One of Penticton害羞草研究所檚 greatest landmarks, both in size and recognition, is in need of a bit of revitalization.

The 54-by-300-foot sign that calls the city害羞草研究所檚 name out from the mountaintops, an 80-year-old fixture in Penticton害羞草研究所檚 skyline, will be getting that work done next week, as a group of realtors head to Munson Mountain to give it a new paint job.

害羞草研究所淟iving here, sometimes you just don害羞草研究所檛 make the time to get out and remind yourself why we live here, in such a beautiful city,害羞草研究所� said managing broker Brooks Lancaster, whose real estate firm is heading up to Munson Mountain next Wednesday for the project.

The group will be heading up the hill at around 7 a.m. and expects to begin painting the sign closer to 8 a.m., with employees taking one- or two-hour shifts, which Lancaster described as a nice break from working in the office.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e going to have a fun day up there. We害羞草研究所檒l have the tent up there, we害羞草研究所檒l have some sandwiches and some water,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 just nice to get out of the office and do something that害羞草研究所檚 important to all of us that live here.害羞草研究所�

He expects the group to take around five hours to complete the paint job, which he says is likely the first in about half a dozen years.

害羞草研究所淥ver the years, a lot of volunteer groups have been maintaining the Penticton sign, since the 害羞草研究所�40s,害羞草研究所� Lancaster said.

Among the caretakers of the past, Lancaster lists the Boy Scouts, the former board of trade and other volunteers.

Though the sign has been up for 80 years, now a B.C. heritage site, Lancaster says the spot had significance to Penticton for a full 10 years prior, including a beacon fire lit on Canada Day, 1927.

害羞草研究所淭his is kind of why we害羞草研究所檙e doing it at this time of year,害羞草研究所� Lancaster said. 害羞草研究所淣inety years ago on Canada Day, they had a beacon fire on Munson Mountain 害羞草研究所� and that was the first recorded evidence of the social significance as a local celebration.害羞草研究所�

Local historian Randy Manuel says the sign was created all those decades ago with the board of trade at the helm of the project, while others worked to maintain it later on.

But it was the Associated Canadian Traveler害羞草研究所檚 club who hauled up a total of 44,000 pounds 害羞草研究所� nearly 20 metric tonnes 害羞草研究所� of silica rock over three intervals while maintaining the area, including weeding the space.

害羞草研究所淭hat would have been one heck of a job to haul those bags of silica down the slope and put them into place,害羞草研究所� Manuel said.

To put that into more tangible terms, 44,000 pounds would require 880 individual loads, if each person carried 50 pounds at a time.

For decades, the sign was in need of regular maintenance, as those rocks, placed on the ground, were often outgrown by the weeds underneath. That became the cause for a local radio station in the 1980s and 1990s, according to Manuel.

害羞草研究所淎 one point, Ralph Robinson from CIGV radio started a campaign to be able to have annual cleanups and put cement in place, instead of stone,害羞草研究所� Manuel said.

That was finalized in the late 1990s, according to Lancaster, who says the concrete was poured over the silica rocks to keep weeds from growing over it.

害羞草研究所淭hey just made it that much more permanent in 1998. It was basically just a pebble sign (before),害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚n 1998, the concrete was poured, and the silica rock that was there is embedded in it, and that害羞草研究所檚 what we have there, today.害羞草研究所�

The sign害羞草研究所檚 creation in the late 1930s was the product of an inability of the city and developers to commercialize the park space, which Manuel says might ring a bell with those paying attention to local issues more recently.

害羞草研究所淕uess what. Fast forward 80 years, and it害羞草研究所檚 still going on, right?害羞草研究所� he said.

Commercialization of the space around the sign came up more recently, too, with an outdoor theatre proposed for a natural bowl behind the hill, according to Manuel.

害羞草研究所淏ut that never came to fruition. I think probably what happened was more interesting things came on stream, and then the 2008 financial crash didn害羞草研究所檛 make it financially viable,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t would have been a combination of city and private enterprise.害羞草研究所�

Those who wish to help out with the upcoming efforts to revitalize the sign are more than welcome to, Lancaster said.