‘The Canadian flag isn’t just a symbol, it’s a vivid image,’ Blind man honours Canada with truck mural

Bob Lowe, a longtime business owner of Dalton R. Lowe and Sons, a gravel crushing and trucking company in Stayner Ont. unveiled two custom-painted gravel hoppers, each exuberating in Canadian pride. One hopper features a silhouette of Terry Fox, and the other, a beef cow in support of the “Buy Canadian” movement. (Supplied)

For one Stayner resident, the Canadian flag isn’t just a symbol, it’s a vivid image in his mind, one he’s carried with him ever since he completely lost his sight.

Bob Lowe, a longtime business owner of Dalton R. Lowe and Sons, a gravel crushing and trucking company unveiled two custom-painted gravel hoppers, each dazzling in Canadian pride.

One hopper features a black silhouette of Terry Fox, and the other, a beef cow in support of the “Buy Canadian” movement.

“I feel 110 per cent proud to be Canadian,” said Lowe to CTV News on Sunday. “I am proud to be living in Canada and I love the town I live in.”

Lowe, who operates the Stayner gravel company founded by his father, Dalton, 73 years ago has been blind since 2016.

He lost his left eye to cancer in 2007, and his right eye in a construction accident just nine years later. Lowe is completely blind in both eyes.

Despite this obstacle, Lowe continues to run his family business with his wife, and plays blind hockey in his free time.

The red and white imagery on each truck isn’t something he can physically see each day, but these special silhouettes are engraved in his mind from before his accident.

“I can still picture the Canadian flag and Terry Fox in my head,” Lowe explained. “They’re strong, clear silhouettes I remember from before I lost my sight. That’s why I chose them.”

For the past three years, the idea that Lowe should take on this project has been growing. The timing couldn’t have been better, with Canadian pride at its peak and tariffs at the forefront.

The Terry Fox image, holds deep meaning to Lowe. The second truck pays homage to Canada’s beef industry with a silhouette of a cow inside a red maple leaf.

Lowe has family ties to the agriculture sector, his brother-in-law, Jim Whitley, is a director with the Beef Farmers of Ontario and a board member with the Canadian Cattle Association. “I wanted to show my pride in Canada, in our farmers, and in who we are,” he continued.

Even without physical vision, Lowe’s national pride and courage remains directly within sight.