Family wants museum honouring icon Terry Fox

[grammafreddy]

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loca ... lumbiaHome

Family wants museum honouring icon Terry Fox
By: Marten Youssef, The Canadian Press

Date: Tuesday Jan. 18, 2011 6:01 PM PT

Members of Terry Fox's family say they are ready to part with personal memorabilia to set up a museum that would honour the Canadian icon's battle with cancer.

Fox's mother, Betty, was speaking at the unveiling Tuesday of four bronze statues of her son to be erected at BC Place. She said there needs to be one place where her son's journey can be preserved.

"It may be time to consider a place where we can walk inside and within four walls, truly experience the Marathon of Hope -- a place where the lives of cancer survivors and those like Terry, who are no longer with us, can be celebrated," Fox said.

Premier Gordon Campbell joined Fox's family to unveil plans for the new memorial that will replace a 27-year-old monument that currently graces the stadium.

The current memorial site is being replaced as part of ongoing renovations at BC Place, home to the BC Lions, to install a retractable roof.

Fox said she envisions a national Terry Fox Centre that would be a place for all things Terry.

"The Terry Fox collection is a priceless piece of Canada's heritage, but after 30 years, the collection is spread over numerous Lower Mainland and valley locations. We have been told...if the collection is not protected now we stand to lose it," said Fox.

Although Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, he grew up in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

"I have cared for and deeply cherished Terry's more personal items but understand and accept that it might be time to trust them to another," said Fox.

Among the items Fox has is her son's artificial leg, which he used to run 5,373 kilometres until the cancer spread to his lungs and he was forced to stop his Marathon of Hope outside of Thunder Bay, Ont.

Fox died June 28, 1981 and his legacy has continued in annual Terry Fox runs around the world that have raised more than half a billion dollars for cancer research.

The new memorial was designed by artist and author Douglas Coupland, with the four statues replicating the distinctive gait of Terry Fox.

"When you put these bronzes in sequence, they become a sort of frozen animation depicting Terry's legendary running motion that Canadians became familiar with in the summer of 1980," Coupland said.

Campbell said he hopes the statues will build on Terry's connection with B.C

Sure, if the family wants a museum dedicated to their son, go ahead. But let them pay for it or find a philanthropist who supports the concept and runs it as a private museum.

If the government gets involved with this, it means a government-built building to house the collection, government union staff to work there, government bureaucracy to manage it, and government funding to maintain it all, etc etc.

I'm of the opinion that any money raised for the disease called "cancer" would be better spent on research and assistance for those afflicted rather than a museum dedicated to one individual, even though this individual did something wonderful and his name continues to do so after his death.

There's already honours to Terry galore, statues of him and schools and such named after him.

If the family is truly interested in preserving their collection of memorabilia and can't interest a private benefactor, then I would suggest donating it to the Royal BC Museum for them to preserve (if they would have it). At least that way it would be treated using proper preservation archival methods and could be a display within their already government-funded facility.

[The Green Barbarian]

I agree GF - if you want to see a case of government waste and museum building look no further than the "Human Rights" Museum that the Feds built in Winnipeg. Hundreds of millions of dollars blown on a building full of stuff no one in their right mind would ever want to see. Total garbage.

[Bagotricks]

I agree GF - if you want to see a case of government waste and museum building look no further than the "Human Rights" Museum that the Feds built in Winnipeg. Hundreds of millions of dollars blown on a building full of stuff no one in their right mind would ever want to see. Total garbage.

Canada is a leader in the world theater concerning Human Rights, we have a pretty rich history regarding it.

Just because you don't want to see it, or have a chip against the Charter - doesn't mean its "total garbage".

As far as Terry Fox. I used to live in Thunder Bay - and there is a huge park/monument there already. Idk about a huge museum, but he has def carved out a piece of history for himself and he deserves to be remembered.

[The Green Barbarian]

I agree GF - if you want to see a case of government waste and museum building look no further than the "Human Rights" Museum that the Feds built in Winnipeg. Hundreds of millions of dollars blown on a building full of stuff no one in their right mind would ever want to see. Total garbage.

Canada is a leader in the world theater concerning Human Rights, we have a pretty rich history regarding it.

Just because you don't want to see it, or have a chip against the Charter - doesn't mean its "total garbage".

How did I know you'd be all over this Bago?

Yup - human rights - good - spending hundreds of millions of dollars of tax money to build a museum dedicated to them that NO ONE is going to visit - BAD. See - I wasn't crapping on human rights (though our corrupt "human rights" commissions in this country are a complete and utter joke) I was crapping on government waste. Try to keep up Bago.

http://www.henrymakow.com/human_rights_ ... htnin.html

Construction costs at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg have increased to $310 million from $265 million, bringing the project under increased scrutiny.

A recent Winnipeg Sun poll indicated that 90% of respondents did not want more tax dollars devoted to this project. All but $100 million of the original $265 million was funded by the three levels of government.

[kompili]

It might be kind of nice to honour someone that wasn't a politician or had millions of dollars for a change. Just a regular Joe that did something good without harming anyone.

[JLives]

I see no reason for a museum. I think even he would think honouring him by donating the amount it would cost for a new museum to cancer research would be preferred.

[flamingfingers]

I see no reason for a museum. I think even he would think honouring him by donating the amount it would cost for a new museum to cancer research would be preferred.

I certainly would say so too!

[kompili]

Maybe the best thing would be a Terry Fox room inside of a museum that already exists.

[RR24K]

Knowing what have see and read about Terry Fox.

This is IMO something Terry would rather see an article & display hanging in history museum. Which would have a title "Cancer at one time was a killer, a cure was found & Terry's dream came to pass".


But I could be wrong on this.

[twobits]

It might be kind of nice to honour someone that wasn't a politician or had millions of dollars for a change. Just a regular Joe that did something good without harming anyone.

Terry Fox is already an immortilized icon to fundraising for cancer. He is a household word to any Canadian over age 6. Too bad we can't ask Terry if he would prefer dollars (Private or Gov't) to be spent for construction and ongoing staff/maintenance of a museum housing worn out runners and other memorabilia or directed to research of the disease that took his life and millions more. The very way he reacted to his illness tells me what his answer would be and quite frankly I am surprised that his family would think a museum is needed to perpetuate his legacy.

[John500]

A museum????? With all respect for the Fox family and Terry himself, there are already enough dedicated sculptures, sites, parks, schools etc with his name/legacy. Now a museum. Give that money to cancer research. Terry be proud of that.