It is comforting to know that there are some things you simply can't Google. The Ventura Hills Nature Preserve, one of Ventura Land Trust’s (VLT) properties, now includes the iconic V perched above Midtown Ventura. In a quest to uncover the history of the “V”, I embarked on a truly delightful, analog, hard copy, treasure hunt. I was curious about several things: whose idea it was, how they got the cement up there, and whether they had permission, or if it was a clandestine operation. Did it get any media attention at the time? Are there photographs of people constructing it?

This quest began with a walk up to the V and taking photographs, particularly of the names that are embossed in the cement on the V itself.

The short trek was followed by a query to Ventura City Hall about any permits that might have been submitted to establish the V. It was a long shot, but worth a try. The city was very prompt in replying that no such permit existed. They suggested contacting the Museum of Ventura County, which was next on my list. I made an appointment and was greeted with files that had been pulled about Mariano Erburu and the Basque community in the region.

The volunteers there were very helpful, and we concluded that what we needed was a before and after photograph of the hill to narrow down when it first appeared. Several hours of looking through the card catalog and pulling photographs narrowed it down to the 1950s, or so we thought. One of the volunteers suggested looking up the obituaries of the names on the V, which ended up being critical to solving the mystery. Once we knew that William Klope, the second name on the V on the left-hand side, had graduated from Ventura High School in 1948 and had a son, also Dr. William Klope. Alberta Word emailed someone she knew who knew Dr. Klope (a very Venturan occurrence).

My next stop was Ventura High School. The current journalism teacher put me in touch with the librarian, F. Fallon Farokhi, who was similarly enthusiastic about helping in the quest. We excitedly reviewed yearbooks because many of them had a panoramic view of the high school looking up to the hillside. This narrowed down the years. It was not there in 1946, but did appear in an image from 1956. Interestingly, Ventura College and Ventura High School shared a campus at that time.

A few days after my visit to Ventura High School, Alberta Word heard back from her initial email and informed me that the V was a Key Club (a student version of the Kiwanis Club) project at Ventura High School. They built the V in 1948. Eureka! In the email, Dr. Klope confirmed that his father, also William Klope, was part of the group that built it. A friend of mine, Kathy Waters, who is in the Ventura County band with the current Dr. William Klope, got me in touch with him, and I set up a phone interview.

I chatted with Bill Klope on March 20, and he confirmed that the project was through the Key Club at Ventura High School. He shared that it was very fashionable to put letters for towns on hillsides to help aviators locate their position. Apparently, the students drove as far as they could and lugged the cement, sand, and water up by hand. Bill wasn’t quite sure about the funding for the project, but surmised that people were very helpful and may have donated the supplies. I remarked that their names are embossed very legibly, and he reminded me that it was a mark of distinction to print well, and perhaps one person had written them.

Unfortunately, there were not any photographs that he knew of documenting the formation of the V. We also discussed the fact that Ventura High School used to house Ventura College on its campus, and the high school was known as “Pirate Prep”. His father stayed through what was then known as 14th grade and then went on to dental school. In another very Ventura connection, it turns out that Bill and his younger brothers were in the same Boy Scout troop, 128, as my husband and his brothers.

So there you have it. The newly painted, vibrant V still serves as an iconic landmark for Ventura.

Now you can Google it!