Photo gallery: Thrills and spills as Dixie High seniors paint Sugarloaf sign

Written by Chris Reed
April 26, 2024

ST. GEORGE — Continuing a more than 110-year tradition, seniors from Dixie High School were hanging by ropes over the edge of Sugarloaf, also known as Dixie Rock, Friday morning with white paint and white knuckles.

A student repaints the fourth letter “I” in “Dixie on the Sugarloaf, St. George, Utah, April 26, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

With dozens of students pulling and releasing a rope atop the Sugarloaf, students rappelled down to repaint the Dixie letters. Adults supervised from above and from lawn chairs below. 

There was a brief scare as one student slipped and descended around 18 feet down to a ledge. Despite the screams of onlookers, she quickly signaled she was fine with an embarrassed smile. 

The “Bucket Run,” as it’s called, began in 1913. According to the Washington County Historical Society, the senior class of 1913 painted “1913” on the Sugarloaf. At first, the numerals were painted over several times by lower classes – 1914 and 1915 – in what became a less-than-friendly battle. 

A summit of teachers and students sometime in 1914 resulted in a solution. The word “Dixie” was painted instead. 

Last year, the Sugarloaf and the Dixie Rock sign were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Look below for a photo gallery of the Bucket Run above as well as a video accompanying this article.

Photo Gallery


Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Reed serves as a reporter for St. George News, where he has been honored with several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work, including first-place accolades. He started his journalism career as a sports reporter and editor in Southern California where he once compared shoe sizes with Shaquille O'Neal and exchanged mix tapes with members of the Los Angeles Kings. After growing up in the San Fernando Valley learning karate skills from Mr. Miyagi and spending a decade in Las Vegas mostly avoiding the casinos, he came to St. George for love and married his soulmate, a lifetime Southern Utah resident. He is the proud father of two boys, his youngest a champion against both autism and Type 1 diabetes.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGNews

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