Ruben Keating of LaPlace is pictured with his 1953 MG Midget after it was removed from an old and damaged shed.

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LAPLACE — For the past several months, curious neighbors and motorists driving down Old Highway 51 have stopped to see the treasure Ruben Keating of LaPlace uncovered in the fall.

Keating, an avid collector with an eye for detail, purchased two lots along the highway and found a 1953 MG Midget lodged underneath an aging, overgrown shed. The car narrowly missed being struck by a fallen tree, and it lay inches away from encroaching swamp waters near the back of the property.

Longtime St. John the Baptist Parish residents recall Burgess Hymel owned the recognizable car back in the 1950s and 60s. Some remember seeing Hymel in the car on the drive to work, and others recounted riding in it themselves.

Keating recently enlisted help from friends to demolish the broken shed and pull the classic car out of the swamp. While the rusted exterior has seen better days and the tires are far from operable in their current state, Keating was amazed to find most of the car intact.

He told L’OBSERVATEUR his plan was to bring the car home to his shop, where he has a car lift, a welding machine and other tools. There, he will use 25 years’ experience working in metal and fabrication to get the car running again.

He hopes the finished project will be a spectacle his children, grandchildren and the St. John Parish community can enjoy.

“A lot of people told me their stories about the car,” Keating said. “They rode in it and saw it parked. The man who had it was an interesting person.”

Keating wants to keep the exterior shell of the car and replace the engine and chain drive. One option is to purchase a rolling chassis to replace all of the worn and damaged pieces under the car. Another possibility is taking a four-cylinder engine from another one of Keating’s vehicles of the same width and re-purposing it for the MG Midget.

Keating became aware of the classic car after Bruce Cashio of LaPlace visited his sister’s antique/thrift store on W. Fifth Street.

Years ago, Cashio worked for Jerry Boswell, a carpenter who constructed many houses in St. John the Baptist Parish. Boswell rented the property that Keating recently purchased.

“I went walk through the woods over there about 40, 50 years ago. I came to this little building, and in the building I saw there was a little car in there. It was in good condition at the time,” Cashio said.

“A couple of years back, I took a ride back there because I wanted to see if it was still there. There was the car, still sitting in that little barn. People that grew up around here remember the cars and bikes people had.”