26th in the Series
(View of K-Hill from Bluemont Hill, October 2010)
When asked to describe what the Manhattan area might look like, it can be assumed that strangers to the "Little Apple" with images of Dorothy and Toto dancing in their heads would never conger up descriptors such as scenic hills,tree lined streets, flowing rivers, and large lakes. But wait, there's more! A "mountain" high enough to adorn large white concrete "KS" letters to look over a valley is also part of the landscape, letters that proclaim, "'Hollywood,' California ain't got nothin' on Manhattanville!"
So how did a monogram gain the tradition of standing watch over a college town? You have to go back over a century to find a trace of such an idea when in 1908 a battle ensued over the side of Bluemont Hill (east of campus and north of downtown) between those supporting the placement of the letters KSC and others who insisted that an A for agriculture had to be included. Therefore, shortly after KSC first appeared on Bluemont Hill, objectors replaced the S with an A, making it KAC. The nocturnal switcheroo of letters by their supporters even included a KSAC version on the slope. However, the stone changers soon abandoned their causes leaving the opportunity for Prospect Hill across the Kansas River on the other side of town to become the permanent home for K-State's initials a few years later. Bluemont Hill did not go neglected; it became the home for "MANHATTAN" in 1927.
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