It's good news that Port Coquitlam hometown hero and Canadian icon Terry Fox will be honoured with an exhibit at Canada's new Canadian Museum of History, now undergoing renovation and rebranding near Ottawa.
When it is complete in 2015, the museum will celebrate 150 years of confederation, including Fox's world-famous Marathon of Hope undertaken in 1980, and it's fitting his memorable run should be honoured with an exhibit featuring important items associated with the curly-haired runner with the distinctive hop-footed gait.
Some items recently unveiled at a press conference include his Companion of the Order of Canada medal and letters he received from Canadian children. This memorabilia will also be part of a traveling exhibition made available to all Canadians, the public has learned.
This museum exhibit will show how important Fox is to Canadians, who continue to support his efforts for cancer research. It will give them access to items that recall his determination and his vision, and provide members of the public an opportunity to more thoroughly relate to his experience and the goals that he set about attaining.
Sharing Fox with the rest of the country is the least Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and Port Moody residents can do if it will help his cause. But along with relief that important items connected with Fox are being taken care of and properly displayed is a sense of disappointment that more can't be done here in the Tri-Cities, where he grew up, went to school and trained for his marathon.
Other than some important buildings, statues and his burial site, there is little that remains of Fox's personal possessions, at least none that have the kind of distinct recognition that might be touchstones for people visiting or living here.
Still, while there might not be a museum dedicated to Fox in Port Coquitlam, his presence is still strongly felt - recognized in historical photos and video, and in the wildly successful Terry Fox Runs and school runs that occur every September that are a testament to his goals and values.
