Tour of Hope

NEW GLASGOW - As nine-year-old Cassidy Cornett walked through the parking lot of Glasgow Square, she clutched a purple homemade book in one hand and her father Terry's hand in the other.
The A.G. Baillie student made a special trip to the Square Tuesday to meet Fred Fox, Terry Fox's older brother, and see the van the famed 21-year-old runner called home during his Marathon of Hope 28 years ago.
"She had done a book report on Terry in the winter and wanted to come and see the van," her father said. "She even has a picture of Fred in here and he joked that at least he has hair in the drawing."
Shy, but curious to see the place Terry called home for four and half months, Cassidy slowly approached Fox and asked him sign her book report.
She said the thing that impressed her most about Terry Fox is, "he could make it all across Canada."
Cassidy was just one of the many school children and adults who turned out to greet Fred Fox and the Tour of Hope as it makes its way through the Maritimes on its cross-country trek.
"This is the van Terry climbed into after he ran his last mile in Thunder Bay," said Fox. "Terry slept in this van, took breaks in this van; that was his home and his sanctuary."
The original 1980 Econoline Ford Van, which had different owners over the years, was recently discovered and returned to the Terry Fox Foundation. Ford Canada completely restored the van in 45 days with people working around the clock for 1,000 hours, dismantling and reassembling every piece of the vehicle.
The Tour of Hope was officially kicked off May 25 in St. John's, Nfld., and will continue until it reaches Victoria, B.C., in September. Although the van is being towed on a flatbed trailer for most of the journey, it does drives into areas for special gatherings like the one in New Glasgow. Donations are being accepted to the Terry Fox Foundation as part of the tour.
Fox said he only spent a little time in the van with his brother, Terry, on his Marathon of Hope, but is enjoying touring the country now in his brother's memory.
"This is something special to our family, this was Terry's home away from home," he said. "Thank you for doing your part in keeping Terry's dream alive."
The Terry Fox Tour of Hope can been followed with daily blogs on its website, www.tourofhope.ca