A A2
Date of the items: 1977-2011
Physical description: 5cm
Title: Robert Rehder Fonds
Creator: Robert Rehder
Repository: Trent Valley Archives
Reference number: TVA Fonds 682
Scope and contents: The fonds consists of reports, manuals and publications related to Robert Rehder’s career at Canadian General Electric in Peterborough, Ontario in the design and development of switchgears and insulation systems for motors and generators.
Access Conditions: No Restrictions
Finding aid: None, see file listing below
Accruals: No further accruals are expected
Custodial history: Donated by Robert Rehder on September 6, 2017.
Biographical sketch: Robert Rehder studied at Queens University and graduated with a BSc in Electric Engineering in 1950. After graduation, he began working at Canadian General Electric in Peterborough. For the first part of his career, he worked in their switchgear engineering department as a design and development engineer; but was transferred to designing and developing insulation systems for motors and generators when GE closed their switchgear department. He retired from GE after a 47-year career, establishing his own consulting business and writing a fictional story based on his work experiences. His name is on 28 patents.
In addition to his work at GE, Rehder is known for his involvement in the restoration of the Hope Mill in the early 2000s, which earned him a spot on Peterborough’s Pathway of Fame in 2014. He has won the Centennial Medal of the Institute of Electronic Engineers in 1984, an Engineering Excellence Award from Professional Engineers Ontario in 1993, a citizenship award from the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers in 2008 and the Peterborough Chapter Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Related fonds at TVA: We have several fonds at TVA that relate to Canadian General Electric including F78 CGE Plant News, F327 I. F. McRae, F381 David Dwyer, F780 Hubert R Sills, F818 von der Gonna, F830 George Alden Sills, F866 Dennis A. Vass and F912 John Ball
Access Points:
Canadian General Electric
Electric Engineering
Switchgear Engineering
Insulation Systems
Hope Mill
Ontario Hydro
La Grande Complex
List of Files:
- Canadian General Electric – Report of a test for Ontario Hydro written by Robert in 1977
- How One Idea leads to Another – A fictional story written by Robert based on his own experiences as an engineer
- La Grande Complex – A booklet with photographs of the complex, a major Hydroelectric Development in Quebec that began in 1972 and was to be completed in 1985.
- Instructions for a Metal-Clad Switch Gear – published by Canadian General Electric
- A brochure related to the insulation of bus conductors