The memories of a National icon have arrived in Prince George.
Terry Fox’s personal belongings, preserved by his mother and family, from his historic run for cancer research are at Exploration Place starting today until January 13th, 2019.
Darrell Fox, Senior Advisor for the Terry Fox Research Institute, and Terry’s younger brother, says in addition to the resonating effect for those who witnessed the Marathon of Hope more than 38 years ago, impacting the next generation is vital.
“He [Terry] never liked all the attention he got. He thought that the real heroes were those that he left behind in the cancer ward. So that’s why it’s important to have students involved, and the first thing we share with them is that Terry was an average person, and an average athlete, and an average student, but look what he accomplished through hard work and determination.”
Recognizable items include Terry’s prosthetic leg, his worn out running shoes, his Marathon of Hope shirts, photos of all his accomplishments, and even his Order of Canada medal.
(He is the youngest to ever receive Canada’s highest civilian honour at age 22)
#TerryFox’s running shoes give sense of how difficult it was to run on Canadian roads; glue kept the soles together from #Newfoundland to #Ontario back in 1980 | #CityOfPG @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/o9tKJYwfIJ
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) October 15, 2018
Darrell says with each passing year of his brother’s death, his heart grows bigger when seeing young people take Terry’s torch.
“It’s hard to think about my brother’s death absolutely, but I know with every loonie and toonie we raise 38 years after the Marathon of Hope, we are saving lives for the future and that’s what Terry’s message was. This privilege I have to a part of it, it’s been a gift of a lifetime and I will never take it for granted.”
The van Terry used is also in the Northern capital on display at UNBC.
This is the final stop of a three-year-long tour, organized by the Canadian Museum of History.
.@ExplorationPG will host the #TerryFox exhibit from now until January 2019, which also includes the 22-year-old’s prosthetic leg; the displays are put together in conjunction with the @CanMusHistory | #CityOfPG @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/KAQaN60Pqx
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) October 15, 2018