UNB Engineering News

One of the greatest benefits of being an engineering graduate from UNB is the strong sense of connection with history and with each other.

The Ketchum Medal Winners Club is a prime example of that.

The Ketchum Silver Medal is awarded to the student who has the highest standing in the senior year of the Civil Engineering program at UNB. The winners meet once every five years – gathering to honour the newest recipients and share stories of those from the past. It’s an esteemed event that brings together civil engineering alumni in a tradition that fosters respect, community and pride.

The medal was established in 1897 in memory of Henry G. C. Ketchum, a well-known railway engineer who conceived of and developed plans for the Chignecto Ship Railway to transport ships from the Bay of Fundy to the Northumberland Strait. 

From the UNB Archives Special Collection:

Henry George Clopper Ketchum was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on 26 Feb. 1839, the son of George E. Ketchum and Mary Ann (Phillips) Ketchum. After graduating from the Fredericton Collegiate School, he enrolled at King's College (later the University of New Brunswick) in 1854 where he took the first engineering course offered. After college, Ketchum worked in various aspects of railway engineering, both in Canada and Brazil. As a young man, he overcame engineering challenges and carved out a place for himself with the finest engineers in the world. In 1866, Henry Ketchum married Sarah Milner of Sackville, New Brunswick.

In the mid-1870s, Ketchum became interested in what he is best remembered for, the Chignecto Ship Railway. Henry Ketchum conceived the idea of a ship railway that would cross the Isthmus of Chignecto, thereby facilitating passage of ships that had to circumnavigate Nova Scotia in order to move from the Bay of Fundy into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. For more than 10 years, Ketchum developed and promoted his vision until, with British financial backers, he actually began construction of a ship railway across the Isthmus of Chignecto in 1888. Financial problems, and eventually the loss of government support, were to scuttle his dream, leaving the ship railway three-quarters finished. On 8 Sept. 1896, at the age of 57, Henry George Clopper Ketchum died in Amherst, Nova Scotia, from a heart condition.

Paul Morrison (BScCE’74, MScCE’78), Chair of the Ketchum Medal Winners Club and 1974 recipient of the medal, says Henry Ketchum inspired many by challenging them to look at new ways of doing things better. “The Ketchum Medal is among the longest continuously awarded prizes at UNB and is made of silver and cast with intricate detail. It’s a special keepsake that reminds us of our recognition every time we look at it. It’s more than a medal – it has a perpetual community and significant tradition attached to it. This community provides access to a network of exceptional graduates and the opportunity to exchange experiences, recent and past.”

Dale Bray (BScCE’63, MScCE’65), Ketchum Medal winner from 1963 and retired professor of Civil Engineering at UNB, says that Henry Ketchum, who provided initial funding to create the medal award and produce the medals for some time, clearly demonstrated the value of networking early in his career. “I would encourage those who win the medal to similarly develop a network of connections and keep open the possibilities to contribute to the well-being of society. Be willing to attempt new approaches to problem solving. Be proud of your connections with UNB and seek to exhibit peace, justice and compassion as you face the challenges of life.”