Sometimes, it can be hard to discard an old coffeepot. Especially one that is some 77 years old.

And two-stories tall.

That would be the dilemma facing the owners of The Koontz Coffee Pot, a giant coffeepot-shaped building that stood along U.S. Route 30, across from the Bedford Fairgrounds, since 1927.

	Associated Press The Koontz Coffee Pot, a giant coffeepot-shaped building, seen in this 2003 file photo before its renovation. Click photo for larger image.

A man named David Koontz erected the 18-foot coffeepot along the Lincoln Highway -- one of America's first highways -- as a novelty luncheonette to lure customers to his gas station next door. The circular wood-frame building was wider at the bottom than the top and had the appearance of an old-time coffeepot. Especially with the touches Koontz put on each side: Here was the handle, here was the spout.

Pennsylvania's roadsides have always reflected as much character as the people and the countryside themselves. If you've ever taken the time to stray from the turnpike and interstates, you've seen much more than barnsides urging you to "Chew Mail Pouch."

There have been images of people: Giant Amish farmers in Lancaster, a giant woman holding a pie in Frackville, and a giant tire man in Uniontown.

Food and beverages: The giant DeAngelis Donut in Rochester, a giant ice cream cone in Chambersburg, and giant soda cups -- complete with giant straws -- in Pottstown, Boyertown and Pennsburg.

Giant other stuff: We've seen a giant daffodil in Finleyville, a giant paint can in Shippensburg, and even a giant praying mantis in Ferrellton.

Not to mention our fine roadside collections of muffler art.

Unfortunately, the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the 1940s siphoned a lot of travelers -- and customers -- from the Lincoln Highway and the coffeepot and its adjoining building fell on hard times. According to one of the Web sites dedicated to it, the pot became a bus station, then a seedy '70s bar, and then served another stint as a diner.

In the 1980s, The Coffee Pot was closed. For years, however, it still stood along the highway, boarded up and falling into disrepair, its windows smashed, its carpeting torn and its furniture broken.

The effort to save The Coffee Pot began to really percolate around the turn of the century when the property owners donated it to the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Then, in 2001, it was recognized as one of the state's best examples of "programmatic architecture" and named to our list of Most Endangered Historic Properties.

Later, the LHHC joined other state conservation and historical agencies in raising money for the structure's reconstruction. In 2003, it was moved across the highway to the fairgrounds, and in August of last year it was rededicated with a new coat of silver paint and a big ceremony.

This week, according to The Associated Press, the Bedford County Fair Board approved the coffeepot's use as a museum chronicling the history of Bedford County's fairgrounds and the building itself.

The story, like a lot of what you might find in a coffeepot, may be a little old, but it's still strong.

Good. It's so hard to cut each other off on one-lane roads

Most drivers along Route 28 in Etna aren't worried about roadway distractions. They're more concerned with roadway construction. Well, yesterday the good folks at PennDOT put the finishing touches on a stretch of highway that was supposed to have been done back in November. Now, motorists on southbound Route 28 will have two "thru" lanes leading into the city.