***If you missed the previous installments, click on the links here: 1928: Part 1, 1928: Part 2, 1928: Part 3, 1928: Part 4, 1929:Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9 With a servant and an occasional baby sitter in the house, Harriet and I…
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The lighter-hand system of loading ships was used for about two years until a new wharf and conveyors had been built. All planning and reconstruction work, even down to deep-sea divers, was done by Company personnel – local and transfer…
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In the summer of 1932, with savings of about $300, I went on vacation, flying to Panama City and taking a Company ship from Cristobal, via Kingston, Jamaica, where it loaded bananas, to New York. The ship was filled up…
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I missed the exciting life on the woodland farm but with the ‘untouched jungle’ so close to town I could still enjoy the pleasures of nature with weekend walks into the forest. Just looking out of a second-story window alone…
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Part 6: Move to Puerto Armuelles By this time Puerto Armuelles had become the division headquarters and, like all company towns, it included most of the amenities for a comfortable home and family life for the employees living there. The…
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There are some great old photos of Puerto Armuelles in this video from 100% Porteños. Pictures from the old banana fincas, railroads, and many of the old buildings, some of which can still be seen around town. Enjoy a glimpse into Puerto’s…
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If you missed the previous installments: Coming to Puerto Armuelles in 1928: Part 1 Coming to Puerto Armuelles in 1928: Part 2 Coming to Puerto Armuelles in 1928: Part 3 Part 4 – Esperanza But there came a time later…
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In part 3, Mark Trafton Jr. describes how the banana farms were started and a little more about daily life on the fincas, as well as the duties of the Woodland Overseer. If you missed the previous installments: Coming to…
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This is the second installment in a series of re-prints of the first hand account of Mark Trafton Jr., one of the original Woodland Banana Farm Overseers in the early days of United Fruit Company in Barú. In this episode,…
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When Claral Richards gave me this excerpt from a book called “Bananeros in Central America”, by Clyde Stephens, I couldn’t wait to dive into reading. Once I began, I couldn’t put it down! This is a first hand story from…
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