A look back at the history of the letters on El Paso's Franklin Mountains and NMSU's 'A'

University of Texas at El Paso celebrates TCM Day this week, the longest-running student tradition at UTEP, with a day of events.

TCM Day began in 1923 when the school was known as the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy, and it was observed every March to initiate new student engineers and geologists into the Order of St. Patrick, the patron saint of engineers, according to UTEP.

TCM Day events include a team mining challenge and whitewashing the "M" on the mountain north of Sun Bowl Drive.

Following is a look back at how the tradition of whitewashing school letters on the mountain got its start:

A Jan. 24, 2011, Las Cruces Sun-News article by Christopher Schutz reported the history of the NMSU "A." The Aggies began their tradition in 1920, the same year as El Paso High, and three years before the University of Texas at El Paso. Excerpts from the report follow:

On the cool morning of April Fools' Day in 1920, the roughly 150 students of the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts gathered at the base of Tortugas Mountain and began mixing the lime for the whitewash.

For the rest of the day, they passed buckets full of the stuff to each other up a half-mile of rocky slope, crafting a crude, 100-foot letter "A" on the west side of the mountain.

When it was done, everyone seemed pleased with the result.

Tradition handed down

"We now have a large 'A' which can be seen for miles in every direction," the editors of the student newspaper the Round Up wrote. "It will be the duty of the incoming freshmen to keep the "A" painted, and is thus handed down a tradition."

Every year since, groups of Aggies have maintained that tradition, though it's been generations since the entire student population took part.

The first "A" the students made in 1920 was reportedly a little crude, and was "redrawn" the next year.

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It was worth the effort

Many rocks had to be moved for the new "A," as well as hundreds of gallons of fresh paint applied, but apparently it was worth the effort.

"It was so laid out that it looks much better from the college and surrounding country than the letter of last year, and is in direct line over Hadley Hall with the road from Mesilla Park to the horseshoe," according to the Round Up.

By the early 1920s, the local newspapers proclaimed the painting of "A" Mountain a "tradition."

The Class of 1922 laid down the rules that would carry on for decades: freshmen, often called "fish," were to wear green skullcaps emblazoned with the Aggie "A" the week prior to "A Day," and were responsible for cleaning the whitewash containers, as well as carrying them, half-filled up to the "A."

By the 1950s, the sororities and fraternities had begun to take a larger role in organizing the "A" Day festivities, but it still brought out a large percentage of the school, a fair number of whom were locals who'd grown up with the big "A."

'M' Day at UTEP

As for "M" Day at UTEP, The Prospector on Oct. 13, 1951, ran an article by Carolyn Van Trease with the following history:

And finally we have the "M." After discussing and estimating time and costs, the student body got together last week, assembled the materials, and in less than two days had placed on a prominent peak on Mount Franklin a giant white "M" 150 feet square. It can be seen for miles down the valley and quite a distance into Mexico. Last Wednesday was declared to be an unofficial holiday and at 8:30 a.m., everyone hiked himself to the upper slopes of the Franklin Mountains toting a broom and a bucket, to enjoy the holiday moving boulders of huge denomination and decorating them with whitewash.'

El Pasoans opposed 'M'

In 1924, due to the huge opposition of the citizens of El Paso, the repainting of the letter was indefinitely postponed. The Prospector says concerning this, "if the people who criticize us most harshly and call us 'Dirty Miners' will reflect on the antics of other college students, they will come to realize that the Miners are a hard-working and sober bunch, everything considered.

In 1931, the only members of the freshmen class who had to work on the painting of the letter were the boys. The girls thought they had it bad then — all they had to do was feed the boys. That year, all the roads to the school were blocked so that no one could attend classes.

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Army concerned about landmark

In 1942, it was reported in The Prospector that the College of Mines might have to do away with another tradition if the Army decided that the "M" was too definite a landmark. Reliable sources say that the school had to promise the Army not to light up the letter at night, thus saving it from an ignominious, official fate. 1943 saw a very different treatment of the proceedings. Radio station KTSM broadcasted the goings-on up at the mountain, especially concerning the freshmen. Students up there working even put on a pep rally for the radio listeners.

From 1944 up to the present time, "M" Day has been celebrated pretty much the same way every year. Little variations kept the reports on the event from being too much the same — every time. Maybe this year there will be as much enthusiasm over it as there was in 1930, Dean C. A. Puckett was quoted in The Prospector as saying,

"I want 'M' Day as a school holiday. It should be full of tradition and be looked forward to with much enthusiasm. I hope we shall soon have all this instead of just a day when a few students paint the 'M' on the mountain and others cut classes to get out of school work.'

Dr. A.E. Beynon said, "I am tired of teaching a few stragglers on 'M' Day. I want to be on the side of the mountain with the others."

Tigers add an 'E'

El Paso High School's "E" Day was started in the 1920-21 school year. El Pasoans were upset over the painting of the Franklins then, too. The school promised not to maintain the letter or to paint a new one but when the Miners painted their M in 1923, the Tigers added their E.

Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com or 915-546-6179.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP's TCM Day brought whitewashed "M" to El Paso's Franklin Mountains