Honouring Terry Fox at Outer Cove Beach with memorial
The memorial recognizes Fox's gathering of seawater at the beach more than 35 years ago
It was a mystery solved a few years ago, and now Terry Fox's seawater gathering at Outer Cove Beach is being recognized in a new memorial.
The Town of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, in partnership with Parks Canada, unveiled a commemorative storyboard, tree and bronze plaque Thursday to honour the important part of Fox's journey.
Right before he began his Marathon of Hope more than three decades ago, Fox stopped at Outer Cove Beach to retrieve ocean water.
He planned to pour water from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean, once he completed his run to the other side of the country.
Originally assumed to be water from Cape Spear, it was confirmed before the 35th anniversary of Fox's run that the water was, in fact, from Outer Cove Beach.
John Kennedy, the mayor of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, said having the memorial is very exciting for the town.
"The fact that this went undiscovered for 30 odd years is an even better story," he said.
"We didn't know until the year before last that the man that actually accompanied Terry on his journey came down and confirmed that the site was at Outer Cove Beach."
Robin Martin, with the local Parks Canada office, said this part of the story is not just important to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador or Canada, but to the world.
"Terry's visit to Outer Cove that day went largely unnoticed," he said.
"Clearly, for him, it was full of meaning and importance. The water he gathered in that simple glass jug, now on display at the Canadian Museum of History, represented his determination to complete the almost super-human task that lay ahead of him."
The next stage of the memorial plans include painting a mural, Kennedy said, adding he hopes a member of Fox's family will be in attendance at that unveiling when it is finished.
"Newfoundland has a very colourful history and this is just another piece that makes it even more colourful," Kennedy said.
