Whitefish's faded W

Missoula has the "M" on Mount Sentinel. Bozeman and Butte each have an "M," too. Libby has the "L" on Swede Mountain, and Dillon has a "W" for Western and a "B" for Beaverhead. Even don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it towns like Plains and Drummond have letters for their respective high schools.

But what about Whitefish — where's our "W"?

In fact, Whitefish did have a big "W" made of whitewashed stones that graced the eastern slope of Lion Mountain from the 1930s to 1965. Frank Gregg noted in "Growing up in Whitefish" that freshmen climbed to the "W" every fall to clean the stones.

A traditional ceremony took place before the annual football game with Flathead High School where a bonfire was lit at the intersection of Central Avenue and Second Street. Students ran around the fire in a 'snake dance" — which today happens at the high school in celebration of homecoming.

At dark, students would climb to the "W" with flares provided by the Great Northern Railway and outline the letter. The Oct. 24, 1939, Whitefish Pilot described the lighting ceremony:

"The big white letter stood out in cameo relief against a background of red fire," the Pilot reported. "All lights in the city were out during the burning of the lights around the letter."

After the "W" was lit, students with flaming torches would run down the mountain to town.

"The annual snake dance and pep rally was declared to be one of the highlights of the school season," the Pilot read.

The ceremony wasn't without hiccups, however. An adjacent headline in that same Pilot issue read, "W ceremony starts small forest fire." Apparently, a dry fall created ideal conditions for wildfire, and one of the torches sparked a small blaze. The fire was quickly "checked before it spread, and no damage was done," according to the Pilot.

The "W" was moved to Big Mountain in October 1965, according to Chuck Nelson, the high school's 1966 class president.

"The one on Lion Mountain deteriorated, and we always wanted it on Big Mountain," Nelson said.

Mike Jenson and Mike MacDonald surveyed the placement of the new "W."

Nelson remembers hauling whitewashed rocks up Big Mountain and forming a chain of people to lay them out. About 50 people helped build the letter over two weekends.

"We didn't fill it all as it was too much work, but it was enough to see it clearly from town," Nelson said.

The Big Mountain "W" was visible for many years but slowly faded out of sight sometime in the 1980s.