In Scotsguard, Saskatchewan, where the population is just two, you can find some of the rarest automobiles you’ll ever see. Keith Hagen and his wife, Bev, have turned a ghost town into something amazing: a museum of classic vehicles pulled back from the brink of time, and preserved like living history along with many artifacts from the town itself. Keith purchased much of the land where the village once stood, turning it into an informal museum of both local history and automotive preservation.
Over the years, he has restored a couple dozen old cars and has many more on the go. Inside the old curling rink and other surrounding buildings, a unique lineup of classic vehicles is on display. What I really enjoyed was the variety, and seeing brands long vanished, including DeSoto, Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Oakland, Durant, and Essex.
Many of the cars Keith saves have spent decades rusting in fields and barns. Wood has rotted, metal has dissolved, and parts are missing. But slowly, piece by piece, sometimes over many years, he resurrects them into museum-worthy showpieces. Among them is Keith’s favorite: a striking red 1932 DeSoto.
Two vehicles carry deep emotional meaning. One is a 1929 Overland Whippet, a car his mother once rode in as a young woman. The other is a 1926 Chevrolet one-ton truck, the first truck his father ever drove, at just age 14, while working for a neighbor.
I’ve been to shows with 500 cars where I don’t see the quality of classic cars that I saw in Scotsguard. Thank you to Keith and Bev for allowing me to see this incredible display.
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