Corvette ‘Namer’ Myron Scott to be Recognized by His Hometown’s Hall of Honor

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Photo Credit: National Corvette Museum

Where would America’s Sports Car be without Myron Scott?

We might not be calling it the Corvette today if Scott – a member of Chevrolet’s advertising team back in the 1950s when the car was being developed – had not been thumbing through a dictionary, looking in the “C’s” when he came upon the word “corvette,” defined as a speedy pursuit ship in the British Navy, smaller than a destroyer.

What a perfect way to describe Chevy’s new sports car that would eventually debut in 1953, he thought.

Now, Scott, who was born in Camden, Ohio in 1907 and passed away in 1998, is being recognized for his lifetime achievements by the Preble County Historical Society Hall of Honor this weekend.

Besides coming up with the Corvette name, Scott also earned fame for creating the All-American Soap Box Derby in 1933. The event was sponsored by Chevrolet from 1935 to 1972 and was quite a spectacle, drawing 50,000 spectators and 413 participants for the 1934 finals.

Before he joined Chevrolet, he had been chief photographer and art director for 22 years at the Dayton Daily News in Ohio. While working on a Sunday picture page, he came across a photo of some boys racing homemade cars down a street in Oakwood. Inspired by their innovative fun with the gravity-powered cars, he organized the first Soap Box Derby in 1933 in Dayton.

Taking about the early days of the soap box derby, Scott said, “It was fun at the start. The boys used orange crates, any kind of box, in fact; they covered the box with cloth to imitate the fabric-covered wings on airplanes. The wheels came off baby buggies and push carts. There were wood rims and steel rims. Some of them used pneumatic tires. All we asked was for a kid to build it himself. He could get advice from experts, but the work had to be his.”

Scott eventually retired from Chevrolet and moved back to Centerville and Kettering in Ohio for the rest of his life.

Now, he’s been selected by the Preble County Historical Society as one of its inductees to the Hall of Honor, established 12 years ago to honor high-achieving native men and women. This year’s class will be honored Saturday, Sept. 24 at 2:30 p.m. at the outdoor amphitheater at 7693 Swartsel Road, Eaton, Ohio.

It’s part of the annual Fall Gathering Festival and Historical Days, slated the same day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and featuring wagon hay rides through different time periods from the Viking Era to the modern era, tours of their Historic Farm and 1860 Farm House, music, food vendors, entertainment, crafts, games, and other family-oriented events.

Source:

registerherald.com