George Hartsough Collection of Panama Canal Photographs

George Henry (Tom) Hartsough Jr. was born on October 18, 1882, in Juniata, Nebraska. He graduated from Minden High School in Minden, Nebraska and then entered the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1907 with a degree in electrical engineering. After graduation, he went to work for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In April 1909, his work took him to the Panama Canal Zone, where his primary duty was supervising the large cranes used in constructing the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks of the Panama Canal. He worked on the Panama Canal until August 1914. He then returned to Nebraska and married Mona Clearman on September 9, 1914. After their marriage, they moved to Pittsburgh, where he returned to work for Westinghouse. In July 1915, George accepted a position as an electrical engineer for the Cerro de Pasco Mining Company in Peru, South America. He was employed by the mining company until he was badly burned in an electrical accident on October 23, 1915. He died of his injuries on October 27, 1915. His body was returned to the United States, and he is buried in Minden, Nebraska. The Panama Canal officially opened on August 15, 1914. The workforce was segregated into gold and silver rolls, denoting “skilled” and “unskilled” classes. This system also segregated workers by race. Originally, gold roll workers, nearly all of whom were white, were paid in gold, while silver roll workers, the majority of whom came from the West Indian islands of Barbados, Martinique, and Guadeloupe, were paid in silver, though the segregated roll system remained even after all workers were paid in the same currency. Workers were assigned to separate housing, eating, recreation, transportation, and health services based on roll. As a white engineer from the U.S., George Hartsough was part of the gold roll.