PONTIAC - A Lexington trucking company has earned a permanent place in Route 66 history.

The Willie Anderson Trucking Co. was named to the Route 66 Association of Illinois' Hall of Fame for 2006. The former business was located along the historic roadway and its owner often traveled Route 66 hauling grain and other items.

"I went up and down Route 66 all the time," said owner Willie Anderson, 77. "There was no other way to get around."

The Berghoff Restaurant in Chicago, former Illinois State Police trooper Leland Storm and Scotties in Hamel also were named as inductees this year. Pontiac residents Marilyn and Durell Pritchard received a special ambassador's award.

Association member Marty Bilecki said the awards are meant to commemorate the people and places that were a part of the Mother Road, which ran from Chicago to Los Angeles.

"Some people based their life or business around Route 66," Bilecki said. "People and places are the history of Route 66."

The honorees will be inducted in June during the association's annual motor tour.

Anderson's company, which once operated 26 trucks, started in the late 1930s as a family-owned trucking company. Anderson closed the business in 1988, but still drives his own truck.

Over the years, Anderson hauled pumpkins for Libby's in Morton and often took Route 66 to Chicago while hauling cattle.

"There were only a few places to stop," he said. "You stopped when you were really hungry, unlike now when you can stop almost everywhere. It's a lot different now."

Anderson and his wife, Edna Marie, own a shop in Lexington along the now-decommissioned highway. The renovated gas station has memorabilia from the highway and other items.

The Berghoff Restaurant, located on Adams Street in downtown Chicago, was among the first of thousands of restaurants along the road that became Route 66. The German restaurant was the first place to get a liquor license after Chicago did away with Prohibition.

The restaurant closed earlier this year.

Leland Storm, a retired state trooper, often patrolled Route 66 in the Litchfield area in southern Illinois. He often helped motorists and treated people like they were family.

Scotties in Hamel, formerly the Tourist Haven, was a dining and eating stop for motorists. It opened in 1937 and is still operated as a restaurant today.

The Pritchards, who could not be reached for comment, are charter members of the association and have been influential in the development of the association's museum and hall of fame in Pontiac. Marilyn Pritchard is the curator of the museum.