Zonian Loss

The fog of war cleared. The cheery, patriotic rallying by wartime publications and the bravado featured in magazines wound down, while the realities of loss became more poignant. The Canal Zone had a higher percentage of volunteers than any of the 48 U.S. states. This is a point of pride for many Zonians, who contributed greatly to the war effort—with their work, their patriotism, and sometimes their lives.

Background Image:

Balboa High School Class of 1947, Memorial Assembly Honors Balboa High School Alumni Killed in World War II 1947, 2015.147.6, Gift of Gwendolyn Stegmeier

This online exhibition is based on the exhibition of the same name that was presented at the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, March 7, 2020 - February 26, 2021.

Curated by Elizabeth A. Bouton with assistance from Elizabeth Bemis | Online design by Elizabeth A. Bouton

Student assistant curators: Summer Bias, Coral Dixon, Sean O’Dwyer, and Anna L. Weissman | Title design and other materials by Olivia Bowman

This exhibit was developed spring 2019 as part of the graduate Exhibitions Seminar in Museum Studies taught by Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler. It was driven by student inquiry and has been an experiment in collaborative exhibition development processes.

Unless otherwise noted, all items are from the Panama Canal Museum Collection, Special & Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida.