A Letter to the People Who Showed Up

Thank you for being here.

I mean that simply and directly. Thank you for subscribing. Thank you for reading. Thank you for sharing these articles with people who might care. Thank you for the quiet belief that this work matters. Because it does, and your presence here — all 790+ of you — is the thing that makes everything else possible.

Let me tell you who I am, in case you haven’t read the other pieces.

I’m an artist; a graphic designer, illustrator, and filmmaker. I have degrees in illustration and film directing from ArtCenter College of Design and one in graphic design from BYU-Idaho (previously known as Ricks College). I’m also a photographer and an art educator since 2001. I spent my formative years — ages 11 through 18 — in the Canal Zone. I was an Army kid who arrived and then attended Balboa Elementary, then Curundu Junior High, then Balboa High School, and took some courses at Panama Canal College. The Zone shaped me in ways I didn’t understand until much later — when I realized that not everyone grew up with a jungle in their backyard and the sound of ships moving through locks in the distance.

I’m also someone who loves research. I dig. I find things. I follow threads until they lead somewhere real.

What we’re doing here is documenting the Canal Zone community as a whole — the people, the unique culture, the places (towns, bases, schools), the shared experience, the texture of what it felt like to live in a place that no longer exists. The documentary covers the historical arc from 1903 through 1999, with some prehistory for context and some aftermath showing what became of Zonians after. But our focus is not events in isolation. It’s the human story lived within those decades.

In a nutshell, that’s the documentary. It’s the beating heart of all of this.

But we’re doing more than that too. The CZD Review is a quarterly archival magazine where we can dive deeper — into the harder topics, the historical complexities, the things that don’t fit neatly into ninety minutes of film. Not every topic gets equal depth, but the ones that matter do. And here on Substack, we bridge both: community stories and historical depth, personal memory and documented fact.

This started small. A Facebook group called Panama Canal Zonian. I started sharing pieces of history and old photos. Group members responded with their own photos and memories. Then we created the Canal Zone Documentary page. And it grew. We’re now being quoted by El Visitante — The Visitor, an expat magazine in Panama. The Panama Canal Museum Collection curators have reached out and offered to help supply content to the project. Panama Canal Society knows we’re here. So does Museo del Canal. I’m in conversations with filmmakers in Panama and with a film studio here in the US.

I’m also appearing periodically on Will & Ricky’s YouTube channel — the two guys who have been documenting Zonian voices for a while now. We’ll be sharing some of that content here too. Follow their channel if you haven’t already. They’re doing important work.

What I’m learning through all of this is surprising me constantly.

I didn’t know how expansive the music scene was in the Zone. I’m learning about pre-planned flights that Zonians could take back to the States. I’m discovering from original source that a lot of what outsiders states about the Canal Zone is simply not true — and I'll address those discrepancies here — with sources.

This research is revealing, not confirming. And that matters.

Here’s the reality we’re living in: the oldest of us are passing. The last Zonians left in December 1999. Do the math. Most of us are in our late forties now. We don’t have decades to do this work. We have now. Financial constraints will dictate pace to some degree — they always do — but urgency is real.

We’re where we are because I’ve been working on this for years now. The pitch deck is in progress. Research is constant. The business structure is being built (LionHart llc, accounts created, more to come). I'm planning a trip to Panama in January for location scouting, meeting with community, and discussing the project with local filmmakers. Andrew Efthimiadis has helped in making this trip more possible. If you want to assist in other ways — funding additional travel, equipment, or research — that support is deeply needed and deeply appreciated. If you want to assist in other ways — funding additional travel, equipment, or research — that support is deeply needed and deeply appreciated. CZD Review Issue II is launching in July with pieces by David Dahlstrom and Catherine Stockwell. We have merch on canalzone.net — the CZD Seal Tee is live, and more is coming.

This work has supporters who believe in it deeply. Alex Reyes from Shorty & Slim — himself a Zonian and a voice carrying the culture forward — has been a key supporter and believer in this work. The Canal Zone Reunion team. David Dahlstrom and Catherine Stockwell — both contributing their expertise and voices. Henry Twohy. Billy Foster. And you. Every single one of you reading this. Others are stepping up too. People who lived the Zone. People who understand what’s at stake.

Institutions are listening. The Panama Canal Museum Collection wants to help. Curators are engaged. This isn’t one person screaming into the void. It’s a movement.

We’re also building archives that go beyond the film.

The Zonian Musicians collection — Mark Cicero is heading this up. We’ve compiled over 70 names of musicians who performed in or came from the Zone, and we’re asking the community to help verify and complete the archive. Photos. Ticket stubs. Recordings. Stories. If you know Zonian musicians, that’s where to send the information.

We’re launching a Visual Arts Archive next — documenting Zonian artists, illustrators, photographers, craftspeople. Anyone who created visual work in or came from the Zone. If you want to volunteer to lead this project, to coordinate submissions and build the archive, reach out. We need someone passionate about this.

Other projects are forming around this core work. This is bigger than a documentary. This is preservation.

Documenting isn’t just finding information. It means collecting it, securing it, preserving it. Every photo, video, audio file, and document goes onto external hard drives — and those hard drives need backups. Digital preservation costs. I also pay for subscriptions — Adobe Creative Cloud for the design work, the Substack platform itself, video hosting, research databases. Every issue of CZD Review, every social media post, every piece of this work requires tools and infrastructure.

When we ask for support through the Amazon registry or direct donations, it’s not overhead. It’s the actual cost of doing this work right.

If you want to support this work, there are ways:

Financially: You can donate through the Amazon registry (hard drives, backup systems, archival materials), Zelle (CZDSupport), or Ko-fi (ko-fi.com/thaynewheeler). If you want to become a CZD Insider on Substack ($5/month or $50/year), every dollar goes directly into research, travel, and production.

We’re also exploring crowdfunding. I'm considering Seed&Spark for future crowdfunding — a platform built for filmmakers by filmmakers. If that becomes the path forward, I'll announce it here first.

Beyond money: We need photos and video from the Zone. We need introductions to people who lived there. We need stories. We need connections. If you have material or you know someone we should interview, send it our way. archive@canalzonedocumentary.com is where everything lands.

We also need your ideas. What do you want to see on Substack? What topics should we be exploring? What stories are missing? Reply to this letter or drop a comment. Your voice shapes what we cover.

One important thing: I’m not a historian. I’m a researcher who shares findings honestly. When I get something wrong — and I might — please tell me. Show me the sources. The Canal Zone’s history is made of fragments. It’s scattered across personal archives, institutional collections, individual memories. No single entity has it all. We’re assembling it together. That requires correction and collaboration.

I’m also still working on narrative scripts alongside all of this. A filmmaker doesn’t stop being a filmmaker just because a documentary is taking most of the attention.

This is a letter to people who believe in preservation. Who care about truth. Who understand that if we don’t document the Zonian story from the inside, from voices that lived it, someone else will tell it differently — or not at all.

If you’re here, you’re part of this. You’re not cheering from the sidelines. You’re the proof that the story matters. You’re the evidence that an audience exists.

The window is open. It won’t stay that way forever.

Thank you for showing up.

👉 Follow us:

• Substack: canalzonedocumentary.substack.com

• Facebook: facebook.com/canalzonedocumentary

• Will & Ricky on YouTube: @SCNCanalZoneChannel8

👉 Support:

• Amazon registry: https://amzn.to/4gJSFTa

• Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thaynewheeler

• Zelle: CZDSupport

• CZD Insider on Substack: $5/month or $50/year

👉 Shop:

• CZD Collection: canalzone.net/collections/czd

Canal Zone Documentary — preserving the voices, stories, and culture of a community.