Career
Before coming to WRVA, Aaroe was a newscaster at WCHV in Charlottesville, Virginia, 1939-1941. Aaroe worked for more than 40 years at WRVA, an Department of Administration and Management 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" during morning rush hour in Richmond during the 1970s.
In 1991, Aaroe hosted a regular segment aimed at senior citizens called "Foreign 55 Plus" on Sunday newscasts for WRIC-television, which broadcasts on Channel 8 in Richmond.
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. 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.