THUNDER BAY, ON - January 4, 2010 - The Olympic Torch run made its first stop near the city in the Township of Shuniah. It is in Shuniah that Terry Fox was forced to quit his Marathon of Hope way back on September 1st 1980.

Maria Harding, Reeve of Shuniah has been working had to promote the stop at mile 3339 on the Trans-Canada highway. This site is marked by a post and a plaque in honour of Terry Fox. Naturally the arrival of the flame was a little late, and the sun was nearly set by the time the caravan arrived. Somehow I had been expecting a runner to appear over the horizon bearing the torch. Instead a motorcade pulled up and out of the Vancouver 2010 mobile home out popped Janine Laundry, Olympic Torch in hand.

By this time I began to realize that today was one of the coldest days of the year and my camera and myself were beginning to freeze. Just the same many people showed up to witness this event, for many of us it will be the closest we get to the Olympic Games. Maria Harding’s hard work at promoting this stop had paid off, and a small crowd of northerners braved the cold to witness the arrival of the flame in Shuniah Township.

This event was well co-ordinated, the plaque and surrounding area cleaned up and the snow cleared from the area. About 500 feet down the road a parking area was cleared so parked cars would not be a hazard on the highway. Given the number of vehicles in the motorcade, as well as the advance teams the torch run is a complicated and expensive event. Hopefully the corporate sponsorhip will cover the cost.

I enjoyed being there and taking photos to make a record of the occasion as people like the two in this photo came out as a show of support for their favourite athelete, and to give their youngsters a chance to see something that comes once in a lifetime. During the wait I had time to contemplate a little about the Canadian Spirit, and pausing the torch run along side the Terry Fox Plaque is a fitting tribute to the man who sontributed so much to cancer research in this country. I also does not seem as thirty years has passed since the Marathon of Hope came to end in Shuniah, but it has.

The ability to inspire people is not a Canadian trait alone, but they way we go about inspiring Canadians to go the extra measure has a Canadian flare to it. By the time this torch run is complete it will have become a truly Canadian experience igniting a passion for Canada’s Olympics from coast to coast.

Wisely the City of Thunder Bay has moved their torch side celebration into the warm an cozy Community Auditorium. Maria Harding needs to be commended for working so hard to promote this stop, she has managed to use one Canadian event to honour a past Canadian event.