Panama Jones By Reed Boettcher
& The Town Of Clarita
N
estled in the farmland of Coal County is the quiet town of Clarita. For many, the town is known for hosting the Amish School auction every September, but for Winston Rice it’s known as home. It’s said home is where the heart is. This must be true, for Rice has spent the last couple of decades pouring his heart and soul into restoring his hometown. Some might see Clarita as the town time forgot. After all, it isn’t uncommon to see a horse drawn carriage when passing through the area. As for Rice, he sees Clarita as a town rich in culture with the capacity of sustaining independent businesses. Winston Rice is a nostalgic visionary who isn’t afraid of tackling big projects. Looking for adventure, Rice followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the military. While in the Army, Rice went to Jump School and Parachute Rigger School where he became a Paratrooper. After being stationed in France and Germany he re-enlisted and was assigned to an airborne unit in Panama. Rice served three tours of duty in Panama as a Paratrooper. In his off time he sought out adventures such as: scuba diving, trekking across the isthmus, fishing, searching for artifacts, and exploring the many nooks and crannies of Panama. During such explorations is where he first met the Embera Indians of the Darien Region. His intrigue with the culture and love of the climate would later result in his establishment of an adventure tourism company in Panama. December 22, 1972 Rice set a world record parachute jump. He and eight others performed nine way jump formations on the Panama Atlantic and Pacific coasts within two hours. At the age of 23, Rice earned a Master FAA Parachute Rigger license making him the youngest person to GREAT PLAINS LIVING 20
achieve this rating at the time. With over 600 jumps to his resume, Rice finally ended his military career as an Army newspaper editor at Fort Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska. While in Alaska he learned the trade of cabinet making and met his wife, Linda. The cold climate couldn’t have been more of an opposite to the warmths of Panama. After several winters and a severe case of cabin fever Rice and his family moved to his hometown of Clarita where they set up shop and started developing their Panama tourism business. At first their tourism business started off slow so Rice sought further education in tourism and computer technology to enhance their business. During this time Rice became aware of the importance of the internet medium. Even though the world wide web was in its infancy, Rice and his family developed and bought www.panamacanal.com which impacted their business tremendously. Imagine the frustrations this caused the Panama tourism development officials. The newly marketed website generated so much business that it became necessary to establish an office in Panama to receive their tourists. Rice and a few of his long time friends worked together to develop a tourism program that encompassed historic Panama locations as well as native inhabited rainforests. Rice began working with the Embera Indians on the Chagres River where he was at the forefront of incorporating the natives into Panama tours. His long standing relationship with the local Indians brought prosperity to the tribes and a authentic touch to the tours. After several attempts to register the company’s name Rice and others eventually decided to name the www.greatplainsliving.com
