Bringing a vintage vehicle back to nearly new condition is a fine way to connect with the past.

Some people who have been bitten by the restoration bug prefer to fix up a car that’s a reminder of their youth . . . muscle cars of the sixties and seventies, or maybe the two-tone Chevys and Fords of the 1950s. Others might prefer to rebuild an old Model T.

I decided to take a look at what the local automobile scene was like back in 1927 when owning a car was possible for most families. The age of auto travel was evolving rapidly, and early September was the time when manufacturers and dealers were showing their latest models.

Ads in the Lewiston Evening Journal announced the big multidealer auto show at the Maine State Fair. The Automobile Exhibition Hall and Tents was the place to see and compare the year’s new lines of auto transportation.

The Dodge Four, selling for $875 at Lewiston Motors, Inc. on Park Street, was said to be the fastest four-door sedan in America … “from zero to 24 miles per hour in less than seven seconds.” And it could “turn ‘round in a 38-foot street.”

The new 1928 Packards, called “the restful car,” could be seen at the Park St. Motor Corp. booth, and the new Fords were offered by Wade and Dunton Motors, Inc., which was then at 30 Park St., and by Auburn Motor Sales. The Chevrolets were shown by Charles D. Hasty of Auburn.

Clifton R. Shaw, Inc., at 21 Chapel St., Lewiston, was a Whippet dealer. That brand claimed the “coast-to-coast economy record.” The Shaw firm also carried Willys-Knight and Overland vehicles.

There was a two-door six-cylinder Pontiac model at Levasseur Motor Car Co. on Lisbon Street that was priced at $745. That firm also tried to attract fairgoers to their booth with “plenty of chairs in which to rest” and “Our telephone at the Booth is always at your disposal.”

Another car on display at the Maine State Fair Exhibition Hall was the Nash, which was sold by Portland Nash Co. at 37 Park St., Lewiston.

Lewiston Buick Co. was showing its cars. Bilodeau-Tardiff and Co. pushed its Hudson and Essex sales and service.

Mack Motor Truck Co. was displaying its latest chain drive dump trucks with screw hoist. The Reo Speed Wagon trucks were sold by Darling Automobile Co. in Auburn, and they also showed the new Reo Flying Cloud automobile.

Bell Tire Co., near the fairgrounds at 771 Main St. was advertising their $1 deals on tires ands tubes during Fair week.

That newspaper of Sept. 3, 1927, also carried a few stories that made it obvious it was the beginning of the auto era we know today. There was a Maine State Highway Commission which would have been unheard of a couple of decades earlier. There was a news item about a man who was fined $108 for speeding, and it said the high fine was levied because “the defendant was speeding his tongue as well as his car in abuse to the officers.”

Checking out the cool cars at a local cruise night destination has become a popular activity in recent years. There are many summer evenings when local lunch establishments invite auto restorers to bring their automotive pride and joy for members of the public to admire. No matter what year a vehicle may be from, today’s owners have detailed knowledge of just about every part they have replaced or retooled in their restoration project. In the course of renewing that vehicle, they have learned a lot of history that they are pleased to pass along.

Somewhere under all the replacement parts and new paint, these vintage vehicles have a core of original metal, glass and interior wood and fabric. It would be wonderful to know what these cars could tell about their travels and their owners in years gone by.