Photo of the Week
8/10/2025



Back in 2019, I posted a mini presentation about the Stranger's Club in Colon back in  the 1920s.  I was fortunate to purchase a rather complete collection of photos at the annual
reunion.  Below are the links to that presentation.

https://czimages.com/CZMemories/Photos/photoof1084.htm 
https://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/Photos/photoof1085.htm

https://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/Photos/photoof1086.htm

https://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/Photos/photoof1087.htm

https://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/Photos/photoof1088.htm
 

A visitor to my website contacted me a couple of weeks ago and wanted to see if I had a larger and clearer photo of the one above.  He told me that he thought one of the men at the table by the column looked like his grandfather.  I sent him my original scan and sure enough, he wrote back and said it is his grandfather, Matthew C. O'Hearn (Matt).  See the zoom in below.  He also said that the guy sitting directly across from his Matt table is the same person to the left of Matt in the group of four photo below.  Now the highlight of this story is the Naval officer at the table is John McCain Sr., (Senator McCain's father) who Matt entertained at the Strangers Club while  his ship would pass through the Canal.  All of this is pretty wild and what a coincidence all stemming from this photo from 1920s.

The last photo is of Matt holding a bird...

Kevin, Matt's grandson and who sent me the additional photos said,

It is my understanding that the Strangers Club was "the place to be" in Colon for visiting business executives, politicians, naval officers etc etc during Matt's time 

--- if you were doing business in Panama:  you were visiting the Strangers Club 

 

Matt was born in Bowling Green KY  July 25, 1887

died in Maryland (DC area) - Aug 16, 1973

 

Matt went down to Panama in 1910 for the "big dig" and took a job as a "clerk" of some sort

by 1912 or so - he went to work for the United Fruit Co and  he stayed employed with UFC til 1956

 

During his 44 years at UFC - he came back to the USA a couple of times (Dec 1924 left Panama)  returning in 1933  - his last stint in Panama from 1933 - ending in 1939. 

 

 

 


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