Hillside Letters A to Z: A Guide to Hometown Landmarks

Have you ever seen a giant letter on a mountain slope and wondered what it was all about? If you've traveled by car in the West, chances are you've come across at least a few of the hundreds of hillside letters that dot the landscape. Representing towns and schools from Ajo, Arizona, to Zap, North Dakota, these mountain landmarks were created by locals with hometown pride or students full of school spirit. Some letters have been around for a century, many have a story to tell, and all are beloved community icons that boldly declare to all within their viewscape: We are here. This is our place, our school, our home. Hillside Letters A to Z: A Guide to Hometown Landmarks spells out in detail this distinctive western phenomenon, exploring its origins, customs, and controversies, as well as some of the nuts and bolts (or ABCs) of letter building. Adults and children alike will enjoy an engaging collection of stories featuring 60 letters from fourteen western states. Color photographs illustrate the featured letters, and a map shows letter sites nationwide. This book also lists all 426 known U.S. hillside letters, where they are, and what they stand for. Hillside Letters A to Z is a must for curious travelers, residents and alumni of letter locations, and anyone interested in western history.

Evelyn Lyman Corning grew up in the quiet southern Utah town of Escalante, where she developed an early fascination for the large whitewashed E on a nearby hillside. She graduated from Southern Utah State College with a degree in elementary education, worked for the National Park Service, and taught school. Corning has authored a number of articles for newspapers and magazines; Hillside Letters A to Z: A Guide to Hometown Landmarks is her first book. She and her husband, Jim, have five children, and live in Tucson, Arizona, the home of a hillside A.