Darrell Fox and Marnie Burnham, manager of the regional archive program, look over the Terry Fox memorabilia at the Archives Canada Storage facility in Burnaby, on Dec. 5, 2013.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
After seven years of searching, the Terry Fox Foundation has finally found a home for tens of thousands of artifacts from the cancer research activist’s historic run across the country.
The Royal BC Museum in Victoria announced last week that, for the next 20 years, it will preserve a collection of memorabilia that had been at risk of damage because there had been no place to store it long-term where anyone could see it.
“I can get better sleep because, you know, the collection is currently in a storage locker, and that is not the right place and space for Terry’s memorabilia,” said Darrell Fox, Terry Fox’s younger brother, in an interview.
Terry Fox, a distance runner raised in Surrey and Port Coquitlam, B.C., lost his right leg to cancer at age 19. With an artificial leg three years later, on April 12, 1980, he began his Marathon of Hope in St. John’s to raise money for cancer research. He covered 5,373 kilometres before he was forced to quit on Sept. 1, just outside Thunder Bay.
Terry Fox raised $1.7-million from the run, but he inspired yearly fundraising runs across the country and around the world. He died in 1981.
The memorabilia collection is massive, with tens of thousands of items, including cards and letters, Darrell Fox said.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
The memorabilia collection is massive, including tens of thousands of items, including cards and letters, Darrell Fox said. There’s journals and the water from when his brother dipped his leg in the Atlantic Ocean to begin his trek.
“There’s the sock he wore on his artificial leg that he never took off. There are the Adidas shoes that he wore and ran in. There’s the artificial leg that he ran on. He had a spare, but Terry had his favourite leg, and the leg that is in the collection is the leg that was responsible for most of the 3,339 miles that Terry ran during the Marathon of Hope,” Darrell Fox said.
Tracey Drake, chief executive officer of the Royal BC Museum, said the collection nicely fits with the museum’s mandate.
“I think that’s one of the roles of provincial museums, as we collect and share our collective history,” Ms. Drake said.
Terry Fox inspired yearly fundraising runs across the country and around the world.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
She said the first step is for curators to assess the condition of the collection and whether any restoration is needed. It will take six to eight months before it is fully moved into the museum and then more time to decide how to display the artifacts.
“Regarding exhibitions, there are so many opportunities that we can talk about with the Fox family, things like a travelling exhibition that benefits not just the provincial museum but perhaps across the province and maybe across the country,” Ms. Drake said.
The collection includes journals and the water from when Terry Fox dipped his leg in the Atlantic Ocean to begin his trek.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
“There’s certainly an option they’re thinking about in 2030, which will mark the 50th anniversary. I think there’s an opportunity there for an incredible show.”
In the meantime, the museum currently displays Terry’s 1980 Ford Econoline van, which he and his family used as a support vehicle for the Marathon of Hope.
Lana Popham, B.C.’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, helped arrange for the museum to get the collection and said it was an emotional process.
“I’m not a big crier, but when I saw his running shoes, it literally brought tears to my eyes. There’s just something so emotional, and British Columbians and Canadians are so connected, that this is absolutely the right place for it to be right now,” she said.
Terry Fox's favourite baseball cap from SFU.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail