MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The South High Street bridge was renamed to honor veterans of Morgantown during a ceremony held on Memorial Day, May 28, at the Monongalia County Board of Education office.
Allie Satterfield, a 2018 graduate of Morgantown High School, lead the movement to rename the South High Street bridge after collaborating with her fellow MHS Key Club members and sponsor, Steven Blinco.
Satterfield’s grandfather was a physician in the airforce and a source of inspiration in her journey to get the bridge renamed.
Every Fall the MHS Key Club organizes an event to honor the veterans of Morgantown, but this year the members wanted to take it a step further.
“We wanted to find a way to make a community outreach and honor them more throughout Morgantown so more people could be recognized,” Satterfield said.
With the guidance of Blinco, the club decided that renaming the bridge would be a nice way to honor the veterans of Morgantown since it is located near Morgantown High School and the Monongalia County Board of Education office.
“When we were talking about it we were just thinking of ways that the community would see our respect and our honor that we wanted to show the veterans,” Satterfield said.
The bridge is also seen at the end of the Veteran’s Day parade in Morgantown.
In order to bring notice to the idea, Satterfield wrote a letter to Monongalia County Delegate Joe Statler.
“He was ready to get the ball rolling with it,” she said.
According to Satterfield, Statler told the group that the letter played a “huge role” in the decision to rename the bridge.
The bridge is now the MHS Veterans Bridge.