You can see it from I-15 as clear as day. We just wanted to do something that kind of unites the community and puts some pride back into what it stands for. – Beaver athletic director Randy Hunter
BEAVER — To some, it’s just a letter on a hillside.
To those who live in and love the city of Beaver, it is an almost sacred symbol of the high school community that makes them more than residents of the central Utah county. It reminds neighbors, friends and families of all they share in a simple, silent statement.
“The ‘B’ up on our hill, our community takes a lot of pride in it,” said Beaver High principal Brady Fails. “It’s a very important landmark to the people of our area.”
And that is why Fails has been supportive of efforts to light the ‘B’ on special occasions like homecoming and graduation as well as on holidays like July 4, Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Fails, an alumnus of Beaver High, said over the years, many have tried different ways to adorn or light the giant letter the seniors lovingly whitewash each spring.
It wasn’t until a friend tried to accomplish the feat with solar-powered yard lights that Fails happened onto an idea that would work.
“I started down that solar road, and came to the realization that our district had a bunch of good-sized solar panels that weren’t being used,” he said.
He called officials at Dixie State University to ask how they kept their hillside ‘D’ lit.
“I got some information from them, and they actually helped me come up with the structure of what it would look like,” Fails said.
Eventually, the mechanism to light the ‘B’ through solar power took physical form — 160 light fixtures, conduits, 24 solar panels, batteries and a controller for the panels. They took up a fundraising campaign to cover the nearly $20,000 cost, Fails said.
One of the Dixie State employees who helped Fails (and the group of seniors who made it their pet project) operates his house using solar power, so Fails got very practical advice and help.
“We finally got it all put together — the structure — and for the first time, we tested it,” he said. “It was unbelievable. It looked even better than we’d hoped for.”
They lit it blue for graduation using plastic bags over the light fixtures. Then they started experimenting with red, white and blue for Memorial Day, and eventually figured out a flag configuration they utilized on June 14 — Flag Day.
“We wanted to do it as a tribute to our servicemen and women,” he said. “I put up a Facebook post about it, and it was just fantastic. It was really kind of humbling the things people responded with.”
Some residents wrote they were moved to tears by the gesture, both grand and simple, as it silently stood watch on the hillside above the school.
“It’s been quite a scene when it comes on,” said Beaver athletic director Randy Hunter. “You can see it from I-15 as clear as day. We just wanted to do something that kind of unites the community and puts some pride back into what it stands for.”
Hunter said the blue ‘B’ is powerful and inspires a sense of community pride, but the red, white and blue flag design is deeply moving.
“The American flag is pretty colorful,” Hunter said. “It’s intense. I hear people talk about it going through town. It’s kind of a fun little thing.”
The only other color plan thus far is that Fails said they’ll light it pink for a week in October for Breast Cancer Awareness and the annual Pink football game.
Fails said the ‘B’ will be light in the flag formation from the night of July 3 through July 24.
“It’s been a really great thing,” Fails said.