Growing up in the shadow of the GE plant

The closing of the Canadian General Electric plant in Peterborough will impact many local lives.

Besides those who will be losing their jobs, many others have been greatly affected by the plant over the years.

I grew up in the shadow of its smoke stack on Sherbrooke Street. My father worked there from 1940 until his death in 1960. As a kid, the CGE affected practically every aspect of my life in the hood.

Our day was measured by the CGE whistles. The noon one told us, if we had been doddering after leaving Prince of Wales school, we better hurry home for dinner. We always had our main meal at noon. After dinner the 1 p.m. whistle told us we better be heading back up the hill to school and the 5 p.m. toot announced time to be home to clean up for supper.

Also, Monday was always laundry day as the CGE agreed not to emit the sooty smoke from the stack until the neighbourhood’s laundry was off the clothes lines.

The first hockey game I remember was just after the end of the Second World War. The city had no indoor arena and the outdoor one the CGE built on the site of the former Civic Arena, now the present day Legacy Bowl, was one of the most popular in the city. The CGE Shop League hockey was also some of the best of the game in town. Many of the workers were former Junior B or Senior B players.

My first recollection of hockey was watching with my father while standing on the snow banks surrounding the rink on Park Street. I assume it was a shop league game. With no television this was the only hockey to watch in town.

The CGE rink was replaced by the Civic Arena that opened in 1948.

As a CGE employee’s kid, two annual events put on by the plant were big in our lives. In early June the CGE picnic was always a big day. With more than 5,000 employees it guaranteed a massive crowd at Nicholls Oval. The kids’ races were highly anticipated. To win an age-group race gave you bragging rights for a year. I never won one but did place third one year, receiving a bathing suit as a prize.

The other big event was the CGE Christmas Tree in the PCVS auditorium each December. With the numbers involved there were a series of performances that involved a stage act, usually a magician, and a short movie of some type. The thing that enticed you to sit through the show was receiving a gift afterwards. For boys 12 years and older it was always a hockey stick.

These sticks were unique. They were one piece and as heavy as a two-by-four. You would never use them in your church league hockey games. It was strictly a road hockey stick. It rarely broke and the blade would wear down to a sliver. This allowed some warping to create a hook. Long before Bobby Hull introduced the hooked blade to the NHL, we on Sherbrooke Street were shooting balls, pucks and road apples head high with our hooked sticks.

Though I do not remember the CGE itself sponsoring local minor teams, the employees’ unions did. The UE and IUE were both supporters of a number of teams in a variety of sports. I played on a UE peewee hockey team and the 1957 junior A lacrosse team was sponsored by the union.

I suppose it was inevitable CGE would leave the city like many other factories earlier, but it will definitely leave a hole for many of us growing up under its shadow.