How the Grant Union "G"
Got Up There
by Cecil Vancil

Please Click Here For Vancil Family History

I was a sophomore in High School in 1937 when 6 of us kids decided to skip an afternoon of school. We thought it would be more fun than doing school work. Two of the six chickened out and went back. We found out, not too much later, that they told on us. But the remaining four, Bob Hoare, Ray Leslie, Don Helmick and I enjoyed the afternoon.

Disaster struck Canyon City that evening. My family and I noticed a huge glow in the sky from our home up Canyon Creek. We knew there was a fire somewhere but, until we drove to town to see, we had no idea how devastating it was.

The next day at school, we four boys were called to the principal's office. Harvey Wright really chewed us out for skipping school and we thought he was going to expel us, but at an assembly of the school, which was to dismiss school so the kids could help clean up after the fire, we were given the choice to help clean or construct the "G" on the hill. We took the "G."

Mr. Waldport, the math teacher, went with us to supervise. First, we had to dig a trench to put the rocks in, then haul the rocks one at a time to the trench. The more rocks we needed, the further we had to go. After all of that we had to whitewash them, as well. We cussed and discussed what could happen to the two that turned us in. They were probably snickering the whole time.

That's how the Grant Union "G" was built - by 4 boys who learned they shouldn't have skipped school.

Cecil Vancil

©1998 Roxann Gess Smith
All Rights Reserved


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