UNB Alumni
Telling our #ProudlyUNB stories

The UNB Class of ’74 civil engineers graduated as a class of “52 brothers.” Now, 50 years, seven trees and many successful careers later, the group continues to reunite every five years to share stories, memories and support for one another.

This summer marked the 50^th anniversary for the class, and as they have done every fifth summer since graduating, the group reunited for a weekend in Fredericton of food and golf, as well as a tree planting on the UNB campus in memory of a classmate who is no longer with them.

Doug Johnson (BScCE’74), on the organizing committee for the group, said, “We plant a tree every five years to commemorate classmates lost since the last reunion, and we invite their families to participate. Each tree on the UNB campus across from the Old Engineering Building carries a plaque naming those who were lost. It’s a special anchor event to our weekend and carries great meaning for us. Unfortunately, we’ve lost 12 of our 52 classmates, and it’s difficult for us because we have remained quite close since graduating – we’ve really become even closer over the years. It’s important for us to pay tribute to them.”

Doug and his fellow organizing committee members, including Ashley Cummings (BScCE’74), George Duguay (BScCE’74), Paul Morrison (BScCE’74) and Glen Wilson (BScCE’74) “have the formula for the weekend down pat” and split the work. This year was even more special as the group received their 50-year alumni pins from the UNB Associated Alumni. “We loved this – it was actually quite emotional.”

Doug recalled that he and his classmates had a “homeroom” for the final three years of the 5-year program when they attended UNB, where professors came to them for classes, and where they’d gather to work on assignments and projects, eat meals and to play table hockey and crib tournaments. The group formed an intramural hockey team, and they maintained the long traditions of those before them including the Engineering Smoker and Engineering Week. They arranged the first joint engineering-nursing pubs, packing the SUB three or four times a year and bringing in high-profile bands. “We had a lot of fun during our time at UNB.”

After graduating, the group went on to build their own careers, many staying in New Brunswick, but quite a few moving all around the world as well. For Doug, the next step would be to continue his studies in the UNB master’s transportation engineering program. “Dr. Frank Wilson approached me to think about going to grad school and told me he had money to help me attend. So, I accepted and started studying in the attic of the old engineering building, where the program was located at the time,” he remembers. “I was taken with the secretary for the program, Anne, and I asked her out. That was 50 years ago as well, and we’ve been together ever since, having married in 1977!”

Doug went on to work in New Brunswick’s Department of Transportation. “At the time, the government was changing the Department of Highways into the Department of Transportation and I got a job using all the grad school training I just finished at UNB. I spent 35 years in NBDOT and was involved with others in lots of projects in NB, the Atlantic Region and nationally. I loved my work. One of the highlights was managing the Fredericton-Moncton highway project that opened in 2001. We worked for six years day and night with over 2000 New Brunswick workers. There were many UNBers on that project and other projects over the years. We’ve been able to make a big impact in the province, contributing to its economic and social growth. I loved what I did and loved working with them all.”

Now 50 years later, the Class of ’74 civil engineers have created a class scholarship that helps more UNB engineers graduate and make an impact. “We are giving out our sixth scholarship this Fall and have now built the endowment to over $50,000, so that we can award two $1000 scholarships every year in perpetuity. Some individuals in our group have also created their own named scholarships as well. It just makes us feel so good to pay it forward. UNB was good to us, and we want to share that experience with others.”