Bridge over I-70 renamed in honor of local civil rights activist
A bridge that spans Interstate 70 in South Strabane Township was officially renamed in honor of local civil rights titan and businessman Louis E. Waller at a dedication ceremony at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum Thursday afternoon.
“He was a uniter of people, he brought people together. That’s what bridges do, and I think it’s special because it is located adjacent to the neighborhood where Mr. Waller grew up and made his family home. He spent much of his time there,” said Robert C. Griffin, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington, who was profoundly influenced by Waller and served as master of ceremonies at the bridge dedication. “It has been one of the great privileges of my life to have had Mr. Waller as a friend and mentor for nearly 30 years.”
Efforts to rename the bridge were led by Phyllis Waller, one of Waller’s children, who believed it was a fitting tribute to the influential civil rights pioneer who served as a bridge between Black and white communities, and reached out to state Rep. Tim O’Neal (R-48). Senate Bill 621, which designated the bridge on state Route 4049 over Interstate 70 in South Strabane Township as the Louis E. Waller Bridge, was passed in the fall of 2023.
“Honestly, I can’t believe this hasn’t been done already, because although I never had the opportunity of meeting Lou, his legacy lives on throughout Washington County and throughout the area,” said O’Neal. “Lou Waller was just not a pillar for the Black community, he was a pillar of all of Washington County, across all races and ethnicities,” said O’Neal. “His legacy is felt regardless of what sector you’re in, across philanthropy, across business, across the racial community and the racial issues we still experience here today, and I am truly honored that I got to play a small piece in honoring such a huge presence, a huge man in our community.”
Waller, who died in 2009, was deeply involved with his church, business, community, and civil rights, and served as president, chairman, or trustee member of several associations and boards.
A graduate of Washington High School, he earned a degree from Dean Tech and served in the U.S. Army. Despite being an excellent student and skilled draftsman, he encountered racial prejudice. An advocate for nonviolent protest, Waller became president of the NAACP Washington Branch in 1959 at the age of 31 and played a pivotal role in working toward elimination of segregation in the Washington School District, led efforts for the integration of the Washington Park swimming pool, and in 1964 organized and led the “March to the Post Office” to voice support for the passage of Civil Rights legislation.
Among the many awards he received throughout his lifetime were the NAACP Washington Branch Human Rights Award and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Waynesburg College.
“He spent a lot of his life helping people, fighting for justice and equal opportunity. He was an example for his family and many young professionals that he worked with and that he mentored,” said Waller’s daughter, Lorraine Waller, an attorney who now lives in Raleigh, N.C., and traveled home for the dedication. “He taught us values of perseverance, hard work, integrity and love for everyone that we worked with and ran into. We used to joke among family that Dad only needed four or five hours (of sleep) a night and that’s how he could get so much work done. And when people would ask Louis Waller, ‘What drives you, what is your motivation to be so interested in being in the community helping people?,’ he would say, ‘I’m just trying to get to heaven.'”
O’Neal lauded Waller’s courage during the civil rights movement, and said it was fitting that the bridge dedication occurred the day after Juneteenth, which marks the official end of slavery on June 19, 1865, and was designated a national holiday in 2021.
He noted that Black people make up 3% of Washington County’s population, 6% of the 48th District, and about 14% of the city of Washington.
“So that’s today, in 2024. If you go backward in time to the 1950s, when Lou was being a true leader and pillar of the civil right movement for our community, I’m sure the numbers weren’t very different. But I just want to make sure everybody understands the perspective of the courage it would take to stand up and be a leader of the civil rights movement before all of the protections, and still acknowledging the bias that still happens, the racism that still happens, but before any of the legal methods were in place to protect what he was doing,” said O’Neal.
Waller, who was inducted into the Washington County Historical Society’s Hall of Fame in 2020, was president of McAnallen Corp. for more than 20 years before he founded Waller Corp. in 1986. Waller Corp. served as general contractor for the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum’s state-of-the-art Welcome and Education Center.
“Mr. Waller is deeply deserving of this honor he is receiving today, as he was truly a remarkable man,” Griffin said. “His life and legacy have indeed shown us that even one person can impact an entire community and that it is important for all of us to do our part, however large or small, to help make this world as good as the next.”