One of the best views of Bismarck is from atop the hills on the northeast side of town. There’s Hillside Park, which is quite popular, and then there’s the steep streets of Laforest and Northview. Northview is also known for the neighborhood which decorates all the trees in unison during Christmas, and becomes a busy street during the season. Laforest is one block over and faces more westward, providing the view you see above.

With potentially slippery conditions in the winter, the hill has always been marked by the prominent HILL sign you see above. For the past twenty years or so it has also been marked by something else: the letters L, E, and A. They were apparently painted on somehow and removed, leaving a lasting impression on the sign. They’re pretty well invisible by day, but stand out quite obviously when the sign is in your headlights (or flash).

So what’s the deal with those three letters? What do they stand for, and how’d they get there? As luck would have it, I know the answer to that story. A friend of mine used to live in that neighborhood when she was younger, and told me the story when we first started spending time together. In fact, she’s quite directly involved.

As the story goes, another kid in the neighborhood a long time ago wanted to get my friend in trouble. Apparently the only way they thought worthwhile at the time was to try to vandalize this sign. They got some paint and put her name, Lea, prominently above the HILL on the sign. Naturally the neighbors all spotted it right away. Lea maintained her innocence until the truth came out.

I suppose the sign was never replaced because during the day it’s nearly impossible to see anything unusual about it. But I’m sure dozens of people who come up Northview each Christmas to see the lights, taking a right at the top of the hill to come back down by Laforest, see the letters L E A in their headlights as they pass this sign. Now you know why they’re there..