The Inter-Mountain photo by Joe Blankenship Ray Canfield sits inside of the restored version of ‘The Beverly WV Hillbillies’ car while Calvin Isner pretends to turn the 1929 Model A Ford’s hand crank.

Submitted photo
This vintage photo of the ‘Beverly WV Hillbillies’ at a 1970s event features, from left, Ed Campbell as ‘Jed Clampett’, Kenny Weese as ‘Jethro Bodine’, Donna Allan as ‘Elly May Clampett’ and Madge Wilmoth, Ed Hart’s mother-in-law, as ‘Granny.’

ELKINS — Two Elkins Rehabilitation & Care Center residents were surprised recently by a visit from a restored version of “The Beverly WV Hillbillies” car that will make its return to the parade circuit at Beverly Days later this month.

Ray Canfield and Calvin Isner were delighted to see the car — based on the 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Roadster from the iconic television show “The Beverly Hillbillies” which ran from 1962 to 1971 — sitting outside of the ERCC.

“They were like kids in a candy store,” Lee Canfield, Ray Canfield’s son, told The Inter-Mountain. “It made my weekend.”

Lee Canfield had arranged for the vehicle to be brought to the ERCC after seeing it at the Mountain State Street Machines’ 2023 Auto Extravaganza during Elkins’ Independence Day celebration.

Isner knew the vehicle well as he had worked with and had helped the man who built it, Ed Hart, a mechanic from Homestead.

Built by Hart in the 1960s out of a 1929 Model A Ford and parts of other cars, “The Beverly WV Hillbillies” car made its rounds on the parade circuit from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Local Beverly residents, including Hart’s mother-in-law Madge Wilmoth, would ride in the car through local events portraying “The Beverly Hillbillies” characters Jed Clampett, Jethro Bodine, Elly May Clampett and Granny. Hart also ran a 1955 Thunderbird in the parades.

Hart taught mechanics at the Randolph County Technical Center and would bring both vehicles in for his students to work on. Some of those students, now older, recognized the car at the Auto Extravaganza.

The car was sold in the mid-90s. Hart passed away in 1998.

The car was considered a “Beverly icon,” according to Marcy Lloyd, Hart’s granddaughter, who now owns the car. In 2022, Lloyd unexpectedly rediscovered the car on Facebook a day after deciding to search for it. She bought it eight months after its discovery. She also found her grandfather’s Thunderbird and bought it five years ago.

Lloyd left the car with Donnie Hale, one of Hart’s former students who had worked on it before, to be renovated, since it had not run since 2007.

“I give so much credit to Donnie,” Lloyd told The Inter-Mountain. “He made it his mission (to fix it). It was a labor of love. He was like the son (Hart) never had.”

Hale did his best to make sure the car resembled Hart’s original design, though he did have to change several parts of the car, including Granny’s chair.

“It was like a trip back in time,” Hale said.

“The Beverly WV Hillbillies” car and the 1955 Thunderbird will be making their return to parades at Beverly Days Fireman’s Festival Parade on July 29.