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things is Diana Dombrowski. Today's July 8th 2011. I'm in Orlando, Florida at the Panama Canal conference here with Mr Piper. Could you please tell us your full name? Pardon? Could you tell us your full name, please? My full name is homework. W Piper. Okay. Right. And what was it you were telling me about you and your brother?

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Yeah, my brother and I Course he's eight. Here. He was eight years older than me. Okay, See on, uh, then there were two other brothers born in Panama. He was born in the United States when I was conceived, then my mother went to the United States for me to be born.

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Really? From Panama? Yeah. Oh, wow. Okay. Well, you see, I shouldn't say this, but all the hospitals were Army hospitals. They don't know anything about women on birth. Okay, doctors. Yeah, and like that. So she had women trouble. But here's a picture of my father in one of the bachelor for quarters in Christo Ball Canal Zone.

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And I guess that's May 9, 1910. I know. That's when they uhh hey. Went down there. Okay. So uhh What are your bachelors cars? What are bachelors quarters, bachelor quarters, air all for men. Uh huh. Oh, Okay. So they had housing for single men. E Okay, Just checking a and And they had houses for married people.

00:02:01.270 - 00:02:33.280

Like that s Oh, my father was not married at the time. There's a picture of him sitting in the chair. Chris tobel want on that day, 1910. So then he came back to the United States in 1911 to marry my mother, who was ls Piper? My dad was Frank L.

00:02:33.280 - 00:03:03.330

Piper. My mother was less paper. And then, uh, after that, then they came back, came back down to the Panama Canal because and they had to find a place to live and everything else like that they lived in, uh, Crystal. The first Chris Tobel was to Chris was a new Chris tobel.

00:03:03.340 - 00:03:43.660

It was the old Chris Tobel, and it was Yeah, they lived in. Uh, let me see here. Okay. Oh, I can't think of it. The beach, Colon beach. I never even knew where it waas myself until I found out there s Oh, my mother. Father lived in Colon Beach then, but then my brother was the first born.

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So then my mother went back to the United States, so he was born. I heard you had to pass through Ellis Island. Yes. You passed through Here is a list of going through Ellis Island. This is great. They didn't They didn't They didn't, Uh, and some of the friends, uh, they're Piper's Glenn.

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That would be my father's brother. Uh, then Thistle is what? George Titus. That's my mother's brother. Okay, we're down there. Went down there and, like, that s Oh, there's a list of them as they passed through. Oh, wow. They passed through. You have tow. We just shortened here.

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But this is all about when he left the dates and the manifest number and everything like that. So this is really comprehensive. Yeah, well, I e tryingto this is great, but that's alot. When we went in by 1924 evidently I can't find any more going toe Ellis Island.

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So evidently the the canal zone. People had made arrangements that these air American citizens and they're going through hair like immigrants, you know, than what they did. Decided that what we would stay on the boat, there would be a Kwan quarantine, man. Come in the boat and look at all of our passports and all of our, uh, uh, stuff signatures verifying who we were and like that, and then weigh docked.

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I was born in 1923 they stopped going through Ellis Island in, uh 1924 And like that. So I'm not on that list because 19 when I was born in 23 like that, and my mother didn't come back from the United States to bring me back down there and like that until after 1924 like the hairs were with, Here's where we, uh Well, first I should tell you this when my mother and father got married and they went down there I mean, like that.

00:06:53.810 - 00:07:30.310

There are pictures of my mother and father going in the local canoes that they had. And like that down the shag Rece River shag Rece River is what furnished is all the water for the Panama Canal on? Here they are. They were going to the mouth of the Chagres River, which is a fort there and like that, and took pictures like that.

00:07:30.320 - 00:07:51.650

There's there's my mother there and sent. My dad took the pictures. He isn't in it. There's my mother over there. Here's my dad here. He's on shore. I don't know what he's doing, but but anyhow, the dugout wouldn't dugout, you know, cut down a tree and hollow it out.

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And then they put it in the water on like that. So that's those All right. Okay, then. E, this is where we lived in Ridge Road. That's this is the administration building on directly across from the administration building was rid roads. It was part of a peninsula that came out off the mountain.

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And like that at first, that was a cemetery on like that. Then when they decided that your rabbit Yeah, I had toe have ah, rabbit on our houses were would screened in on the roofs covered. Also that when you rain down there, it didn't get in here because we don't have any windows.

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Yeah, and like that. So this is what the's pictures are. And that last house was the point of that piece of land. And that's the neighbor there who, uh, live there. And so way could go out. We could overlook. This is Balboa. Where were living here is Balboa Heights.

00:09:34.030 - 00:10:11.700

But this is a Balbo canals. Okay? And that's the canal. You'll see it way back there and like that. So then, e. So then that's that. My dad, my dad was a had a lot of tools and like that electric tools. And they built a lot of things, and he built a fishing boat, and like that, without Riggers on it for deep sea fishing.

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And so I heard the fishing was great. Yeah. And then here's some pictures of of the islands that they would go to catch it in there, There again, I said, this is the shag. The mouth of the shag Rece river right there. So that take care of that part?

00:10:46.640 - 00:11:22.550

Are you donating the copies of these photos? No, I just You just go crazy. I just brought him for my nephew. Okay, E But anyhow, hair. This is where we live. Except this happens The big core Zell cemetery. They moved. They moved. Here is the old There is the administration building.

00:11:22.940 - 00:11:48.940

And this is Ridge Road that moved this cemetery from here, rebuilt it up up again and they put the cemetery over here and cars l and called it the cars l Cemetery. And like that, so But this is all landfill on like that. This is a swamp area.

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Uh, your canal is way over here. Say, there's a locks, but they were building this, say, at the same time as they were building locks on. It was all thing. But as I said so, But when my father was down there and he was single, here's where he stayed in the single bachelor quarters.

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Oh, and like that on Second Street and Chris tobel and like that. You know, if if if we can't have copies of these, would you mind if I took a picture? Oh, no. You could take thes, uh, anywhere you want and get copies, man. I'm not.

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Yeah, you can. Yeah, you could you There's Okay. So then anyhow, on you could see this is the street that I lived on. They weren't married yet. My mother was still in the United States thistles the street that I lived on. What do you think of it, Frank?

00:13:02.140 - 00:13:27.500

Hey. Sent that to her. Yeah, he sent these pictures and with the note on the back, Yeah, on then here's some more pictures of the same thing looks and I'll get and and he said, this picture, you can see the hotel where I, uh, dying. I guess that's what it is.

00:13:27.510 - 00:13:51.670

Uh, two meals looking up from colon. So see they? That's what I said. It was colon beach here. He just wrote colon because Colon beach was almost in the same area as Cristobal Waas. They were all on the same island piece of land, I should say.

00:13:53.610 - 00:14:19.780

And so, uh, then, uh, that then there again. Here's, uh this is the street he lived on. What do you think of it? Like that? And these were the bachelor quarters. That's what they live. Bachelor quarters. Thes were all men. They could be all women too, You know, they Oh, yeah, And like that So that.

00:14:19.780 - 00:14:57.820

Anyhow, here's another one. E said this is where I stay in the evenings. I am now a member. Uh, well, my house is in right in back of this building on like that. You see, this'll was the y m c A. You see the, uh what you call those where you have a nice Yeah, because a bow and evidently he played an instrument.

00:14:57.830 - 00:15:17.780

And that's something I didn't know because he kept saying, uh uh, I'm gonna be playing there tonight. On my God, I didn't even know he played a mystery. E only got that from what he wrote. Here. There's a gazebo. What do you do with a gazebo?

00:15:17.780 - 00:15:45.770

You played music in a outside, See? But these air faster quarters like that. Okay. And so there's things like that. Here's another one. I forgot. Well, there may be duplicates. I don't know thistles where I had my meals. Do you like that? Might be a duplicate of what it waas.

00:15:46.140 - 00:16:19.660

This is the I C C hotel. Yeah. Cristobal Canal Zone on. Now, this is all 1910 all of this stuff. I'm telling you, there's 1910 on. And like that on, uh, this is a street that I live on. What do you think of it? This is still 1910 on, then here, I'll show you were some of the information that you can read.

00:16:20.340 - 00:17:04.660

Uh, I was able to put this stuff together because, uh, my mother had This is my daughter signature down here. Uh, when she was still alive. She wrote this and Senate Quinn for a certificate and and like that, Andi. Uh so after living in colon on, then after that, then they went to, uh, core is l Okay, they had are there.

00:17:05.240 - 00:17:34.850

So in cars L this building is the administration building, and it wasn't completed yet, so that's why they had to live in cores. So they took the railroad. My dad took the railroad from core Zell, which is right up by that set of locks there on toe work every day.

00:17:35.040 - 00:18:28.180

And like that, they hadn't finished this building and like that. So that's what the's pictures are like. That And these were some of the fellows friends of, uh, my brother. And like that, uh, that lived in ball ball on like that. See on. So here's a little quote here, says the Gramlich, Smooth pipers and the fun we had together when we lived in Cemetery Ridge.

00:18:28.190 - 00:18:58.780

You see, they had to cemetery one and Cordell, but they moved this two cars, l say, but in the old days it was called Cemetery Ridge and then it was moved and houses were put there on like that. But this is some of the statements and records that I have and everything else like that.

00:18:59.140 - 00:19:32.680

So anyhow, then that and then a Z I said this. This is the boat that he made and like that. And here is more of the pictures of of the house, Andi like that and that we lived in on like this. This was our backyard here, over here and like, way had a great big backyard all the way like that.

00:19:33.370 - 00:19:58.280

And so then anyhow, then car Stan, this is Pearl Islands from the boat. But then, as I said again, this'll was going down the shag Rush River to the mouth of the of the river. And like that in in there, what did they call ish? Not kayaks.

00:19:58.280 - 00:20:26.600

That's what we would call them. But can you canoe? Yeah. Type of canoe on like that. So that that's how, uh, or I've got information and things like that about my family. Yeah. And then way had we lived on Rich Road, which is in Balboa, uh, Heights.

00:20:27.240 - 00:20:57.940

And, uh, here is the Ridge Road Gang. This is a list of the Children that lived on. We drove there on like that And here's a list of some of them. There were more, but this is only of that. So like that. And then here is a diagram.

00:20:57.940 - 00:21:24.220

Hair. This is the administration building that you saw in those pictures on then from the administration. The road It went up like that. It divided. There was a tree here. The road continued like that. But Rich Road was here, And these air the houses that were on Ridge Road, where all those other pictures that juice stall.

00:21:24.230 - 00:21:58.990

Okay, then the road continued back up on and like that. And, um, when you got up here, that was the governor's house was up here. There were some houses along here. There were some houses along him. But if he stayed on the road, then that was the governor's house like that.

00:21:59.000 - 00:22:33.160

Then you start going back down the hill again on, like that Mrs Gorgas, down towards Gorgas Hospital and like them where the Army Hospital ward Okay, on like that. So than anyhow, those air, the things that I have to tell how e live there and everything else like that that I'm putting together, and I'm still trying to get more information.

00:22:34.340 - 00:23:01.080

Yeah, I'm gonna have to wait until we get information and like that And, uh, down there in Florida A to the university and like that, when they get all the stuff moved down there, I need to get and get more more information about back in 19.

00:23:01.090 - 00:23:40.400

I say we're back in the 19 tens and twenties like that. Say 24. Was that so? But anyhow what? That that was my life then Waas When I was born after here and went down there, Then we lived in I said, which wrote on board. I lived there until World War two, when I left there and came to the United States to join the service.

00:23:41.060 - 00:24:14.100

And like that, the Air Force. Oh, but there, living down there and doing things and like that way had a lot of things we could do. Way had a I don't have a a diagram like this, but, uh, we had one thing we did was this building here, the administration building here.

00:24:15.040 - 00:24:40.940

It was concrete all the way around. And in the summertime, when it was not raining or anything else like that, we would skate around it, and in the back was the post office off the of this administration building. And and, of course, it was a parking lot like that.

00:24:40.950 - 00:25:08.240

And it was rough so the cars wouldn't scared. This is a great this is on top of a great big hill. Then I just a valley here with a piece of land there. And then there's a valley here on DSO Every so many years, they had to re furnish the concrete because in those days we didn't have a rubberized wheels on our roller skates.

00:25:08.240 - 00:25:52.670

There were metal. Oh, way wore the concrete down way couldn't escape there until they re fervor stick. But we skated here every weekend during the summer months, which, which was not the rainy months, their summer months, you see, which is last only three months And like that, So then had anything else that I did, we had a A area, uh, down down here, further down over here, and Balboa, where we had a Kindy Garten.

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And so we went to kindergarten there and they had a little place for water for you. Toe paddle in and like that walk in and like that but way Call it the place yet, you know, you call it a gymnasium or something like that. But we called a place yet on it was big enough.

00:26:16.650 - 00:26:51.770

It had a nice floor in it where they played basketball and volleyball in Undercover Way had field places where they play baseball, softball and hardball. And like that Okay, than a little further up. We had the clubhouse where you had a bowling alley and where you had a movie theater where you had a restaurant and and things like that.

00:26:51.780 - 00:27:18.850

It was called a clubhouse and like that, and we would go there and swim. Uh, one of the men that ran the pool where you could swim. He made a habit of getting all the young ladies that just had Children and like that, and maybe a year too old.

00:27:19.540 - 00:27:46.570

Bring the Children to the poor, teach us how to swim so he would teach us how to swim. And like that, while the women went across the street to the commissary which you know to buy their groceries and things like that say, like that. And then another thing that we did that I did and like that waas.

00:27:47.040 - 00:28:15.290

When I was in high school, and like that and the 7th and 8th grade I played in the band. I learned to play an instrument and so march and everything like that for the game. We had a great big field that had a, uh I wanna say stadium and like that see and way played there.

00:28:15.810 - 00:28:37.180

What, On fourth of just lying, they pack us all in the Busses and we go out to core is l That was an army at that time. That was an army base there after my mother and father who lived there. Then it became an Army base.

00:28:37.940 - 00:29:01.250

Of course they had a band. So we go out there and they had a great big field where they played the band, the Army band, and we join in with them and like that. So we'd learn how to play the instrument and like that, when to come in and when the get out, you know, playing music.

00:29:01.560 - 00:29:41.390

Then on Fourth of July, we had a great big parade and everything else like that. And so you there was the entertainment for the July 4th deal. They had the army, now one of the other things is is those people that played in the band Ah, lot of the form, uh, regular dance spans because we had four places, social places where you danced and like that, Well, they needed music, dance and like that.

00:29:41.400 - 00:30:09.900

And so there was always some people from our orchestra and band at the schools and like that, and there was always older man that played in the Army band. There will be a 23 or four of those in the band, too. And because we're way played the band way played the band.

00:30:11.340 - 00:30:43.950

That wasn't our job, But the Army had bands that was their job besides fighting. So then anyhow, a lot, a lot of way had a lot of, uh, deals like that way had to go into the social part of the living down there, Uh, was in Panama City That's across the line.

00:30:44.340 - 00:31:20.190

Fourth of July Avenue was the difference between the Republic of Panama and the canals. All like that. So Wow, the social stuff like that was there because, you see, we were on government property. Okay, So the government has has golf courses and things like that, and it has places where you play baseball on day and like that.

00:31:20.200 - 00:31:46.960

But they don't have social things. And like that where you dance and everything else, like, get all dressed up night. Yeah, that was way put. They built the people in the canal zone, built those out, build those places for society social social Read. Okay. And so then that was other things in like that.

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And then I would walk from Balbo Balboa Heights over the an con. And, uh, that's starting to go down this road here, which was where the Gorgas Hospital Waas and like that. Then I'd go down into and con and play with some of my friends there.

00:32:15.640 - 00:32:39.490

And I could also play with some of my friends in Balboa, which was down here from where I lived up there. E had to places I could go on friends and play cops and robbers and stuff like that when I was young. That sounds fun. So that sounds like a great place to grow.

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And the other thing is, that way we're capable of going into the interior to the beaches on its of the beaches were on Panama territory. Eso there was always somebody that was old enough to drive a car so that they take us up to the beaches and we'd swim on the beaches.

00:33:04.640 - 00:33:24.970

Uh, and, uh, like that if we kind of wanted something to drink. We always carried a machete with us. Because you have thio usually go through a little jungle before you get to the walk through a little jungle before you get to the beach. So I always carry them Shetty with you.

00:33:25.740 - 00:33:53.950

But what happens is you didn't carry water and you wanted something to drink while, you know, drinking, swimming in salt water in my tent So somebody who was strong enough would climb up one of the palm trees, Get the coconut, cut the coconuts down, and then we use the machete toe open a coconut, get the water out of the coconut.

00:33:54.640 - 00:34:26.750

So we never carried water when I was at all, when we went into the what we call the interior would be the Republic account. Then like so there was things like that. Then we had had a beach that was closer to where we live on like that, where we could get on the ferry boat, go across the the canal and walk a little mile or two.

00:34:27.080 - 00:34:49.700

There was another beach there. If we didn't wanna go up over here for that big beach like that, a little one over way could do that ourselves. We didn't have to have somebody drivers. We get our stuff because they had a place where you to change your clothes on.

00:34:49.700 - 00:35:16.320

You had to bring a towel and everything else like that. And they had a water faucets. There were drink water. You couldn't buy pop or anything like that at that beach And like them. So those were the activities. And at Christmas time, why we were always collected all the Christmas tree so we could have a great big fire.

00:35:16.330 - 00:35:40.470

Yeah, I heard about a fire down here where the place head waas and all like that on the baseball fields. What? We're over here s O on then We always had to fight all the time because we had to hire, we'd get the trees and we have to hide them somewhere so that another group didn't come and take them away.

00:35:40.480 - 00:36:12.280

So that's another activity way had, besides, um, movies and swimming and all this other stuff at the place. Shit say like that. That's what they And if you were, uh, if your father or your mother belonged to the Shriners and and, uh, my dad belonged to the Mason and my mother belonged to the Oh, Yea 00 yes, Eastern Star.

00:36:13.350 - 00:36:37.440

And that was another social off. Let for the older women, you know, their mother and fathers and like that. And they were just like you would have hair Shriners like that. Mason's is the same thing as strange. Oh, yeah, Okay, on like that. It's a organization.

00:36:37.750 - 00:37:02.310

And and as I said, they, uh, they would play and everything else like that. Or, as I said, they would have their social meetings and everything else like that, and I like that. Then they would usually have something to eat. Well, of course, we were the Children.

00:37:02.310 - 00:37:30.260

We weren't allowed to have that. We had the order of Demon Lay, which is our social outlet. The Children high school age. Okay, like that on but on then, the other organization we had were the Boy Scouts, the Cub Scouts in the Sea Scouts. My dad was a, uh My dad was a scout master.

00:37:31.340 - 00:38:01.070

And so you'd all get together and you'd have start, uh, once a month or something like that. Twice a month, you'd have a scout meeting. And like that, or or a, uh, come scholar lady or oh, my brother was eight years older than me. So therefore, he was older, and he climbed the ladder faster on.

00:38:01.070 - 00:38:35.040

He was a C scout. We had to see scout that way. And as I said, Camp fire girls and everything else like that for the girls like that. Those were activities that way. Do belong, toe. Yeah, and like that. Okay, so I don't know of anything else that, uh, that really except church activities now way had quite a few churches there.

00:38:35.910 - 00:39:10.440

And because the people that, um, live there were so many different denominator Protestant denominations and like that. So because we're only 30 or 40 people, there wasn't enough for the different denominations. Eso Then they had formed an organization that was called the Union Church of the Canals.

00:39:10.440 - 00:39:34.220

Um, e didn't know that. Well, if you live in the farm area in the United States, your farmers is here. Your farmers here, Your farmers here. You might be Catholic, He's Protestant. And this one might be a different Protestant here. Well, they want to get together in a church.

00:39:34.230 - 00:40:00.030

So they build one church. Usually the Catholic Church was all separate on like that. So then that was fine. But the Catholic church in the United States, the farmers they built next to the Protestant churches because then the church would be in the same area for both Catholic and Protestant.

00:40:00.040 - 00:40:26.590

Well, that this was the Union Church which was formed, okay, And like that and that this is an article about it. And, uh, these are some of the buildings in Panama City and like that, here's the old ruins of Panama and everything like that. But my dad, um, here's a union church.

00:40:26.600 - 00:40:58.950

It's a union church. My dad helped build that and like that on then here's a man that started it, created it toward and like that. Here's our high school and like that. And then here, there again. Here's another school. Now, when you get into these, you get into where you have different people.

00:41:01.110 - 00:41:37.060

So, uh huh, like West Indians, they helped build the canal Chinese helped build the canal? Yes. All those like that helped build a canal. The French Martinique that natives like that helped to build a canal. Mm. Then in these or in these likened Balboa and like that in Balboa all way had uhh right next to us.

00:41:37.610 - 00:42:05.390

We were here, right here was lit. Boca. They were part of our They couldn't join our organizations. They had They had the same organization. That white man, if you wanna go by color E. So they had their own high school. They had their own grade. School teachers were all from the federal government, educated and like that.

00:42:05.400 - 00:42:33.520

And it was the same way with week except here. It would be white, things like that. But if there was enough people that were Chinese and living in an area, they would have the same thing. They would have a great school. They would have a kindergarten ally way, way may separated and like that.

00:42:34.600 - 00:43:03.120

But they all had the same facilities that we did. And and like that, uh, there was no way didn't fight or anything else like that. That's where we're most of us people that came from the canal zone. Uh, color, you know doesn't exist thing like that between us.

00:43:03.130 - 00:43:45.240

Because what happened? Waas is sort of some of the, uh, colored people like we're in. Val. Whoa. We're, uh, like that. Why, uh, they lavaka and like that Why? Some of them were highly educated. The Children I'm talking about that they came to our high school and and like that, And so you got used to having the nationality difference in our school.

00:43:45.600 - 00:44:07.300

So people on the canals, um, of the white people in the canal zone, when over there are color were colored by wow way all we're together on like that, you see, on it would be the same thing in the church. It would be the same thing.

00:44:07.310 - 00:44:34.810

Uh, there were some colored people that were in this was a white church, a Protestant church. But if they were Protestant and there was only a small, maybe six or seven or eight, they could come here even though, if they were Protestant. Yeah, What? They didn't matter whether they were what color they were on like that.

00:44:36.190 - 00:45:10.730

And eso Anyhow, that was, uh that was the way that was set up. And like that way were, as I said, way were not conscious of color at all. Onda like that and anything that we did down there and like so we didn't have to learn how to get along with but the towns, that's the way they were set up.

00:45:11.190 - 00:45:36.450

The group would be here that have their own commissary that would have their own clubhouse. They have their own restaurant because they didn't eat the same kind of food that the white man Mhm. Yeah, they They were Jamaica. They were West Indian. They were French people on like that, natives on like that.

00:45:36.460 - 00:46:05.310

So they had everything separate. Okay, But when it came to high school, 10 chances of one you don't build a great big high school building for only six people, does that. We're going into high continuing education and going into the high school that get on the train and they come So where the high schools were and like that and that.

00:46:05.320 - 00:46:35.470

And we did the same thing way. Did the same thing for the Panamanians owe. And and like the Panamanians, uh, they only went as high as the eighth grade in their system. Well, if a Panamanian they came from Spain on like Okay, if they if they were higher high enough in the education themselves.

00:46:35.480 - 00:47:44.420

I graduated with a lot of those fellows Onda girl way. That was the way it was. It was set up that way. And so But anyhow, as I said, and that's how we live. And that's everything else like that. And But as I said, if you if you go out into the area of the of the canal where the people had to repair the canal and everything else like that and the Army was right there and it was the same way that the Children of the Army people why, uh they would have, you know, up the seventh grade, seventh grade they got on the train, came in the bow bow, tow the seventh grade and like that, and they joined us on.

00:47:44.420 - 00:48:14.590

They graduated from high school. What? They were Army personnel. Yeah, there are a lot of different people there. Yeah. Now the only thing is that the army has a P X system, and so therefore, lots of times, uh, they had the progression that they could come into where the white man waas even though they were white and like that.

00:48:15.170 - 00:48:46.580

But the army had a P X system. Lots of times. It was cheaper to buy it in the piek. But we couldn't go into the Army base and the army. All our governors were army people and head of the divisions in our working fields in the Panama Canal usually had a headman from the army of engineers like that.

00:48:46.970 - 00:49:27.130

Mhm. But it was It was a It was the white group who actually did all the work and stuff like that. These were engineers and things like that. And they were always in the Army. They were moved around so on and, uh on dso that Z, that's what way did not have any way had trouble with Panamanians.

00:49:27.140 - 00:49:57.950

But they were the You know what you call the lower class Panamanians. And like that, I mean, there was always riots and like a but they didn't affect us. Yeah, in the zone. Because most of the presidents of the are the governors, I should say of the president's ever quote of the Republic of Panama.

00:49:58.970 - 00:50:27.680

They were highly educated people from Spain that came over from Spain back in the early centuries off history, you know, like from Columbus time and all like that. I mean, they were highly educated. People came from Portugal, came from Italy on like that. Some of them settled there.

00:50:28.960 - 00:50:54.550

Yeah, but their educational system only went as faras eighth grade. But if they were smart enough that that could take seventh or ninth grade in high school. Then they came in with the same way with the army. Yeah, okay. He had the civilians, which were us.

00:50:54.830 - 00:51:24.080

They had the army and then you had the local people Panamanians, because I said way also had the Chinese. We also had Jamaicans Way also had that and they were all in the group. They never enter. Enter changed at all because the Jamaican doesn't like American cooked food, you know, and like that.

00:51:24.460 - 00:51:50.940

So that's how the towns were separated within the town. But they had the same thing A zay said before they had they had their own movie hall. They had their own restaurant. They had their own swimming pool. Had a like that. If there were enough people who warranted Yeah, that makes sense.

00:51:50.940 - 00:52:16.580

But if it's not enough people, then they were able to come in and join the white man if you wanna make it like that. So as I said we were way were color Blind Way grew up that way. Well, thank you for telling me your story.

00:52:17.250 - 00:52:55.520

Well, that's that's just part of it And like that. And I'm still trying to find things here and like that. I hope that when I get here that get down, get down And, uh, right. Give museum and everything else like it all down after Miami. Uh, like that Why they will have the information that I want because I'm looking for things.

00:52:55.810 - 00:53:01.080

I'm looking for things like out of our newspaper and like that, okay?