Gamboa
chronicled by
Doris Ehrman Monaco
When I was 12 years old, we moved to an Up and Downer on Rum Road 168A. Do you know how many
steps there were on the side of the hill?
I remember the wonderful times we had at the Civic Center. We had square dances. One dance I
remember was the Virginia Reel.
In the Clubhouse we would sit on the bottom shelf in the magazine area and read the comics.
Upstairs was the Manager's office. The Beauty Shop was next to it, as were the bathrooms.
And if you walked around the staircase, on the second floor, there was a room that I remember
was used during the war for the women to go and roll bandages and learn First Aid. They had two
eating areas.
We had the Red, White and Blue troupe. I remember the two piece bathing suits the girls wore.
Many parties were held at the pool. Remember the grandstand for the guest, just in front of
the Dispensary? Was that the Bleakleys that were the clowns at our Pool Extravaganzas?...
With all these activities we also had our school. Besides studying there was baseball, kickball
and the "monkey bars". We had plays under the school. After the war was over and the second part
of the school was added we skated under the new part.
Junior High School
Most of us came together for the first time in Jr. High School. We came by bus from our
grade schools in Ancon, Balboa, Curundu, Diablo, Pedro Miguel, Gamboa, the City of Panama
and also from the Armed Forces Bases. The school bus carried not only Jr. High School students,
but also the "older" people, the High School students....
Many of us were far away from home, for the first time, and would not be home for lunch,
but would leave home from early morning to late afternoon. Then there would be new things
we would be doing at this school.
As the year went on, more of us ventured to the Clubhouse to augment our lunches
(Excerpts from her
Web pages ) A work that is still in
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