$1,350 paid for antique Pa. license plate

An antique license plate, passed down by a Marine to his nephew, fetched $1,350 for the Salvation Army in the Valley during a charity auction.

The sale of the license plate, along with other items, helped State Line Auto Auction in Waverly provide $28,800 to the Christmas is for Kids program and the Salvation Army.

Christmas is for Kids is a 29-year-old event sponsored by WATS-WAVR radio station in Sayre to benefit those in need in the Valley, which encompasses Waverly, Sayre, Athens and the surrounding area. For many years, the radio station has partnered with the Salvation Army to provide toys, food and other useable items at Christmastime.

For the past 13 years, State Line Auto Auction has supported Christmas is for Kids by making monetary donations — with each year's total surpassing the previous year's. State Line is a wholesale auto auction open to dealers only. Its weekly auctions attract hundreds of car dealers from across the country.

This year, Steve Moore, owner of Moore's Auto Sales in Wysox, donated a 1910 porcelain, Pennsylvania dealer's license plate to be sold at the auction. Moore also provided a letter explaining how he came to own the license plate.

Moore's uncle, Manville Cook, became a rural mail carrier in the Towanda area after he left the Marine Corps. The license plate was given to him by a person on his mail route.

Moore learned that at one point his uncle was homeless and hungry and was assisted by the Salvation Army.

Cook never forgot the help he received and supported the Salvation Army for the rest of his life.

Moore's donation of the license plate was to honor his uncle and to give back to the Salvation Army.

On Dec. 19, State Line Auto Auction sold the plate to Tom Steigerwald, owner of Team Chevrolet in Olean. The winning bid was $1,350, which was part of the $28,800 donated to the Salvation Army.

"I can't think of a better place or better way to honor (Cook) than to have the proceeds from the sale of the license plate go back to the cause that he loved," Moore wrote in his letter.

Follow G. Jeffrey Aaron on Twitter @JeffreyAaron4.