(Aug 11, 2026)
The Panama Canal is 51 miles long and crosses the Isthmus of Panama between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. There are 3 locks on each side, to lift ships up to the Gatun Lake 85 feet above sea level (created by damming 2 rivers) and down the other side. Wally showed an original ink-drawn map of the completed canal. He also passed around a copy of an old book, “Destiny by Design”, on the construction of the Panama Canal with photos.
Before the canal was built, there were many earlier proposals to shortcut shipping and travel time between the oceans while avoiding the long and perilous journey around the tip of South America or walking across the mountains in Panama (then a part of Colombia). The California gold rush in the late 1840s and economic development of the Western US increased demand for a shorter way to the Western US besides wagon trains. The French tried to construct the Canal (1881-1889) after having successfully constructed the Suez Canal in Egypt. However, they were unprepared for rainy season conditions, mountains, poisonous snakes, and tropical mosquito borne diseases (with no treatment available then) killing thousands of workers.
Then the US tried to acquire the existing assets, with some supporters favoring a Nicaragua route instead (longer but less mountainous and disease-ridden, but that route was shot down by reports of active volcanoes there). An offer to buy the Isthmus area from Colombia was rejected because of the high price it wanted, so the US fomented a rebellion of independence by Panama in order to obtain the canal assets at a lower price (a bullying discount) from the new Panama Republic. The US construction of the Panama Canal from 1904-1914 was done with the US maintaining sovereignty over the Panama Canal Zone. Housing and other infrastructure was built for staff, and successful efforts were made to control the mosquito borne diseases, especially yellow fever and malaria. The Canal was formally opened in 1916 (after temporarily closing from a landslide). Decreased water availability in the lake, especially in recent years, can force a decrease in shipping traffic. Panamanian protests against US control led to a treaty in 1977 transferring control from the US to Panama with guaranteed permanent neutrality of the canal.
Wally Christmas described his own experiences there, spending 2 years in Balboa on the Pacific Coast. He remembers heavy rains for 45 minutes every afternoon from May to Nov, making a roar on the corrugated tin roofs. Temperatures were in the 80s and 90s (no air conditioning). He didn’t see many insects except for cockroaches, but there were many wild animals including iguanas and a sloth that he encountered hanging upside down from a handrail. Paved roads didn’t go far, so most people took the train to the Atlantic coast. The rail passenger cars were built in the 1800s and had wicker seats and kerosene lamps, and were coal-fueled. There were 2 high schools with intramural sports and weekend teenage dances and parties, a swimming pool nearby, and fishing opportunities.