Collection Guide
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Guide to the Walter J. Lumley Papers
UA0100
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Table of contents
Dates: 1926-1983
Collection number: UA0100
Creator:
Walter J. Lumley
Collection Size:
.25 linear feet
1 box
Repository:
Robert E. Kennedy Library. Dept. of Special Collections
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-0605
Abstract: Photographs, documents, and newspaper clippings related to 1926 alumni and football player Walter J. Lumley.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult a Special Collections staff member. 409C-2A1
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open to researchers by appointment only. For more information on visiting, access policies, and reproduction
requests, please visit our Reference Services page online at http://lib.calpoly.edu/search-and-find/collections-and-archives/reference-services/.
Digital Copies are provided to researchers for the purpose of study, research, and personal use only, unless otherwise specified
in writing. Materials that are the property of Cal Poly Special Collections and Archives require written permission prior
to publication. No complete collection may be reproduced.
For print and online publication, please visit our Reproduction Services page online at http://lib.calpoly.edu/support/sca-policies/reproduction/.
Special Collections and Archives reserves the right to review all reproduction requests and to withhold permission if scanning
would endanger the material, would violate copyright law, or would violate institutional restrictions.
, UA0100. Special Collections, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Gift.
Biography / Administrative History
Walter J. Lumley was born 26 September 1905 in King City, California to Walter Johnston Lumley and Mary Ellen Clique Lumley.
He attended King City Elementary until the age of 14, then moved to San Luis Obispo to enroll at Cal Poly which was, at the
time, California Polytechnical School, a four-year secondary vocational program. His younger brother James Phillip Lumley
also attended Cal Poly.
Lumley enrolled at Cal Poly in 1920 at attended on and off until his graduation in 1926. He was listed on the Honor Roll in
1924 and a 1925 campus newsletter article mentions that he returned to campus after a long illness, which may have contributed
to his extended enrollment at the school. Lumley was a member of the basketball team, quarterback of the football team, and
on the track team during his time as a student at Cal Poly. He was also involved in multiple student activities including
the Polytechnic Journal student-staff as a photographer, the Dormitory Club, and the Block P club which was responsible for
maintaining the “P” located on northwestern campus hillside.
Lumley is perhaps best known for installing the Block P on Bishop Peak. In 1925 he enlisted the help of fellow classmen and
borrowed supplies from the Ag Department to install the painted “P”. The installation required repelling down the rock by
rope to paint the “P” and took several days. The letter is reported to be 40 feet tall by 24 feet wide. After the project
was completed, he was invited to dinner at the home of Cal Poly President Dr. Crandall who complimented him on the project.
It was 28 years before a second coat of paint was applied.
The 1940 census lists his status as employed as a truck salesman for an oil company (possibly wholesale fuel), living with
his wife and daughter in King City. Walter J. Lumley died 9 November 1983 and is buried in King City, California. The year
of his death he wrote a brief essay regarding his Block P project which is included in his papers.
Scope and Content of Collection
Photographs, documents, newspaper clipping, and obituary related to 1926 alumni and football player Walter J. Lumley.
The collection is arranged alphabetically as a single series. Original organization of the records has been preserved where
possible. Materials may have been reorganized or rehoused for preservation and access purposes.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Bishop Peak
Poly P
San Luis Obispo
Lumley, Walter J. “The Block P on Bishop Peak”. Unpublished essay, 1983. Lumley Papers UA0100, Cal Poly Special Collections
and Archives.
Polytechnic Journal, 1926. Cal Poly Special Collections and Archives
Dorm Doings. The Polygram. 26 February 1925: 4.
Obituary. Walter J. Lumley. 1983.