Marilyn “Duffy” Davidson

Recipient of the Mary Millard Award for Special Contributions to ACO

Marilyn “Duffy” Davidson has long been a force of nature in ACO’s Windsor/Essex Branch, dating back to when the group was known as the “Save Olde Walkerville Committee.” Duffy was hands-on in the movement to save the 1904 Albert Kahn structure known as “Walkerville Town Hall” by moving it from the corner of Devonshire and Riverside across the train tracks and was essential in talking a group of cement workers into laying the foundation for the building’s new location under a tight timeline and on St. Patrick’s Day.

Duffy’s enthusiasm for heritage is infectious. Over the years the branch has been involved in several campaigns, some they’ve lost and some they’ve won, but Duffy was in the centre of all of them. Rarely is there a time when the Windsor/Essex Branch meets that she can’t suggest a creative solution to a problem and she is not afraid to get out there and do the work. In 2014 and 2016, the Branch suffered some significant losses and it would have been easy to lose momentum, but Duffy remained involved because of her dedication to heritage and advocating for our built environment.

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