If you have driven through the valley on highway 52, you’ve definitely noticed the class rocks. Maybe you’ve driven by them a hundred times, or perhaps this is your first encounter. Regardless, have you heard the story behind them?

Initially conceived as a diversion from less desirable graffiti popping around town, the first class to leave their mark on the hills south of Kenmare was the graduating class of 1945. The tradition has been going strong ever since.

Each spring, the seniors select a hill and gather with shovels, trucks, and paint brushes for one final class project. An outline of their class year is staked out, in a design of their choosing. Then the sod is removed and field stones are hauled in. Once the trench is completely filled with rocks, the project is capped off with a coat of white paint. For many years, Rock Day was a cherished school event for seniors that commemorated the end of their high school journeys.

The majority of the Kenmare High School rock monuments have taken shape on the hillsides seven to eleven miles south of town. As the years pass by, the paint fades, from the sun, wind, rain, and snow. When class reunions roll around, they gather once again around their monument to apply a fresh coat of paint. Even if the paint is dull and worn, the memories remain and the classes are forever memorialized on the hills.