HONESDALE -- High above Honesdale on Irving cliff, there used to be a letter H.
It was a way to promote the Wayne County borough and an upcoming sidewalk sale.
The theme of this year's sale is 'Honesdale Goes Hollywood.'
So a plan was made to spell out Honesdale on the cliff much like the Hollywood sign in California, but that plan fell apart.
"We started last week, put an H up, to try to generate interest, get people talking about it. One of the other people on our board was on Facebook with, 'Give me an H,' and people were responding. And then last night the H disappeared," said Jeff Hiller, President of the Greater Honesdale Partnership.
Right after making the four foot by eight foot letter H and securing it on the cliff, Hiller said the letter was swiped.
"It looks like it may be 'onesdale' sidewalk sales because we're missing the H."
The sidewalk sale is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, although some merchants start on Thursday.
It has been a tradition for decades.
Folks said the fact that someone hauled off the letter H is frustrating.
"It's huge. What they would do with it is beyond me. I don't know. They think they're being funny. They're not being funny. They're being destructive," said Tom Fasshauer, a Honesdale business owner.
As Jeff Hiller put up the letter O on the cliff, Newswatch 16 found folks enjoying the view.
They could not understand the point of stealing a letter.
"I don't know what somebody would do with a giant H. I'm just wondering why they took it," said Pierce Coleman of Minnesota.
"It really does destroy any memories that we're creating," said Cary Grams, who grew up in Honesdale.
Hiller said he hopes to have the word Honesdale spelled out on the cliff by Thursday, he will make another H if he has to, but he hopes someone knows something, hears something, or saw something and that original H is returned.