4 generations of a family working in Churchill Falls reflect on 50 years of power

"It's like a big family."

That's how Robert Dawe describes living and working in Churchill Falls, the Labrador town that is home to one of the world's largest underground hydroelectric plants. He's lived in the town since he was five years old.

"It makes it home when you've got multiple generations here. There's something about it that keeps us here," Dawe said.

This year, employees are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Churchill Falls Generating Station delivering its first power on Dec. 6, 1971. 

Dawe, who is responsible for scheduling the maintenance and repair of company vehicles and equipment, said he is still in awe of the underground plant, located about 300 metres below the surface.

"It's so impressive. When you're in the powerhouse looking around, and at [the] generator floor, which is three Canadian football fields long and 150 feet high, I believe it is, it makes you feel small," he said.

Children carrying on tradition

Dawe's grandfather got a job in Churchill Falls after his parents started working in the town, and now his children have returned and are carrying on that family tradition. 

"I definitely feel a little bit of pride knowing that they all worked here. They all loved it, and I wanted to come back," said Dawe's daughter, Siobhon Lethbridge-Dawe.

When she was growing up, Lethbridge-Dawe says, her grandmother and father told her stories about Churchill Falls. She remembers flipping through albums looking at photos of places that don't exist anymore, like the bowling alley.

She's impressed Churchill Falls power goes to cities like Montreal and beyond. 

"Even still to this day, we are helping every other community get power," she said.

Everyone plays a role in keeping the town running so the power flows, she said.

"Even if you don't work underground, you are still contributing to the 50 years."

Her brother Devon Lethbridge — a seasonal utility worker in the underground — says it's impressive to see what was accomplished when the plant was built all those decades ago.

"You get a sense of satisfaction when you're working down there, knowing that you're continuing the work they started," he said. 

A big family 

Dawe's mother, Eileen Sutton, fondly remembers the town, which she says had a workforce of about 1,500 permanent employees when she arrived from Milltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir in 1974.

She worked as a janitor before retiring in 2006.

"It was really busy, a really busy town and very friendly town right from the start. Everybody was like family," she said.

She remembers bands like the Wonderful Grand Band and Ryan's Fancy coming to town. Hockey was also big, with crowds packing the arena every Sunday afternoon.

The winter carnival was the biggest event of the year. 

Dawe remembers carving out snow sculptures to look like fast food restaurants from snow banks with his high school classmates during the carnival. 

"I can remember looking across the street and seeing the snow banks so high you couldn't see the houses on the other side of the street, and that was my first memory of Churchill Falls," said Dawe. 

Self-sufficiency 

Dawe says he thinks living in an isolated town was a good thing. 

"We were on our own. It made for a different place. Everything was here," Dawe said.

He says just bringing in a vehicle meant putting it on a train in Sept-Îles, Que., before it arrived at a remote point called Esker, nearly 200 kilometres away from Churchill Falls. 

A road to Happy Valley-Goose Bay was accessible in the summer.

"Everyone would do anything for you, you know, be together any time. You worked with the same people. You went to school with the same people. You know everybody, even their dogs' names," he said. 

50 years and beyond

Dawe applauds Churchill Falls for providing clean, renewable power — and he's proud to help maintain it, in a place he calls home. 

Although much of the profit from the plant goes to Hydro-Québec, Dawe credits Premier Joey Smallwood for getting it up and running. 

The 70-year deal will be up in 2041 when the contract between the province and Quebec is up for renegotiation. 

At that time, Dawe said, his children will get to witness a big milestone for the province.

"People think, 'Well, it was a bad deal.' No, it was a deal that had to be made for this place to go ahead, and Joey wanted it to go ahead, so he made this deal. They made it happen," said Dawe.

"We wouldn't be here otherwise."

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