The Terry Fox Monument, situated in the outskirts of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, is a public monument commemorating cancer research activist

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

Marathon of Hope Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

. The monument, which depicts Fox, is open to the public and offers a panoramic view of Thunder Bay and its surroundings.

History

The statue was created by sculptor Manfred Pervich"Terry Fox monument vandalized angers sculptor". ''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'', September 13, 1996. to mark the place where Fox was forced to stop his run on August 31, 1980. It is approximately four kilometres ( miles) west of the exact spot where Fox ended his run, which is marked by a road sign. The monument was dedicated on June 26, 1982, just days before the first anniversary of Terry Fox's death, by Governor General

Edward Schreyer Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as the 22nd governor general of Canada from 1979 to 1984. He previously served as the 16th premier of Manitoba from 1969 to 1977. Schr ...

. Originally located directly along the route of Highway 17, the statue was later relocated to a dedicated park overlooking the highway to accommodate the widening of the highway route. By 1989, municipal politicians in Thunder Bay were beginning to call for a provincial tourist information centre, with washrooms on site, to be built at the monument due to reports that some visitors to the site were urinating and defecating in the bushes surrounding the site. An information centre was built on the site at the time of relocation. Following the monument's relocation in the 1990s, several incidents of

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...

were reported on the site, including littering with empty alcohol bottles and hypodermic needles,"Terry Fox monument defaced". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', March 1, 1996.

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

s being pried off the statue's base, damage to the onsite washrooms, one of the statue's hands being sawed off, and an aborted partial attempt to saw off the statue's head.

Cultural significance

Many later public events have revolved in some way around the monument. On

Steve Fonyo Stephen Charles Fonyo Jr. (June 29, 1965 – February 18, 2022) was a Canadian runner with an artificial leg who was a nationally renowned fundraiser for cancer research and treatment, and a former Member of the Order of Canada. Journey for Live ...

's subsequent Journey for Lives run, he stopped at the monument to reflect before moving forward into the part of the run that Fox was never able to complete. In 1997, a quadriplegic named Dave Shannon stopped at the monument as part of his own cross-Canada trek for disability awareness. In 2000, Fox's surviving family members held a public event at the monument to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the beginning of Fox's run. For the Olympic torch relay across Canada prior to the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, a cancer survivor named Kailie Kernaghan-Keast was chosen for the leg of the run east of Thunder Bay, with the Terry Fox Monument chosen as the location for her to hand off to the next runner."Cancer survivor reaches Terry Fox monument". ''

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'', January 4, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry Fox Memorial and Lookout Terry Fox Buildings and structures in Thunder Bay Parks in Thunder Bay Monuments and memorials in Ontario Vandalized works of art in Canada