BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2021
Pockwockamus Rock is surrounded by wilderness and within view of majestic Katahdin on the access road into Baxter State Park’s south entrance. It is a massive boulder with a uniquely flat face, which has a primitive folk-art-style depiction of a Maine woods scene with an inscription: “Keep Maine Beautiful.” In the 1970s, the rock had become a target for vandals who seized any chance to coat it with profanities. Dot Lamson, an environmental educator charged with leading teenagers that summer, recalled that the crew convinced her simply painting a blank canvas over the graffiti wouldn’t work. “They hoped that by painting it with a wilderness scene, others might leave it alone,” she said. “It worked.” Nearly a half century later, Pockwockamus Rock stands as a call to action for any who cherish Maine’s wilderness character.