Why is there a “V” on the side of Mt. Davidson?

Well here is where ol’ CL has to apparently change some history, but only a little bit.  In all my research and asking of the other old timers around it has always been the same word.  In the 1920’s when the US Mail began with the Air Mail program in other parts of the good old U.S. of A. they in fact marked the sides of hills in many parts of the nation as well as Nevada with the first letter of the name of the city it was next to.  This was for navigation purposes because they did not have fancy navigational instruments.  That part is all correct.  But there is nobody still around from VC that remembers the real story.

            However, in reading through the 1926 Hot Water Plug, the Virginia City High School Annual I came across the story of how our particular “V” came to be up on our hillside.  So I have penned in some excerpts from that article for your edification and reading pleasure.  It became well known that many towns in Nevada had these markers (for navigation) and other town high schools had decided to mark their towns with the same first letters as a reference to the local high school.  And, presumably to give the Senior students some project to display school pride in their town.  So I quote:

            “At last Virginia City has a Block “V” on the northern slope of famed old Mt. Davidson.  Each leg measures 100 feet long by 13 feet wide and the base is 16 feet.

            For many years the different student bodies of our school have debated upon the idea of putting up a “V” to show the world that here is the home of gold old V.H.S.  Never tho’ did they find enough “pep” to accomplish it.  At last this year’s (1926) student body has discovered enough of the afformentioned “pep” and spirit to actually put into action that much talked about plan.”

            The school president, Mr. McArthur and Mr. Foster volunteered to assist the committee that had been appointed to survey the side of the mountain for a suitable location to place the “V”. 

            “At last however, after much talk, etc., the “V” was surveyed.  Next came the cleaning away of the sagebrush in the designated space.  It is said that at times the wily sagebrush refused to be pulled from its resting place and resisted all efforts until two or three got hold and pulled.  Then with a laugh of evil glee the sagebrush came up and the workers went down head over heels for several yards down the rocky slope.  Soon the big letter was ready for whitewash, and the fun began.  For several days there came from the mountain slope many figures, that underneath the whitewash roved to be young boys.”

            “At last it was finished and now we can look upon the noble object with much pride and pleasure and rightly too for aren’t we the only student body that has ever had “pep” enough to finish what we started?”

            “All thanks to Mr. McArthur and Mr. Foster for their help and to Mr. Wise who kindly donated the lime for the whitewash and last but not least to the real workers who built our “V”.

            So now you know how the “V” got put up there, when it occurred and why it is there.  So, NO, it does not stand for Reno, it is not an arrow that points to the gold and it is not in honor of Viagra for having been invented in Virginia City.  And it is not, at least these days, for aircraft navigation to drop the air mail on Virginia City.  It was 1926 when the Senior class of VC High School put it there.

            My question is why doesn’t the Senior class maintain it?

 

Betcha didn’t know that stuff.

 

See ya on the hill !                                               

C.L.Y.