After nearly a decade of neglect, the giant "C" that watches over the town of Culver from atop Juniper Butte is white and visible again — and a group of high school students did the work to bring it back.
Students from two Culver High School classes — Sports and Entertainment Marketing and Forensic Science — spent the final month of the 2025-26 school year hiking up the steep hillside during seventh period, clearing brush, cutting overgrowth, and repainting the beloved landmark.
A Principal's Long-Held Goal
Principal Scott Novelli said restoring the "C" had been on his list since he arrived at the school in 2022. The painted rock letter has long been a symbol of school and community identity, but the tradition of students maintaining it had faded over time.
According to Culver High secretary Katy Schonneker, the last full restoration she remembered was in 2016, when her daughter graduated. School officials later confirmed the landmark had last been fully restored nearly a decade ago by Betty Nitchelm and a group of students.
The Work Itself
Each day, student volunteers hiked roughly 200 yards up the steep face of Juniper Butte, spending 30 minutes to an hour clearing and painting. The first session was used to assess the hill and plan the work. Then came the labor — weed-eaters, garden tools, chainsaws, and eventually paint.
Junior Thayne Dickson said the group had to figure out the scope of the project quickly. Fellow junior Eli Nielson said the first day helped them understand what they were really getting into.
Local businesses contributed to the effort. GreyFab, a fabrication shop in Madras, donated two backpack sprayers used in the restoration.
The project took just over a month. When it was finished, the "C" was clearly visible from town for the first time in years.
The restoration is a small story with a clear message: community landmarks are only as permanent as the people willing to maintain them. In Culver, a class of juniors proved the point.