TSS Castlegar’s Exclusive STIHL Chainsaw HENNE'S HAS 7 YEAR ITCH | 2,000 years at same operation o anniversary of Celgar Pulp's 20th year of operation in Castlegar passed quietly for many local residents, But for nearly 100 pulpmill em- ployees, it was a time of celebration as they marked their 20th year -of ‘service with the mill. Their combined total’ of 2,000 .years at the same operation is remarkable not only for a pulpmill, but for’ any industry in Canada. Celgar Pulp employees are at a loss to explain why so many of their fellow workers remained at the mill from the day it first began operations in the fall of 1960, But each has a reason for his or her ' own lengthy service, ° Ray Lee, for example, was __ typical of the new :wave of CANCEL'S PRESIDENT TROPHY, won by -' Celgar Pulp Division for the best overall safety record in the company, is being held here by John Gleave, steam and immigrants who arrived at Castlegar about the time the mill was being built, “T came here in the fall of "69, and gota job building the - road through to ‘Christina Lake. When Colcel, as it was known then, began advertis- ing for mill people, I nat- urally applied.” Peon “Deciding that a ‘steady paycheck to support. his family and pay the mortgage on his new home were major priorities in his life, Lee signed on as a member'of the mill's woodroom crew “‘be- cause that's something I” knew I could do,” .he says. In 20 years, he's worked on 8 succession of boomboats, keeping the mill's. Colby. crane supplied with bundles of ‘loge that « have | been. 1 during 1980. brought downriver from the company’s logging oper- ations, 3 “After a while, you get to know the area like the back of your hand, and because you work. with the same -people for so many years, you always know .what’ they're going.to do, even before they do it,”-he says, 2 In a mill noted for its low turnover, Celgar Pulp's five- man boom crew is, almost unmatched, in’. its staying power. Both Lee and fellow operator Gary Jones have been in'their jobs ‘since’ the first: bundle of : logs :was hoisted into the woodroom'in 1960,. The remaining three recovery operator. The ‘award was only: one of the mill's safety achievements . : : : ‘Celgar Pulp Division Celebrates 20 years of Anniversary employees tally the operation for a total of 81 years, ‘Sharing common experi: ences over a number of years appears to be'a major factor “in employees’ loyalty to the -mill.’ With most tong-time employees conscious of: the strong bonds that link them operation in Castlegar unlikely that one-fifth of the~ mill's workforce would atill be working for the same company’ they joined two decades aga, MacKenzie’s . motive . in + joining CanCel was