Cristobal High School
Cristobal, Canal Zone
Class of 1973
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Cristobal High School Cristobal, Canal Zone Class of 1973 |
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Do You Remember...
Courtesy of Barbara Stanfield Koehler
Do you Remember...
Getting
micha bread hot out of the oven at a Colon bakery… Carnival... sliding down
the hills on palm fronds ... chivas… Chasing the rain ... a kiss under the
palm trees at Rio Del Mar beach ... a picnic at Summit Gardens ... a drive thru
the Forest Preserve ... riding the Panama Railroad ... the submarine races out
on the causeway ... a "real" tropical rainstorm ... Christmas tree
burns ... dances at the Tivoli ... walking the Las Cruces Trail ... weekends at
Santa Clara ... French Fries and gravy ... Ring-a-levio at dusk ... Going home
when the streetlights turned on … Sunset over the Caribbean… warm water to
swim in ... the sound of tropical birds flying over your head ... ships
transiting thru the lock chambers and silently passing over the Gatun Lake ...
tree stumps sticking up in the lake area, seen from the train window ...
sunshine on your face ... the beaches ... the Spillway with all gates open ...
ginup season ... eating limes with sugar ... Lucho y su conjunto ... the sweet
sleep with rain on a tin roof ... train rides to football games on the
"Other Side" ... Cayuco races ... Pina Beach ... Devil's Beach ...
Fort San Lorenzo ... Ski Docks ... Gulick Heights ... Battleball at the Gym ...
hanging out in a hammock ... the "other side" being the opposite side
of wherever you lived ... army deuce and a half's rumbling thru town ...
parachutes coming down in Gatun… jeeps full of G.I.'s whistling at the girls
... the beauty of blue skies and white clouds on a Dry Season day ... warm rain
... enjoying mango season, from green to ripe ... hearing the sounds of Colegio
Abel Bravo's band floating across the bay from Colon ... the sound of Colon kids
shuffle-step marching to school in the morning ... onion rings at the American
Legion ... KC hamburgers ... the Auto Cine ... panning the majestic banyon trees
on Roosevelt Avenue ... fried chicken at the Gun Club…... garbage cans
rumbling down Hills… an empty lock chamber ... swimming at K-9 ... the DDT
truck ... Burning beans ... leaf cutter ants ... Tall Saw grass … Black Palm
berries ... sticking Hibiscus buds on your face ... weekends at Taboga Island
... Train stop at the town of Freehole… camping out ... setting the jungle on
fire ... Camp Chagres Boy Scout Camp ... meat on a stick ... the Sunday lottery
... mango fights ... Nancy trees ... Empire Range ... the Third Locks ... Far
Fan Beach ... green mangos and salt ... Teen Clubs ... swimming in the ditches
after a big rain ... John Wayne speaking Spanish... Chorerra Falls ... Operation
Banyon Tree ... cases of soda delivered to your home for a dollar ... stalk of
bananas hanging in the closet ... Chinese Gardens ... collecting snakes ... the
Chicken Coop ... Trick or Treat till midnight ... Friday night at the skating
rink, then walking fast to make the Owl Show ... the American Legion floor
sinking with the music ... Bingo at the Margarita Clubhouse …Saturday
Speedboat Races at Cristobal Yacht Club... the Saturday afternoon matinee ...
Bats in the theater … swimming races for movie tickets during summer vacation
at Gatun Pool ... laying in the grass and gazing a the vast array of stars at
night, feeling the earth spin ... walking the railroad tracks from the Aids
Bldg. to the Gatun Yacht Club ... line-fishing with breadballs at the police
launch shed ... hotdogs with steamed buns from the Aids… catching guppies at
the pond ... eating c-rations ... fishing on the Chagres River ... climbing
trees ... skydiving over CocoSolo/France Field ... ceviche … 25 cent Jax...
sneaking on board ships docked at Pier 1 ... meatball sandwiches from the Napoli
... drag races at France Field ... beer chugging contests ... toad hunting at
night ... high test cigarettes at the Metropolitan ... Margarita's "Snob
Hill" ... Margarita Gym ... Ft. Gulick swimming pool ... France Field crabs
... the Trans Isthmian Highway ... Jamboree parties at the Ski Docks ... riding
mini-bikes through Gatun on the sidewalk through the jungle ... Sizzling Stakes
at the Elks' Club… eating fried wontons at the American Legion in Gatun ...
riding horses through the back trails by Mindi Acres and Ft. Davis ... waiting
for the tunnel to come up while taking the train to the football games ... fried
corvina -- anywhere ... catching the ferry to Ft. Sherman ... drinking cool
cerveza Panamas at the beach .. Hot feet on the black sand at San Carlos beach
... 5 cent ice cream cones at the YMCA ... the Canal Zone -- of course we all
do! ... the Observatory ... low flying planes ... plantain chips ... rubber ball
fights ... swimming in the "blue holes" ... seaplanes taking off and
landing behind CHS ... seeing the sun come up behind the Seventh Fleet lined up
at the breakwater awaiting transit thru the canal ... Chinese plums ... the
Guardia Nacional flag-raising every morning on your way to school in Cristobal
... "gooey" cinnamon buns at Margarita Clubhouse ... swimming lessons
with Coach Palumbo ... teen club dances at Coco Solo... empanadas -- anywhere
... drinking "Purple Passion"... throwing up "Purple
Passion"… Riots of '64 ...
looking at the sky at night ... watching ships transit the Canal while sitting
on your front porch… bowling… football
games in the rain ... many good friends and wonderful times ... plantain --
anytime, anywhere in any shape or form ... Saturdays and Sundays at Devil's
Beach ... Parties at Gatun Yacht Club ... Beer and Pizza at Ft. Davis snack bar
after Friday night football games ... putting pennies on the train tracks ...
home made durros… Waterfalls half way to Pina Beach, going down the s-curve
hill ... Hidden beaches past Pina Beach ...Parties at (The Trees), west bank
Gatun ... Mine Docks keg parties ... Sea wall parties, Coco Solo ... France
Field car and bike races ... Summer night volley ball at Coco Solo gym ... Mindi
Enduros ... Short Track Races at Mount Hope ... Moto Cross west bank of Gatun
... Getting lobster from the reefs outside break wall at night ... Cars and
buses lined up from Ski Docks to Spill Way (Jamboree Party) ... Seeing people
off on the SS Cristobal going on vacation ... Clay Hill ... Christmas tree wars
... UFOs over the Canal Zone in the late 1950s ... weekends at Santa Clara ...
the spider monkey at Rio Mar ... fishing for Bluegill in Gatun Lake ... the
Uncle Bob show ... Tarpon club … tree frogs at El Valle ... looking for
escaped pet kinkajoos ... riding horses at Santa Clara ... camping with the
scouts in the interior… Eating at the PX ... chasing iguanas… the manual
pinsetters at Bowling Alley ... eating "raspadilla" snow cones near
the Canal Zone bus terminal ... Gatun Library… the sound of a old palm branch
falling from a palm tree ... the smell of over ripe mangos covering the ground
... the best pizza in the world from the "Napoli" ... eating monkey
meat on a stick ... the sound of the approaching rain coming from the jungle ...
sound of the bullfrogs… the sweet
and sour delight of your first ginup ... watching the buzzards fly around… the
view at night of the Thatcher Ferry bridge from Ancon Hill ... Jungle Survival
School… The bathroom on the train, clear shot to the tracks ... Digging for
bottles around Ft. San Lorenzo ... Dredges in the Canal ... Running through the
saw grass ... Tether ball and dog piles… Milk bottles delivered to your door
... the Las Cruces Trail ... ... the smell of grass fires in the interior
... The Barn (Margarita) ...The Valley (Margarita) ... fishing at Pier 1 in Coco
Solo ... the sound of rain all night long ... sound of venders trying to get you
to buy something ... Chorrera Falls ... ships all blowing their horns on New
Year's Eve ... Front Street in Colon … sound of the train as you traveled back
and forth ... the squeaking of the coatimundis coming out of the jungle every
evening looking for bread to eat ... snorkeling off Pina Beach close to Ft. San
Lorenzo ... Rainbow Girls … opening day ceremonies for the Girl Scout Camp in
Gatun ... and camping there as a Girl Scout ... Santa Clara beach…
playing in the rain in the flooded streets of Coco Solo when the water
was so high the streets and curbs were gone ... swimming off the rocks behind
the Breakers Club in Coco Solo ... the swampy area between Coco Solo and
Ft. Randolph known only to Coco Solo kids as "Mahongy" ... climbing
the fence and getting sugar cane in the restricted area of Ft. Randolpoh -- and
getting caught by an M.P. wanting to know your name ... giving the "wrong
(made up) name" … tar in the cracks of the street that is just like
"play dough" ... eating the pollen off the Hibiscus flowers ...
ordering a basket of popcorn shrimp for $2.00 at the Cristobal Yacht Club ...
the crabs covering the road on the Coco Solo corridor by Cristobal High School
-- and the smell after they got "run over"…the sound of the palm
trees during dry season when the trade winds blew ... the smell of the Caribbean
... Mindi Dairy chocolate ice cream -- sooooo creamy -- so good! ... Brazos
Brooks Golf Club... driving through the forest preserve at night with no lights
on ... 12-family housing near Gatun Locks… Gatun Elementary School ... being
entertained by "Leo" the Gatun Yacht Club bartender with paperfolding
and lemon basketball ... having green hair before it was an "in" thing
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Last Update 07/