Pocatello rock group hides happiness for people to find

Most people don’t think twice about the rocks at the park, but almost 10,000 people in the Pocatello and Chubbuck area do.

The Pocatello and Chubbuck Rocks #pocatellochubbuckrocks Facebook group was formed in 2016, and since then, it has grown to 9,332 members.

The members of the group paint small rocks with pictures or sayings and then leave the rocks around town for people to find.

Member Betty Farnsworth has been painting rocks since she moved back to Pocatello last year.

“There’s one that a man found by his store, and he was just opening his store, and he said it was an encouragement to him that this store is going to go through,” said Farnsworth.

Another girl found one of Farnsworth’s rocks after she broke her arm. The rock said, “It’s going to be okay.” Farnsworth says that it’s no coincidence that people find rocks with positive messages on them when they need them.

“I almost say it’s a God incident, meaning they were meant to be there,” Farnsworth said.

While the rocks are meant to bring joy to people in the community, some rocks have more meaning to them.

During the month of June, Farnsworth made Pride rocks in honor of her daughter, whom she lost 10 years ago to suicide.

“I left rocks that said ‘Pride’ on them, and then on the back it said, ‘In memory of my daughter, Amber Farnsworth,'” Farnsworth said.

Amber was a pharmacy technician, but she left Pocatello in 1999 to find a more accepting community for LGBTQ+ people. Twenty years later, Betty thinks things have changed.

“She would be proud of Pocatello for how far they’ve gotten since she left,” Farnsworth said.

There are several other rock groups in the area, including Idaho Falls Rocks, Rexburg Rocks, Rocks Across Idaho, and even Rocks Across America.

Wednesday, July 3, is the fourth annual International Drop a Rock Day, and this year’s theme is ‘Harmony.’