Alden Aaroe

Alden Aaroe

Alden Peterson Aaroe (May 5, 1918 - July 7, 1993) was a popular longtime broadcast journalist and announcer for WRVA, a radio station in Richmond, Virginia.

Career

Aaroe worked for more than 40 years at WRVA, an AM radio station known as the "50,000 watt Voice of Virginia". As a radio personality, Aaroe is best remembered Fact|date=April 2007 for his news reporting and his bantering with a fictional duck called Millard the Mallard during morning rush hour in Richmond during the 1970s. Aaroe also founded the WRVA-Salvation Army Shoe Fund, which provides shoes for needy children and has raised $5.6 million in its 36 year history. In 1986, Virginia Governor Gerald Baliles proclaimed Alden Aaroe Day in honor of his public service.

In 1993, Alden Aaroe died of cancer after a long illness and was buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. The Shoe Fund, now called the WRVA/Salvation Army Alden Aaroe Shoe Fund, still provides approximately 2,500 children with new shoes each year.

Honors

*In 1994, the Senate and House of Delegates of the Virginia General Assembly passed a joint resolution honoring the late Aaroe for "his contributions to the field of broadcasting and his lifetime service to the people of the Commonwealth."
*In 1994, the book "Alden Aaroe: Voice of the Morning" (ISBN 0-87517-072-2) was written and published by "Richmond-Times-Dispatch" feature columnist Steve Clark.
*A street in the Church Hill section of Richmond, Alden Aaroe Way, was named for Aaroe. It is a cul-de-sac with a small park adjacent to the former WRVA studios and it overlooks Shockoe Bottom and the Virginia State Capitol on Capitol Hill.
*In 1994, the Alden Aaroe Scholarship for journalism students at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond was established in Aaroe's honor by his widow Frances Aaroe.
*At the Library of Virginia in Richmond, WRVA sound recordings and other artifacts were the subject of a major online exhibit. Included in this exhibit was a pair of Aaroe's shoes.

External links

* [http://www.wrva.com/main.html WRVA online official website]
* [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whoweare/exhibits/radio/voice.htm Library of Virginia online exhibit "WRVA - The Voice of Virginia"]
* [http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?941+ful+SJ150ER Virginia General Assembly resolution on death of Alden Aaroe]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alden (name) — Alden as a first or given name originated in the Old English language. Most sources trace it to ald wyn , meaning old friend , though it is sometimes given as meaning old one. urname* Augustus E. Alden, American politician that served as mayor of …   Wikipedia

  • WRVA (AM) — Infobox Radio Station name = WRVA area = Richmond, Virginia branding = Newsradio 1140 slogan = Richmond s News, Weather, and Traffic Station ; Depend on It airdate = November 1925 frequency = 1140 kHz HD Radio format = News/Talk power = 50,000… …   Wikipedia

  • John Tisdale Harding — is a long time on air personality and News Director for WRVA. Radio History John s career began at WEVA in Emporia, VA when he was 14. He worked after school and on Weekends from 1959 through 1964. In 1967, he returned to WEVA to step up and run… …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Virginia — This is a list of notable people who were born in the U.S. state of Virginia, were raised or lived in Virginia, or for whom Virginia is a significant part of their identity. Those not born in Virginia are marked with §.A* Alden Aaroe WRVA talk… …   Wikipedia

  • Hollywood Cemetery — This article is about the cemetery in Richmond, Virginia; for the cemetery in Hollywood, California, see: Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Hollywood Cemetery is a large, sprawling cemetery located at 412 South Cherry Street in Richmond, Virginia.… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Richmonders — The people listed below were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Richmond, Virginia, and its surrounding metropolitan area, including: the town of Ashland, Amelia County, Caroline County, Charles City County,… …   Wikipedia

  • Millard the Mallard — A fictional character (a mallard duck) and mascot of WRVA radio in Richmond, Virginia, Millard the Mallard first appeared in September 1972 as a joke when John Harding, of the WRVA news staff, started making a Donald Duck type voice during Alden… …   Wikipedia

  • Virginians — The Virginians (also known as the Richmond Virginians ) is a barbershop chorus located in Richmond, Virginia. Mike Wallen [ [http://virginians.org/wallen.php Director profile] from the Virginians official website] is currently its musical… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”