76 Years Ago
The October 6, 1949 Colorado Transcript described a shocking attack on the Mines “M.” The previous Thursday, the School had been gearing up for Homecoming weekend. It was to be an extra-big event that year, as they were celebrating the school’s 75th anniversary. Alumni and dignitaries were already in town, and hundreds more were expected.
Shortly after sunrise, Mines students noticed that the M had been vandalized, and was effectively erased from the face of Mount Zion.
The vandals tore up every one of the large whitewashed rocks in the 104 by 107-foot letter and rolled them down the mountainside, cut all the wiring used to light it into three-foot strips and smashed more than 150 light bulbs…. Immediately after the dismantled “M” was discovered, all freshmen were released from classes so that the letter could be repaired immediately. Many of the upperclassmen also assisted the freshmen so that by night the “M” was again restored and illuminated in all its glory.
Colorado Transcript – October 6, 1949
The October 1st edition of The Oredigger (the school newspaper) went into more detail about the speedy repair.
9AM New wiring, sockets, and bulbs were ordered
by 9:15AM The rocks had been reassembled in the M formation
by 11AM whitewashing was completed
by 1PM the students were laying the wire
by 4:30PM they had installed three thousand feet of wire, 275 sockets, and 275 new bulbs
By nightfall, the M was shining again.
The assumption was that students from Denver University were responsible for the damage. The two schools had a long-running rivalry, and Mines students had been known to (allegedly) set off dynamite on the DU campus.
