Marion Davidson and the late Lucy Stansberry were announced as the inductees into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon at the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton.
Davidson, who lives in Weatherford, is a charter member of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and has served as a longtime volunteer with the group and several of its committees. Born in the Route 66 town of Elk City, he was a recent owner-operator of Route 66 Thunderbirds and was owner-operator of a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Weatherford for more than 40 years.
According to the nomination letter:
Marion has worked tirelessly to inform the public of the importance of Route 66 and its preservation. Also, he has demonstrated a true appreciation for the Heartland of America Museum as shown by his involvement in the idea and the development through its completion and grand opening.
Stansberry served as a curator of Elk City’s Old Town Museum on Route 66 for more than 30 years. The museum complex later added the National Route 66 Museum. She also served on the Western Oklahoma Historical Society and the Elk City Museum Commission.
According to the nomination letter:
Lucy had a real love for Route 66, and enjoyed meeting with travelers. She was greatly disappointed when the city manager chose to keep her in charge of Old Town, instead of making her curator of the Route 66 museum, but she didn’t let it affect her performance. She did a great job running one of western Oklahoma’s most popular tourist attractions.
Stansberry died on May 1, 2010, at the age of 91.