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EVERETT - Drivers cruising down the Lincoln Highway might notice a giant - part landmark and part history - near the Down River Golf Course.

A 20-foot tall, 1,600-pound quarter with George Washington's profile is one of five Roadside Giants along the 200-mile roadway. It joins a 1940s gas pump and a Packard car with driver, both in Westmoreland County; a bicycle built for two in Somerset County; and a 1921 apple truck with crates of produce in Franklin County.

The quarter was dedicated in an afternoon ceremony Wednesday attended by students from Bedford County Technical Center, who were involved in the design and creation of the steel sculpture.

The sculpture was created at MDL Manufacturing in Bedford, and Mari-Pat and Doug Lingsch invited the students into their plant as part of the process.

"It was a great learning process for the students," said Mari-Pat Lingsch. "It gave them an opportunity to work in a real, live workplace. The students were great. They were fun to work with."

Meetings for the project began in March 2008, said community committee member Karen Bowman. Finishing touches at the site, such as landscaping and stone, will be added in the fall by students.

"I thought they did a pretty good job," Robinette said of the tech center students' efforts.

"It was a good experience for the boys. They got to do some things they normally wouldn't do - real world stuff,"?he added. "It was nice to get the kids out of the shop, too."

It took about three days to build the form, one day for it to set and another day to pour concrete, Robinette said.

Welding students Michael Brallier, Daniel May, Clinton Clark, Stu Shaffer and Nicholas White, led by instructor Dennis Whysong, helped to create the giant structure. Instructor Brad Robinette and students Evan Bridges, Roger Cadwalader, Kodie Clark, Dillon Sciranko, Zacharie Stonestreet, Alan Beegle, Dylan Beegle and Ethan Mallow worked on the concrete foundation.

Assistance on this project was provided by New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., BC Stone, SKE Design and Rockland Manufacturing.

For Wednesday's dedication, student Chelsea Long of the tech center's Culinary Arts project created a matching 3-D cake in the shape of the giant quarter with assistance from instructor Pattie Liebfreid.

The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor is organizing the Roadside Giants regional project, one of 12 chosen from 230 grant applications to be funded by The Sprout Fund of the Community Connections, Pittsburgh 250 group. The Sprout Fund is a nonprofit organization that supports grassroots community projects.

Bedford County is home to another Roadside Giant - the tall Coffee Pot located near the county fairgrounds.

For more information about the highway or the roadside giants, visit www.lhhc.org.

Mirror Staff Writer Wendy McCardle is at 946-7520.