Delco-Remy Division of General Motors

Delco-Remy Division of General Motors employed most of the men in my family for two generations and some for a third generation. Much of Delco-Remy was sold off before the GM bankruptcy at the height of the Great Recession.

I will post more about the specific jobs that my grandfather Ralph Wellons, his son Bob Wellons, my father Jerry Dixon and others in the family performed for Delco-Remy. Some of the females in our family worked there, but usually only until they started having kids.

Delco Remy had about 25 different plants and employed 25,000 workers in my hometown of Anderson, Indiana when I graduated from high school in 1972. My brother was one of the last 100 or so workers when he took an early buyout (as did many relatives) around 2005.

Delco-Remy started as the Remy Brothers Electric company. They made parts that generated or used electricity for cars (and airplanes and tanks and vehicles of all kinds). The Remy Brothers combined with Dayton Engineering Labs Co. from Dayton, Ohio and then the combined company was bought by General Motors. There were plants in several Indiana cities and throughout the country and the world eventually.

I posted the picture above to show just some of the core products that they made for cars when I was a child. They made many other products and made a lot of military related parts during World War II and thereafter.

Employees of Delco-Remy made some of the highest salaries for comparable skill levels in the country. There were assembly line workers, skilled tradesmen, and engineers plus many other kids of workers. They also had, and still have, one of the best benefit packages in the country. There was even a country club for employees only in the early 1900’s when it was just Remy Brothers. When I was growing up there was a huge park (Killbuck Park), complete with golf course, baseball fields, multiple playgrounds, a mini-golf course, a miniature train ride, a creek to fish in and a lodge building for employee gatherings and retiree meetings... solely for the enjoyment of Delco-Remy and Guide Lamp Division employees. There was no cost, except to play golf. The 4th of July fireworks were amazing every year. We lived close by, which was a bonus.