station designed by Don Date.
    • A black and white study of a proposed housing building in Balboa Heights by Don Date. It is a house hold stilts.
    Copy of an order form for a t-shirt sold at the Chagres Aero Club Annual Air Show in 1979. It has an image on a one propeller bi-plane with the words Bohio Intn'L Airport Gamboa, Canal Zone.

    This flyer is also in the scrapbook. I bought a t-shirt with this design at the Friends of the Panama Canal Museum Collection Silent Auction at the PCS Reunion a few years ago – I learned while looking at this scrapbook for the blog post that the shirt was made for the Chagres Aero Club Annual Air Show in 1979.

    A small piece of a big picture

    This photo album documents part of the Chief Aptakisic‘s 1976 journey from Panama to New York. The schooner was refurbished and sailed by Sea Explorer Scouts and adult volunteers to “Operation Sail ’76,” the Bicentennial Tallship Parade in New York Harbor.

    It is just one small piece of the big historical picture that could be researched and reconstructed through the significant number of items we have about this subject. When you can view our albums in the larger context of the everything else in the collection, they have even more personal and historic value.

    Did you sail on the Chief Aptakisic or participate in the Canal Zone Project Windjammer ’76 which helped raise the money used to refurbish the 53-foot sailing vessel?

    Photo album relating to Chief Aptakisic, May-June 1976. Gift of Sherry Austerfield. II.2017.999.63.

    Yellow cover of a photo album.
    Two columns inside a photo albums. On the left are the captions and the photos are on the right.
    Closer photo of the photograph column in the same album. You can see a sailboat going through one of the locks of the Panama Canal.

    In 2021 we received a large collection of papers and photographs from George Brisbin, captain of Chief Aptakisic during the 1976 voyage. It includes work plans, blueprints, photographs, invitations, pamphlets, keepsakes, writings by crew members, clippings, and other related items.

    Other fabulous donations related to Chief Aptakisic include 16mm film footage taken by one of the crew members, additional photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, awards, and more. See our Outside the Box blogpost to learn more about AV and film items in the collection.

    Military Mementos

    Our collection includes dozens of photo albums that document U.S. military tours of duty in or on trips through Panama as well as decades of scrapbooks created by Officers’ Wives Clubs. They include photographs, newsletters, souvenirs, job notes, and many other unique items.

    An album of the 1958 Fort Amador Wives Club has already been digitized so you can get a preview of the great things to come once we are able to start scanning more.

    Two men and two women in military uniform are standing on ruins in Old Panama.
    Album cover that says "Compliments of United States Army Caribbean"
    The cover of a photo album of Victor B. La Plant, Battery F, 4th Coast-Artillery, Fort Amador, Canal Zone.
    A group of military men sit in front of a building. A caption says "Knowledge Section, 2nd F.A. Canal Zone J. Fisher, Fort Clayton."
    Drawing of communication lines from an army album.
    Cover of USARSO Officers' Wives' Club Fort Amador, Canal Zone, 1966-1967 album.
    Photo of two women with Christmas holiday decorations from an Officers' Wives Club album.
    Group of four women dressed in costume at an Officers' Wives Club event.
    Page of four photos from an Officers' Wives Club album that shows the group at Palo Seco Leprosarium.
    Photos from an Officers' Wives Club scrapbook with photos of a Christmas charity toy drive for children.
    Cover of a U.S. Army service album.
    Page from an Officers' Wives Club album with newspaper clippings about an event.
    A chart from a military album with an unknown meaning.

    Other civilian albums document the military history of the Panama Canal as well.

    Cover page to an album. It says Just Cause December, 1989. It has the Panamanian and United States flags in the middle.
    A group of young women stand in front of a building damaged during the military operation, Operation Just Cause. A military vehicle with a gun on top is also nearby.
    A street scene with signs after the military operation, Operation Just Cause. One sign says, "Thanks Guys You Are Great" with a drawn thumbs up. The other sign says, "We want Noriega for Christmas."

    Photo album of before and after Operation Just Cause, December 1989. Gift of Joe Wood. 2005.83.22.

    Albums for Governors and Administrators

    Green cover of an album from the administration of W.E. Potter, Governor of the Canal Zone and President of the Panama Canal Company.
    Blue cover to album of photos of the administration of David S. Parker, Governor of the Canal Zone and President of the Panama Canal Company.
    Red cover to an album of photos of the administration of D.P. McAuliffe, Administrator of the Panama Canal Commission.

    These official photograph albums were created to document the service of different governors and administrators. Each series has 2-4 albums. They contain images of official meetings, diplomatic visits, awards ceremonies, dinners and luncheons, on-the-job duties, the wedding of a governor’s daughter, and events in Canal Zone life. They are wonderful resources and would spark memories for those that lived and worked at the Canal.

    • Disney characters visiting the Governor's house in the Canal Zone.
    • A photo of the Governor's House staff in March 1975 and of Al Sprague getting an autographed copy of the Panama Canal Review in March 1975.
    • Administrator McAuliffe crowing the Palm Bowl Football Game Queen during half-time in November 1980.
    • A group of students and Shriners meeting with the Administrator about the Abou Saad Temple Shrine Bowl in 1984.
    • A bride and groom sign marriage paperwork on the porch of the Governor's house in the Canal Zone.
    • Governor Parker looks at an inclinometer while inspecting the Bank Stability Survillence Program in July 1973. Three other men who appear to be workers are pictured as well.

    Mapping the past

    This scrapbook includes maps of Coco Solo Stations during World War II. Because of the potential danger to installations during the war, military maps from the Canal Zone during the 1930s and 1940s can be hard to find. In addition to those official historical documents there are some great photographs of Canal Zone life.

    Gary Hudson Album, 1974-2020. Gift of Barbara Hudson. II.2021.67.7.

    Handwritten note on the spine of a three ring binder scrapbook. It says Coco Solo, C.Z. End 9/30/79, Sprague Paintings, Mola, Bush Letters, C.Z. Treaty Map.
    Map of U.S. Naval Station, Coco Solo, Canal Zone, June 30, 1943.
    Map of US Naval Air Station, Coco Solo, Canal Zone, June 30, 1944.
    A group of people sit on the side of a motor boat tied to a dock in Gatun Lake. September 23, 1978.
    A photo of students sitting at an assembly in Colco Solo Elementary School.
    Photographs of flag ceremonies at Cristobal High School. The Panamanian and U.S. flags are in the photographs.

    A Grand Finale in Gavilan

    A black and white photo of five young boys with long guns and cowboy hats. Three are sitting on the ground and two are standing up behind them.

    The best kind of photographs and other materials come with additional information.

    This scrapbook page lists the date, subject, location, and individuals pictured in the photograph at the bottom – an archivist’s dream!

    In the summer of 1947, the “Gavilan Area Gang”, consisting of James Lovelady, David Tate, Ralph Conner, Bobby Zumbado, and Charlie Hardy, was photographed playing cowboys in the front yard of quarters 1531 on the corner of Calabash and Almond Streets in the Gavilan area, Balboa, Canal Zone.

    Scrapbook. Gift of Bob Zumbado. II.2019.41.11.

    A black and white photo of palm trees silhouetted against a sunset over the water.

    We will close out this blog series highlighting our digitization campaign and our posts for 2024 with a sunset from the Photo Album Belonging to Frederick Nobles which is digitized and available for you to view in our digital collection. Gift of Helen Sheppard. 2002.143.1.

    We hope you have enjoyed this brief glimpse into the buried treasures of our photo album and scrapbook collection. They hold incredible pieces of Panama Canal history, both official and personal, civilian and military, young and old, early and late in the 20th century.

    See you in the New Year!

    Please reach out to us if you are interested in donating any albums that you have related to the rich and complex history of the Panama Canal. John R. Nemmers, Curator, jnemmers@ufl.edu, 352-273-2766.

    This post is part of a fall campaign to raise awareness about our two-year initiative to digitized more of the collection. The goal is to hire a new member of our team whose only job will be to digitize items related to the Panama Canal – that means more memories and research material online for everyone to enjoy! Click here to learn more about our digitization campaign.

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