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Signs are everywhere.
On our byways and highways, they tell us when to stop, where to yield, when not to turn right on red and how far it is from Town A to Town B. They keep us safe and let us know where we are and where we’re headed.
How could we cope without them?
I don’t mind signs. They’ve proven helpful a time or two in my travels.
Like Daniel Boone, I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for a time, especially on some of Maine’s older, seldom-traveled logging roads.
But billboards are a different story.
There was a time when Maine highways were blistered with large advertising displays. Fortunately, that is no longer the case.
First Lady Bird Johnson helped change that when she threw her support behind the 1965 Highway Beautification Act, which removed and banned outdoor billboards along America’s interstate and federal-aid highway system.
Enforcement has varied from state to state, and many states still allow billboards. Maine makes some exceptions for certain on-premises signs, but we are still one of only four states with a ban on off-premises billboards.
Thank you, Lady Bird.
One exception stands on the left side of Lily Bay Road about 18 miles north of Greenville, just before you reach Kokadjo.
It reads: “This is God’s country. Why set it on fire and make it look like hell?”
For some unknown reason, certain words — “God’s,” “fire” and “hell” — are painted boldly in red while the rest are green. Maybe it’s meant to get the point across, which it certainly does.
What little information I found says the billboard was erected by Great Northern Paper in the 1930s or 1940s and is one of the only legal off-premises billboards in the state.
If memory serves, I first saw it shortly after high school. I was going fishing somewhere, probably the West Branch, and had decided to go through Kokadjo rather than Millinocket because I preferred driving through the woods instead of on Interstate 95.
I saw it again just a couple years ago. The words were in a different font and the white background had a comparatively fresh coat of paint, but the billboard read the same and still got its point across.
I was pleased to see it was still standing.
If you travel that way this fishing or hunting season, be sure to check out the village sign as you enter Kokadjo. It’s in the shape of a moose head and reads, “Welcome to Kokadjo, Population: Not Many.”
I chuckled when I saw it, but it’s appropriate.
While some of Maine’s most memorable signs stand beside the road, others are found deep in the woods.
Baxter State Park has its share of signs, too, which makes sense.
At nearly 210,000 acres, Baxter is a place where you could easily get turned around or have no idea where’s where without them.
One of my favorite signs is the weather-worn, barely legible wooden marker that stood at the summit of Katahdin the last time we made the climb.
But my favorite Baxter signs are the ones that mark the trailheads to the park’s trout ponds, especially those in the southwest corner.
There’s some good trout fishing in Baxter State Park if you hit it right. Even if the fishing is slow, the solitude and the chance of sharing a pond with a loon or moose is worth the trip.
Some signs point the way. Others tell the stories behind the places we visit.
I can think of several reasons to visit Greenville on the south end of Moosehead Lake. It’s one of my favorite small towns.
Whether visiting for a day or stopping for a bite to eat or to pick up supplies before heading into the woods, we like to visit Thoreau Park in the center of the village.
The park is named after Henry David Thoreau, who made three trips to Maine. Two of them, in 1853 and 1857, were launched from Greenville after he arrived from Bangor by stagecoach.
The signs in the park depicting Thoreau’s visit and the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail are an interesting read while enjoying a soft-serve ice cream cone.
Maine has 17 designated state historic sites, and each has its share of signs.
Many are located along or near the coast, but a few, like Bible Point State Historic Site in Island Falls, are inland.
Bible Point is somewhat famous because a young Teddy Roosevelt camped, hunted and fished there in the late 1870s. The future president used to read his Bible each day at the confluence of First Brook and the West Branch of the Mattawamkeag River, hence the name Bible Point.
A plaque commemorates the spot.
Another inland historic site is Katahdin Iron Works, just north of Brownville Junction. Between 1843 and 1890, the site was Maine’s only iron works complex.
During the winter of 1884, at its peak operation, 400 men using 200 horses and oxen hauled and cut 20,000 cords of wood to keep the site’s 16 kilns in operation.
Only one remains today.
A few miles deeper into the woods is Gulf Hagas, where the West Branch of the Pleasant River descends 400 feet over four miles through a series of deep canyons and waterfalls.
The highlight is Screw Auger Falls, a 23-foot drop.
The area has been called the “Grand Canyon of Maine” and was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1968.
The Appalachian Trail passes through the area and there is an 8-mile rim trail, although shorter hikes to some of the gorges and falls are available.
Of course signs are available to lead the way.
Many of Maine’s wildlife management areas also feature kiosks and informational signs that introduce visitors to the habitat, wildlife and recreational opportunities found there.
Like I said, signs are everywhere.
Fortunately, we live in a state where many of them point us toward Maine’s history, outdoor traditions and wild places.