‘In loving memory of Pappy:’ Grandson purchases, restores Hillsboro man’s truck 21 years later

Things came full circle recently for a local family in a journey spanning two decades, multiple generations and a lot of hard work. It is a story about a truck, but more than that, it’s a story about the love of a grandson and his tireless efforts to continue on a family tradition.

In 2002, Hillsboro native Larry Sprinkle and self-employed truck driver purchased a brand-new semi from Kenworth in Cincinnati. According to his wife, Linda Sprinkle, “Larry was a successful businessman. He owned L & L Trucking, a small fleet of trucks he leased to Superior Carriers. He drove millions of miles coast to coast throughout his career.”

Unfortunately, Mr. Sprinkle passed away just a few weeks after that purchase, in February 2002, and Mrs. Sprinkle sold the truck shortly after her husband’s death.

The Sprinkles’ grandson, Nathan Hall of Sidney — who was 5 years old when his “Pappy” passed away — still remembers the beautiful brand-new semi.

“I think he drove it two or three weeks,” Hall said of his grandpa. “I do remember seeing the truck, but I never rode in it. My dad remembers being in it. Three weeks after he got it, he passed away, and my grandma sold it right away.”

Over two decades later, Hall — now a small business owner himself — wondered what it would be like to add his grandpa’s truck to his fleet.

“We have a small custom farming business up here in Sidney, and we have our own Kenworth semi, about the same year,” Hall said. “I’ve always liked semis, and I always wanted to find it.”

Twenty-one years later, Hall decided to track the truck down, and after a lot of trial and error, he did — six miles away from his grandparents’ home.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Hall said. “I definitely didn’t really need another truck, but being able to drive it down the road in something he bought new is pretty neat.”

Acctually locating the truck was more difficult task than Hall originally thought, as he said his grandmother no longer had any information on the truck, since so much time had passed. He ran into similar problems when he contacted Kenworth and the dealers who sold the truck to Mr. Sprinkle.

“My grandma didn’t have pictures or the VIN or even remembered where she sold it,” Hall said. “I was calling DMVs, trying to get VIN numbers. She couldn’t remember anything, so I couldn’t look up license plates and a name to even find anytime. I was calling Kenworth, the dealers who sold it, and they didn’t have any records.”

Finally, Mrs. Sprinkle “found some old pictures in a photo album in March,” Hall said, and he shared the photos to a Facebook group for truckers.

“A guy who went to school with my mom knew where the truck was,” Hall said. “He gave me the guy’s number, and I called and left a message. It ended up being six miles from my grandma’s house.”

Between that owner — John Bloom of Hillsboro — and Mr. Sprinkle, Hall said the semi had “over three owners and over a million miles put on it.

“The guy who actually told me about it was trying to buy the truck for several years and couldn’t get [Bloom] to sell it,” Hall said.

After hearing Hall’s story and how much work he had put in to find his grandfather’s truck, Bloom agreed to sell the semi, where the next phase of Hall’s hard work began.

“I was pretty lucky to find it and it not be wrecked or in a scrap yard,” Hall said. “It was still in good shape, and the motor was basically brand new. The guy had bought it for the motor as a backup.

“He had it for six years, I believe, and just let it sit, so the paint was peeling and the tires were dry rotted.”

Even though the truck had been sitting for several years, Hall said the engine and transmission were both in a good shape, as it mostly “needed cosmetic stuff” to get it back in order. His father, Craig, and cousin — Jacob Burton, from Hillsboro — helped him get the truck ready, as Burton works for Hall’s business.

“It turned out really good,” Hall said. “It’s been in the shop all summer, getting painted and bunch of parts. It all adds up really quick. We didn’t even touch the interior, really.”

Hall had the truck repainted, complete with a tribute to Mr. Sprinkle. It reads “In Loving Memory: Larry Sprinkle ‘Pappy,’” with a drawing of a semi with angel wings and the dates of Sprinkle’s birth and death, May 26, 1949-Feb. 22, 2002.

“His pappy would be so proud of him and very honored that he restored his truck and memorialized him on the sleeper sides,” Mrs. Sprinkle said. “What an awesome tribute.”

Now that the truck has been repaired, it’s back where Mr. Sprinkle intended for it to be — on the road, for his family’s business.

“We got it on the road and have hauled quite a few loads with it,” Hall said. “So far, it’s in good shape.”

“I am very proud of my grandson, his work ethics and dedication,” Mrs. Sprinkle told The Highland County Press. “He is a successful businessman at a very young age. He not only located the truck, restored it but also put it to work in his business, Hall Ag Services.”

Hall said Mrs. Sprinkle knew that he bought the truck, but he kept his plans on revamping the semi a secret, until he was able to surprise her in person at her house. On Oct. 15, a group of friends and family gathered at Mrs. Sprinkle’s home to be a part of the big reveal.

Hall laughed and said he didn’t think that his grandmother would go outside because she was “distracted” by Hall’s newborn, as his wife and their baby arrived before him “to try to get her outside” to see Hall’s arrival.

“Once I pulled in and blew the air horn, she walked out as I was pulling up,” Hall said. “They were all surprised and excited.”

He said his aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members were there, as well as Bloom and some other friends, who wanted to see the revamped semi. Throughout his visit with family, Hall said he took family members for rides in the truck.

“My grandma wanted to ride in it, and my aunts, my mom and my cousin all wanted to ride in it,” Hall said. “For a couple of them, it was the first time they had ridden in a semi since riding with their dad. It was neat. They wanted to blow the horn going through town.”

Sprinkle added that she appreciated everyone coming out to see the truck and celebrate its remodel with her.

“It meant a lot to all of us,” Mrs. Sprinkle said. “This was all a total surprise to me. It was a wonderful day. I loved every minute of it.”

She again spoke about how proud she is of Hall and how special it is to have her husband’s truck back in the family.

“[Seeing] the truck back home restored to all its original glory, it was a very emotional day,” Sprinkle said. “The truck is absolutely beautiful. I am so proud of Nathan, and his Pappy would be too.

“I have to say when Nathan had the truck here the first time, a little rain fell on us, and the same thing happened [the day of the reveal],” Sprinkle continued. “Just a few tears from heaven in love and support of a job well done.”