Canada, coffee and Panama an engaging trio

ALTHOUGH some cities in Canada are mythologized as having a donut and coffee shop on every corner, the country's links to the production of fine coffees are less well defined.

An article in a La Prensa supplement , produced for the Canadian Embassy and published on Canada Day, July 1, throws some light on on past and current Canadian contributions to life on the Isthmus:

BACK IN 1884 Frank Tedman, a young Canadian tug boat captain from Beverly, Ontario, who had been working on the Mexican Central Railroad, arrived in Panama to captain a dredger during the French attempt at building a canal.

Four years later, in 1888 with 22 other “colonizers” he set off to Boquete to try his hand at farming. Only seven of the original group stayed on while Tedman laid the foundations not only of a home but, with seven hectares of land at 4,450 feet, started a coffee growing endeavor.that has survived and prospered and, along the way, introduced navel oranges and geisha coffee to the region
Another Canadian, Alexander Duncan McIntyre from Plympton Ontario who had become mayor of Port Alberni in British Colombia and was at one time the youngest 

member of the provincial legislature, bought a coffee farm in Boquete in 1915, and fell in love with the Palo Alto region .He finally left politics behind to settle down as a coffee farmer in the early 1920s.

The Tedman and McIntyre families were united in marriage and the eldest son, Frank Tedman the 2nd continued expanding the family coffee interests. Today Frank Tedman the 3rd heads the family company and earlier in this launched Palo Alto as a branded coffee, proudly carrying the history of the Canadian linkage on its packaging. “Coffee runs in the family veins” he says. Tedman he plays an active role in supporting Canadian activities in Panama, like the PanamaPLUS Club. His son Frank Tedman the 4th and his other two children graduated from the University of Toronto, 30 minutes’ drive from the now disappeared Beverly where Frank the 1st grew up and where his parents died in a cholera outbreak.
In recent years Canadians have been active in cultural and social milieu across the Isthmus. The CanadaPLUS Club was founded less than three years ago, and following the multicultural example of Canada seeks to provide activities involving Canadians, Panamanians and people of all countries. In addition to social activities it enables members to get heavily discounted health insurance benefits and discounts in multiple businesses and restaurants Its stand out event in December is the Carols By Candlelight (Luces De Navidad) community event which with the participation of local choirs has raised funds for Santo Tomas Hospital, Hogar Malambo, and Fundacion Calicanto among others. This year a choir will travel from Canada to participate and a Canadian composer is creating a carol which will have its premiere performance at the 10 choir event on the Cinta Costera.
The event has had the support of Palo Alto from its inception.
Panama’s International Film Festival also has Canadian roots and was spearheaded in the city by Henk Van Der Kolk a co-founder of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
On the Island of Taboga Cynthia Mulder who arrived from Prince Edward Island 12 years ago to create a B&B hotel and restaurant was co-founder of the Fiesta Del Mar Festival to help invigorate the island’s economy following the closing of a local tourist hotel, by providing a music and food oriented event for tourists and residents.
In the hinterland of Coronado a small group of Canadians plays an active role in aiding local residents struck by misfortune.
Canadians are known for maintaining a low profile. But they are in Panama, largely behind the scenes, working to make a difference.