Cars made in the 1950s, the 1960s – and even some from the 1980s – were lined along U.S. 221, near downtown Laurens last October for the annual Squealing on the Square.

But there was one in the lineup that stood out to me. Not because of its shiny chrome or pristine paint job. The 1936 Dodge Brothers sedan stood out precisely because it was not perfect.

Now, do not misunderstand me. The car was cared for. Its interior was clean. Windows spotless. It even contained a metal tray, meant to be placed on the edge of the window for a car hop to place a fresh cheeseburger, fries and a drink.

But its back seat was a little thread bare, and its gun-metal gray coat of paint was not too flashy in the autumn sun. That’s because everything on the car – except for its electric fuel pump – is original to how it was made in 1936. It was part of the car show because of its value to Steve Hathorne and its connection to his childhood. “This is the first car that our family ever had,” Mr. Hathorne said.

Mr. Hathorne lives in Laurens now, in part because he married “a Sumter girl.” But Mr. Hathorne’s family has deep roots in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Mr. Hathorne’s grandfather, Benjamin Giles, owned a fish market and a general store in the coastal town.

One day in 1937, Mr. Giles put on his overalls and put the $300 he had saved up in his pocket. He bought the car from the local historian, Francis Green. It was the only car in the neighborhood at that time.

“I remember my mama telling me the story of the day grandpa bought the car,” Mr. Hathorne said. “He was real proud, saying, ‘They didn’t think I had $300 in those old jeans.’”

It was the car that took local neighborhood children to school on rainy days, and it was the one that Mr. Hathorne’s dad and mama began dating in. The car traveled across the coastal Maine countryside to dances and eventually, Mr. Hathorne’s Aunt Betty took it to college with her, forever earning the sedan the beloved name, “Betty.”

One of Mr. Hathorne’s favorite stories about ‘Betty’ is when his dad was going to take his mama on a date and the muffler backfired. “When it backfired, the muffler blew off,” Mr. Hathorne said, laughing at the memory. “My mom always talked about how much she hated that car.”

Turns out, despite the glowing advertisements printed about it in the 1930s, it had a temperamental engine. Its heating system would go out often, leaving passengers with very cold feet in the heavy Maine winters.  

Over the years, the Hathorne family acquired more, newer vehicles. Over time, their beloved Betty became simply a permanent dusty fixture in the garage. 

Military service would pull Mr. Hathorne from his home state of Maine. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base where he met and married a girl from Sumter, S.C. When he finished his four years in the Air Force, Mr. Hathorne stayed in South Carolina and ended up working in Laurens County for Avery Dennison where they printed postage stamps and battery labels.

Most of his life he’s worked on machines. In his career, Mr. Hathorne worked on industrial printing machines. But, since he studied automotive and industrial maintenance in college, he also knows his way around a car engine. This is how he was able to bring that beloved family car back to life. “My dad was always fixing things,” Mr. Hathorne said. “When I was younger, if something happened to my car, he’d make me fix it.”

That old Dodge sat unused for about three decades. The seats were full of bird seeds left there by critters. And when the engine was turned over, the muffler blew out this “black stuff,” Mr. Hathorne said. And the gun-metal gray was marked with some rust.

Finally, in 2006, Mr. Hathorne acquired the car from family members. After a year and a half, he finally was able to make Betty road-worthy again. He searched out its factory-floor color, and had it repainted, made sure that its hood was decorated with that iconic ram, and even found some old newspaper advertisements for the car to display during car shows.

“I like the ones that are redone,” Mr. Hathorne said. “But authenticity is more important to me.” This is where Mr. Hathorne laughs again. 

He admits that he did have to switch out one part during the rebuild. The fuel pump is now electric. Without that one modification, he was constantly calling someone to tow him home when he took Betty out for a test drive. “Now, she runs without any problems,” Mr. Hathorne said.

Right now, this old gray lady sits in his backyard, and occasionally, Mr. Hathorne takes it out for a spin or to a classic car show. But he’s considering donating the car to the automobile museum in Boothbay Harbor, Maine – back to where to the whole journey began for the simple but beautiful sedan.

“She’s such a treasure to me,” Mr. Hathorne said. “This car has always meant a lot to me because it’s family history. I grew up around this car. And family history means so much to me.”