On 98 Years of The Panama Canal and My Grandmother's Safe Walking Over It

It was on this date in 1914 that the Panama Canal opened.  That's a piece of infrastructure that has paid huge dividends, economically, for the U.S.

A reworking of the canal to handle wider ships is poised to open soon in this Century.  That move bodes well for East Coast ports and, interestingly enough, for Midwest industrial inland locations too. 

The import/export pricing that was Western-port dominated now has competition.  The dividing line for that is right through Ohio!  Competitive shipping prices are another Ohio advantage.

There's a personal note here too.  When the canal was less than 10 years old, my Grandmother lived in the Panama Canal Zone.  She was an Army brat and her father was an officer stationed there.  My Great Aunt Jane tells the story of walking to school with my grandmother and having to cross the Panama Canal to get to their school.  Looking at the photo above, that walk to school was no cake walk.  Glad Grandma walked safely.

Idora Neighborhood News

News in my local paper in Newark included a tidbit from Youngstown, Ohio. That news was good news from a neighborhood where part of my family grew up 100 years ago. Label this another blog written for my kids to read someday.

The story is about a mural looking at the neighborhood's past, present, and future. The golden age of this neighborhood has passed. The mural is a sign of a hoped for comeback.

My great grandfather Royal Platt moved to work at Idora Park in 1906, spending over 20 years working there as GM and part owner. After cashing out in 1929 and moving to Beverly Hills, he returned to Youngstown and that neighborhood for the latter years of his life. My great grandmother built and lived in an apartment building there after Royal died.

My great grandfather Alfred Baker worked nearby as a draftsman and raised his daughters in the neighborhood. My grandparents' first places they lived after marrying in 1938 were right there too. The first place my Dad went after the hospital in which he was born was that same neighborhood.

I'm hoping for the neighborhood's comeback. The story was more than just a tidbit to me.

See Youngstown News, Idora Neighborhood Mural