Three artifacts from my grandfather’s time in Panama are my only physical heritage from him:

My mother gave me the medallion–or whatever it is, technically–many years ago.  There’s a small ring on the back, so I put a ribbon through it and wore it as a necklace.  One of Grandpa’s canal letters says, “About all I can show for nearly three years work is a medal—and if I was looking elsewhere for a job I’d hide that,”  but this isn’t a medal.  It could have been a souvenir, or perhaps something more official.

I remember Grandpa smoking a pipe.  My brother and I were fascinated by his smoke rings.  The Panama letters mention cigars.

My mother said Grandpa used the machete, with its tooled leather case, in Panama.  I assume it was necessary at times to clear brush out of the way to use the surveying instruments.