Alden Peterson Aaroe (May 5, 1918 – July 7, 1993) was a broadcast

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and announcer for WRVA, a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

Career

Before coming to WRVA, Aaroe was a newscaster at WCHV in Charlottesville, Virginia, 1939–1941.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 9. 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 remembered for his news reporting and his bantering with a fictional duck called "

Millard the Mallard Millard the Mallard was a fictional mallard duck who was used as a character and mascot of WRVA radio in Richmond, Virginia. It was featured on Alden Aaroe's morning show for 30 years. History Millard the Mallard first appeared in September 1972 ...

" during morning rush hour in Richmond during the 1970s. In 1991, Aaroe hosted a regular segment aimed at senior citizens called "For 55 Plus" on Sunday newscasts for

WRIC-TV WRIC-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Petersburg, Virginia, United States, serving the Richmond area as an affiliate of ABC. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios in unincorporated Chesterfield County (wi ...

, which broadcasts on Channel 8 in Richmond. Aaroe also founded the WRVA-

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

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 Gerald Lee Baliles (July 8, 1940 – October 29, 2019) was a Virginia lawyer and Democratic politician whose career spanned great social and technological changes in his native state. The 65th Governor of Virginia (from 1986 to 1990), the na ...

proclaimed Alden Aaroe Day in honor of his public service. In 1993, Alden Aaroe died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

after a long illness. His funeral was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, located across the street from the site of the former WRVA studio where Aaroe first served. He 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 1989 Aaroe was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. *In 1994, the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and House of Delegates of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

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'' () 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 Shockoe Bottom (also known historically as Shockoe Valley) is an area in Richmond, Virginia, just east of downtown, along the James River. Located between Shockoe Hill and Church Hill, Shockoe Bottom contains much of the land included in Colone ...

and the

Virginia State Capitol The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia. (The first two were Jamestown and Williamsburg.) It houses the oldest elected ...

on Capitol Hill. *In 1994, the Alden Aaroe Scholarship for

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

students at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

in Richmond was established in Aaroe's honor by his widow Frances Aaroe. *At the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and i ...

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.

References

External links

WRVA online official website
* ttp://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?941+ful+SJ150ER Virginia General Assembly resolution on death of Alden Aaroebr>Alden Aaroe reports that a navy fighter jet crashes in Windsor Farms, Richmond, Virginia, December 7, 1955Alden Aaroe and group depart for Hawaii, November 1960
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaroe, Alden American radio journalists People from Richmond, Virginia Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) 1918 births 1993 deaths Radio personalities from Virginia Journalists from Virginia 20th-century American journalists American male journalists