The Canal Zone deserves more than footnotes. CZD Review exists to document its history, culture, and community in a publication worthy of the story — archival, considered, and built to last.
Issue II is free. Download your copy here: [Google Drive link]
After you’ve had a chance to read it, we’d love to hear from you. Comment: What did you think? What resonated? We welcome your feedback and suggestions in the comments below.
CZD Review is a small volunteer publication, and we intend to keep it tight and intentional. Speaking of which, if you’re interested in contributing — as a writer, researcher, or photographer… — turn to page 7.
The Editorial Team
Thayne Wheeler, Editor in Chief
Thayne is a filmmaker, illustrator, graphic designer, photographer, and art educator. Director of Canal Zone Documentary, he spent his formative years in the Canal Zone, attending Balboa Elementary through Balboa High School. He holds an MFA in Film Directing and a BFA in Illustration from ArtCenter College of Design, and an AS in Graphic Design from BYU-Idaho. His work spans film production design, art direction, photography, and over two decades in art education.
Editor in Chief: Sets the editorial vision, direction, and final approval on all content. Responsible for the design, layout, and public voice of CZD Review and Canal Zone Documentary.
David Dahlstrom, Managing Editor
A fifth-generation Zonian I am proud to volunteer my time to support Canal Zone Documentary Review because its mission is to preserve and share the unique story of the Canal Zone. By writing articles of everyday life in the old Canal Zone I hope to pass our memories and personal experiences to future generations. Without these efforts, our stories of life in the Canal Zone could be lost with us. In 2024, I became a monthly contributor of Canal Zone History on the SCN Canal Zone network on YouTube, serve on the Panama Canal Society Board, and most recently wrote a song about life in the Canal Zone, “Cocoli Dreams”, under the name AncónDavid, on Suno.
Managing Editor: Manages day-to-day operations, article assignments, and deadlines. Primary research and writing contributor and historical authority on Canal Zone history.
Catherine Stockwell, Contributing Editor
Catherine grew up in Ancon and Balboa Heights where her family lived from 1969 to 1997. Her father, Dr. Henry Stockwell, was a pediatrician at Gorgas Hospital as well as an entomologist and researcher with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. It was in Canal Zone schools—hauling a bassoon through the hallways of CJHS and BHS and working on the Cougar Scratch and the Parakeet school newspaper staff—that she developed two enduring passions: a love of music performance and an inability to stop writing things down. Catherine went on to earn a PhD in musicology and build a career as an orchestra musician living just outside of Lisbon, Portugal. It turns out that a musicologist’s appetite for archival rabbit holes is excellent preparation for recovering forgotten stories. She is committed to donating her time to mine and document a Canal Zone history broad enough to reflect the full range of extraordinary people who lived there and called it home.
Contributing Editor: Contributes editorial perspective, research, and writing across issues. Shapes the intellectual and cultural depth of the publication.
Please take a moment and tell us what you think of the magazine! I hope you can tell that so much work went into this publication and we do it for free! Just to give you an idea, just the time put into the actual structure of the magazine: creating the cover, laying out the text, images and graphics took a solid three plus days to do. That isn't the writing of the articles nor the research that went into it from the editorial team. Then all the post stuff that goes into getting it out there! So, please let us know what you think. We are constantly improving it and adding more features.
Also, we are looking for more volunteers! It is listed in the magazine.