TFF Tour of Hope

Espanola, Elliot Lake and Sault Ste Marie

Well after an enjoyable weekend at home, I’m off again to Sudbury to pick up the van and trailer.  I wonder if my family was glad to see me go - I had everyone rolling coin for my upcoming deposits! 

I had a great ride up north and arrived safely to start another leg of the tour.  After saying goodbyes and thanks to the Sudbury OPP and city police, I am off to Espanola.  I arrive safely, set-up and have a couple of hours with many nice people, especially the owners of the dealership, the Scully’s, who provided us with Tim Horton’s coffee.

 

So, off we go again to Elliot Lake and as I arrive, I am greeted with rain, rain and more rain, but, as the tour would have it, Terry intervenes and the sun comes out to the delight of many!  I meet Paul Legris of the Ford dealership and many tour supporters and survivors.  I also met a nice couple who are on their way to the east coast, most importantly to Newfoundland to see Terry’s monument.  

Again we’re off to our next stop, Sault Ste. Marie and Maitland Ford and as I arrive, I meet my new OPP officer, Monique Baker and the Maitland family.  As I get out of the truck, I am greeted by a large crowd of people.  The mayor and a lady by the name of Janice Catania, who presents the Foundation with a beautiful collage of pictures she’s sketched of Terry.  I can’t stress it enough what great people I continue to meet on this tour with all their stories and especially the young ones, with all their questions.  I will never forget any of them! And last, but certainly not least, another great day with the OPP escort!

 

Thanks again Terry for the beautiful weather!

 

Don Clayton

Tour of Hope Volunteer

Sudbury

The plan for this morning is to meet Lou at the venue so off we go to the OPP station to pickup Terry’s van.  As usual we head out with our escort to the only venue of the day, which is at the downtown YMCA day camp.  Lou is there to greet us and to show me where they would like the van so we setup and out come the kids. Now I must say that obviously these are not the greatest fundraisers but they are, beyond a doubt, the most rewarding as the kids ask more questions than sometimes we have answers for.  Lou and I hung in there until they were all done!  It was a pleasure and an honour to do this with Lou.  I managed to get a bit of a break as Glemena took over - it gave me a chance to do a deposit, with Michelle was my armed escort.  Lucky me!

 

Well … all good things come to and end, so we said our goodbyes to Lou and the others and I headed back to the OPP station to lock up all the vehicles.  It is time for me to head back to London (home) for a couple of days before I continue the trip.  Glemena followed me and we stopped a couple of times to take pictures of places that Terry pasted in 1980.  Did I fail to mention earlier that Glemena is also our unofficial photographer!  Next stop was in Barrie at the Swiss Chalet where I finally get respect with the senior’s discount!  Since this was Glemena’s last day on the tour, we said our good byes and I tried to convey to her what a pleasure it was to have her along for all these days.  She is a volunteer extraordinaire!!

As I arrive home in London I make arrangements to have the truck serviced as the next part of the trip will be working it pretty hard in the North!  Good ole’ Ford came threw again as it was a no charge service.

Don Clayton

Tour of Hope Volunteer

Parry Sound - Sudbury

Here we go again - Glemena and I have a quick breakfast at the little inn where I stayed.  It was quite a treat for me, especially when the owners had donated my room and both our breakfasts. We’re off to Sudbury and our first venue of the day where we meet, after a nice drive, Lou Fine at the OPP Sudbury detachment. Lou was a volunteer with the Cancer Society and was with Terry in 1980. We also met our new OPP officer, Michelle Coulombe, who quickly gets a spot to unload the van so Lou can do a CBC radio and TV interview.

As we then head out, we have our great lead support staff of OPP vehicles followed by the van and then Glemena in her pickup (or as I call it her print shop on wheels).  We are heading to Bell Park

where we have a venue with good old Scotia McLeod and Michelle in the replica cruiser. The weather is not the greatest but Lou hangs in there and we finish the event.  It’s then back to the OPP station to park Terry’s van inside for the night.

Next stop is at the motel where we check in.  As luck would have it, me, the old guy, gets the second floor while young Glemena gets the main. They have no respect for an old f#@$!  One final outing to good old Timmy’s for dinner, and then back to the hotel … it’s time to call it a day!

 

Don Clayton

Tour of Hope Volunteer

Gravenhurst

On the road again … I feel a song coming and thank goodness you can’t hear me!  I head off to Gravenhurst for the day’s first venue.  As I pull into the parking at Terry’s Independent Grocery, low and behold who do I see but good old Glemena, Martha McClew and Kim Smith from the provincial office. What a nice surprise as I now know that t-shirt sales will skyrocket!  I set up everything as usual and of course Scotia McLeod is with us again - which has become a special added feature as all their volunteers are great!  I would like to mention that we had retired OPP officer John Lennox with us - his pictures and original thoughts of 1980 were very well received.  A very nice lady from Terry’s Independent Grocery, along with the owner’s, presented a cheque to the foundation for approximately $480.00 which they had raised the week before (oops, they had got their dates mixed up!) but still ran their barbecue anyway and raised the money.  Wow.

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that as we were finished up the venue, I was greatly surprised when Glemena and as we call him, Superman’s twin, Graydon presented me with two beautiful prints.  One of which included myself, Darrell and Harry with the van and cruiser.  How great was that?!!

 

We are now on our way to Bala where we arrive at the Royal Canadian Legion and have a nice quiet venue with the people there. And yes Darrell I had my first hamburger since New Brunswick and it was the best one yet.  Go figure a burger at the legion but no alcohol!

As we leave Bala for our last stop of the day at Parry Sound we see at lot of people along the highway that we wave and honk at as most knew we were coming through this.  Word travels fast up here!  We enter Parry Sound at a well set up spot and we are glad to see our old friends Laurel and Tom as they have a cottage up here.  We have a great venue - Martha and Kim sell the rest of our t-shirts as I thought they would and it was sad to see them leave but we also enjoyed their company so much! We receive plaques from the mayor of Parry Sound and the reeve of the Township.

 

As we leave the venue for the OPP station, Laurel and Tom invite Glemena and I for dinner.  As I tuck the vehicles in for the night, we proceed to have a great dinner and bid farewell to Laurel and Tom.  It has been another great day!

 

Don Clayton

Tour of Hope Volunteer

London - Toronto

Well here I am returning to Toronto after a few relaxing days at home with my family in London to pickup the van from Jason.  I also had the time to get the trailer wiring repaired in London(no charge) as it had been working sporadically for a while.

After meeting Jason and his parents and commenting to all what a great job he did, I head out to Barrie where I stayed the night.  The caravan stayed parked right outside the main entrance and office.  Thanks to the Travelodge Barrie for their support and keeping an eye on the van throughout the night.

Don Clayton

Volunteer, Tour of Hope

Whitby - Day 2

Well Glemena and I have agreed to meet for breakfast this morning across the street from the hotel and as luck would have it, Laurel and her husband Tom show up just after we have ordered, so we have a chat about yesterday and today’s events.

 

So off we go to the OPP station to switch vehicles and meet our new officer. We then head out to the waterfront and get set up as usual next to the Scotia McLeod venue with the replica cruiser behind us. The event is called “Harbour Days“ and what a nice setup they have here but unfortunately the weather was not going to cooperate with us as it rained off and on all day.

 

After an hour or two at the venue I noticed a young girl that had been looking at the van for most of the morning.  Curiosity got the best of me, so I approached her and asked her what her connection with the van was? Michelle was her name and she told me that she had lost her best friend (I believe) two years ago and she just felt a good connection with the van’s presence.  She also thanked us for having brought it here and as I remember telling her that if she was the only person that came out today to see it that this is what it is all about!

 

Laurel came and asked us to walk over to the main stage area to receive a letter from the town of Whitby welcoming us, as representatives of the Terry Fox Foundation.  At the end of the day, Glemena and I agreed that the highlight of this event was the induction of 40 new Canadians - we thoroughly enjoyed it as there was a pipe band and Federal finance minister Jim Flaherty was there. After I said a little speech on behalf of the foundation and took some pictures with all of us, it was back to the venue, which because we had been inside, had been somewhat dismantled because of the high winds and rain.  It looked like the van and chip wagon were the only ones left standing. After much thought we decided to move to another location closer to the people but after a couple of hours we decided to pack up and call it a day.  It was another good venue and as usual the ScotiaMcLeod people made it so.

We then headed out to gas up the van and I washed it since Jason, one of the fellows that restored the van, was picking it up at the OPP station that evening for a couple of days of updates to the vehicle at his shop in Toronto. After Jason left we said goodbye to Laurel and Tom.  Glemena and I headed home for some R & R – and for me, some clean you-know-what!

 

Don Clayton

Volunteer, Tour of Hope

Whitby

Well here I am on my way to Whitby.  I have just dropped Darrell off in Toronto as he and his family are on their way back to B.C. tomorrow.

As I enter the city of Whitby, I see the OPP station and go directly there as I know that Laurel Armstrong, the Scotia McLeod contact, will be waiting for me.  Yet, to my great surprise, there is our good old (pardon me, wrong word – I mean young!) buddy Officer Harry Carrigan who is retiring next week. After hellos and handshakes I proceed to park the tour vehicles.  As I am unloading the van, Laurel asks me, since I am ahead of schedule, if I could make a stop at a Terry Fox supporter that is wheelchair bound and would love to see the van.  Of course that is where we are off to before the next venue.  Mark is the gentleman’s name and it was an honour to meet him as we presented him with a Terry Fox book and t-shirt supplied by Scotia McLeod.

We were then on our way to the main event of the day at the local yacht club and setup our venue as we always do with Harry, in the vintage OPP cruiser, and my right hand man (lady) Glemena, with her amazing pictures.  It was a great day as the weather cooperated and we met some great people as always is the case with these many events.  Unfortunately, we also had to say goodbye to our dear friend Harry who we all will miss greatly. Happy retirement “HARRY”!

 

We then packed everything up and proceeded back to the OPP station where I parked Terry’s van, unhooked the trailer, and drove to our hotel with Glemena following me.  We checked in, got something to eat and then called it a night as we both agreed it was another great day on the tour.

 

Don Clayton

Volunteer, Tour of Hope

Collingwood - Day 2

Well today is golf and meet all the neat people from Scotia McLeod Day!

 

C. J. and I head off to the golf course to get things set up and reluctantly I agree to golf.  What a beautiful course and the people here are just great. How do I know?  Because they never kicked me off!  After everybody finished, we gathered on the deck to hear Craig make a speech and tell everyone that the van broke down at the OPP station and could I go and fix it!  Unknown to everyone it was down at the maintenance shop with Darrell, the family and OPP officer Brad with the cruiser.  When I left to do my mock service call, I called Darrell from the parking lot and they came down this long road to the clubhouse with the OPP car lights and siren whaling! The people loved it!  We had a great dinner, speeches and silent or as Craig was doing it, not-so silent auction. Everyone had a great time and Darrell’s family were presented with some small gifts from C. J. and company.

 

I would also like to add that I met so many great people from Scotia McLeod over the last couple of weeks that I will never forget the memories and what they did for the foundation!!

 

Darrell and I locked up the van for the night and once again, lucky me, I got to go out for dinner with the Fox family and friends.

 

Another great venue!

 

Don Clayton

Tour of Hope volunteer

Collingwood

Today is a day of rest!!  Darrell and I take the van over to tomorrow’s venue, which is at the Osler Brook Golf Club and lock it up in their maintenance shed.  Then, the family asks me to join them for the day (boy, are they taking a chance or what?!). I had a great time and also got to meet their great neighbours from when the family lived in Toronto, who were spending time with Bonnie and the kids at the chalet. Darrell and I go for a run/walk - guess who walked?  Then we got back to the chalet and had a great barbecue.

As I drive back to where I am staying, I go over the last few days events and realize how lucky we all are to be here. As I arrive at the other chalet C. J. shows up and we have a long nice chat about the tour and what a success it has been. By the way C. J. is Craig Jarvis from Scotia McLeod, who I consider a good friend now and without him and his family’s involvement with the Tour it would have never been as great as it is. Thanks C. J.

 

Don Clayton

Tour of Hope volunteer

Barrie

Since this will be my first time blogging, I just would like to say, off the top, that if I forget anyone or get incorrect names, I apologize.  But know that I will never forget any of you folks that I’ve met along the way!!

 

Well here we go … on our way to the Orillia OPP headquarters to pickup Terry’s van. Since we have a few minutes to spare, Glemena Bettencourt (my right hand man, er lady volunteer) and I visit the OPP museum and chat with some of the people there. As I go out back to get the van I meet Brad, who is our new OPP officer and we head off to  Barrie for our first venue.

We arrive at a kid’s summer camp and set up the vehicles as we always do. Glemena, our head salesperson, takes care of selling the t-shirts. Wal-Mart look out!  I meet Graydon Oldfield from Scotia McLeod, whom Glemena and I agree looks like superman’s twin. As we do the event Graydon and I thoroughly enjoy the kids as they are our future to carry on the legacy which is Terry Fox!  We are also pleased to have on hand with Brad, OPP officer John Lennox who is retired from the force.  As we leave this event I can’t help but think how much the school runs play a part in the immense knowledge the kids have about Terry Fox.

 

The next venue is a retirement home which could be right up my alley soon (!) but as I put these thoughts out of my mind, Graydon and I have a great time speaking with these wonderful people. So many memories!  As I am ahead of time, and actually we did this before the retirement venue, we went downtown for some pictures in front of the Scotia McLeod offices and talk to some interesting people. One gentleman who I will never forget was beside himself with grief as he had lost his wife, mom and dad in the last few years and I hope I brought him some peace of mind as we had a nice little chat.

 

Well, now we are off to Centennial Park as our last venue of the day and what a great finish we have.  Darrell arrives and right off the bat the people line up to talk with him and look at the van.  As we later discuss this has to be the longest and continuous line-up we have ever had. It was also kinda cool because my sister Ann showed up as she works in Barrie and also my neighbour’s sister, husband and dog was there.

So as we start to wrap things up with great speeches from Darrell, ScotiaMcLeod and assorted dignitaries, I say goodbye to Glemena and her wonderful pictures as she has to get back to work.  I head back to the OPP station with Darrell where we hook up the caravan and head out for Collingwood.

 

Don Clayton, Tour of Hope volunteer