Lights Out: The Rise and Fall of CGE Peterborough: Retired workers recall the ‘Dynamic Decades’

The General Electric plant in Peterborough is slated to close in 2018.  The 150 remaining workers are finishing up outstanding orders but after that, there will be no new production.

By contrast, the 1950s and 1960s were a very busy time for CGE Peterborough.  Over 6,000 workers turned out all manner of electrical apparatus ranging from power generation equipment to home appliances.  Many who worked there at the time recall the “Dynamic Decades” with great fondness.

Retired electrical engineer Bob Rehder says it was a time when anything seemed possible when management focused on getting the job done.

“They knew how to measure the risks, they would evaluate it, then say that’s a good idea, and then do it.  There was no ‘we’ll tell you in a week, give us a chance to look at it a little further,'” Rehder said.

Paul Ayotte, who worked at CGE for over 30 years, says one time he was repairing a wire loom and needed a new part. When he contacted the machine manufacturer, he was told the parts hadn’t been made for decades.  Ayotte went to the company tool designers, who drew up a plan for the part and passed that on to a toolmaker, who made the part from scratch.

“It as simple as that, the skills and the talent were there to do those things,” Ayotte said.

There are hundreds of CGE retirees still living in Peterborough and area.  Their memories of their days with Canadian General Electric there are varied but both Rehder and Ayotte say it was a great place to work. Ayotte goes so far to say that if the company and people were the same today as back then, he would go back to work in a minute.