Giants are Popping Up along the Lincoln Highway!

April 16th, 2009

 

Abraham Lincoln’s image in bronze that lines the route of the Lincoln Highway will be joined by roadside giants. Motorists along Route 30 West in Ligonier Township will encounter the first of five super-sized structures planned to pop up along the Lincoln Highway. Check out the giant 21-foot-high replica of a 1940s gasoline pump, that was was just installed near the entrance to Idlewild Park. All roadside giants will be constructed by students from career and technology centers along the 200-mile Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Additional projects include a bicycle built for two in Somerset County; an oversized quarter with a profile of George Washington in Bedford County; a Packard car and driver in Westmoreland County, constructed by students at the Central Westmoreland Career & Technology Center in New Stanton; and a 1921 Selden apple truck in Franklin County.

For the most part in Pennsylvania, we know the Lincoln Highway as Route 30. However, through much of the Laurel Highlands area, it is a braided route, crisscrossing Route 30 a number of times. Much of this route follows the old roadbed of the Forbes Road.

For more on what is happening along this historic route, visit www.LHHC.org.

A number of special events and celebrations are taking place all around the country in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s Bicentennial (1809-2009). One special event that will be occurring in the Laurel Highlands is the 90th Anniversary Re-enactment of the Military Convoy that was led by then Lieutenant Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1919.

The 2009 re-enactment of the Convoy will depart from Washington, D.C. on June 13 with a planned arrival date in CA on July 4, 2009. On Day 5 of the trip, the motorcade will roll through the Laurel Highlands with an overnight stay in Greensburg, PA. For more information on experiencing the Lincoln Highway go to www.lhhc.org or www.laurelhighlands.org.

Another fun reason to explore the Lincoln Highway is to see the old world crafts of thirty participating artisans displayed in a dozen selected marketplaces such as Bridget Mayak of Somerset - Pennsylvania’s 2008 “Art Teacher of the Year” garden birds. Visit www.handmadealongthehighway.org for more information.

The Lincoln Highway has hit the big screen. Watch your PBS stations to view Pittsburgh’s own Rick Sebak’s A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway; and your local Lincoln Highway theatres to see the John Putch film Route 30. Both are a hoot!

Watching HGTV can be addictive; but so is attending the annual Inside Ligonier Valley Home Tour that is sponsored by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Set for Saturday, June 20, this self guided Tour will not disappoint as Ligonier’s finest homes will have their welcome mat out for you. Visit www.LHHC.org for details.

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