Sumac
Dr. Orson Whitney Young, Weber State College zoology professor, associated with the hike since 1943, suggested efforts to beautify and revitalize the space. In 1967, he assisted students with planting sumac shrubs around the newly established whitewashed W. In 1969, the student body leaders decided to remove the painted WS from the mountainside due to lack of support from the student body. Young proposed removing the whitewashed stones, clearing any debris/garbage from the area, and revitalizing the space with sumac bushes.
The stones were removed in February 1970 by the LDSSA, the Activities Board, the Liberal Student Group, and student body officers. The WSC chapter of American Society of Manufacturers, the engineering fraternity, designed the new arrow W on the hillside. In spring 1970, about fifty students helped plant almost 800 eight-inch lengths of sumac roots. Unfortunately, due to erosion and damage to the soil from the whitewashing and herbicides, the planting was unsuccessful. Efforts to plant sumac were attempted again in 1972, 1975, and 1981.
