Cash from 1918 vehicle sale goes to Penticton hospital equipment

PENTICTON – The sale of a vintage vehicle is a benefit to the Penticton hospital thanks to the generousity of the former owner.

Jim Leir recently sold a restored 1918 Mack AC “Bulldog” truck that his father bought at the end of the First World War for use at the family’s Penticton sawmill.

“It’s a bit of a family heirloom,” says Leir. “It is a very rare vehicle. They were war assets and my Dad bought two of them. This was the only one left.”

In the 1980’s, Leir spent five years restoring the truck.

He recently sold it to a vintage vehicle collector in Kelowna.

Leir has donated the $30,000 in proceeds to a campaign to provide medical equipment for the new patient care tower at the Penticton hospital.

“I’m very pleased to be able to do it. It’s a good place to put the money,” says Leir.

Construction starts soon on the $312.5 million tower.