Traveling WWI Exhibition Will Visit Salem

Waddell & Reed's Traveling World War I Exhibition Rolls into Salem at the Willamette Heritage Center (Mission Mill) to Honor Veterans, Raise Funds & Awareness for National Treasures

Event takes place Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Willamette Heritage Center.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Waddell & Reed – one of the country’s oldest mutual fund and financial planning companies – will kick off an ambitious and unconventional acknowledgement of its 75th anniversary.  In partnership with Ivy Funds and the National World War I Museum, a custom 18-wheel “big rig” truck has been transformed into a traveling World War I exhibition.  Dubbed the “Honoring Our History Tour,” the exhibition will visit 75 Waddell & Reed communities across the country – stopping at local museums and cultural institutions to raise funds and awareness. 

Salem is the 20th stop on the 75-city tour. 
 
This unique traveling exhibition offers a free, interactive and educational experience designed by the National World War I Museum – the first and only American museum solely dedicated to preserving the artifacts, history and personal experiences of World War I.  The Waddell & Reed Traveling World War I Exhibition features 66 artifacts, such as weapons, uniforms, posters and flags.  In addition, visitors will experience the tight conditions of trench warfare, see the relatively primitive tools, weapons, equipment and uniforms, amid sounds and sights of war 100 years ago.  The year-long tour honors the men and women who served in World War I – and those who have since bravely served our country and protected our freedom.

The Waddell & Reed Traveling World War I Exhibition and the Willamette Heritage Center are open free to the public:  

• Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Located in the parking lot of the Willamette Heritage Center, 1313 Mill Street SE
• Admission is free to both museums on October 19. 

Waddell & Reed kicked off this exhibition tour in July 2011.

 The stories of our past can’t help but influence our future. For that reason, we cannot take our cultural institutions for granted.” – Kevin Costner, Honorary Board Member, National World War I Museum

In times when state and municipal budgets are tight, Waddell & Reed and Ivy Funds recognized the need to support museums and cultural institutions across the country.  To celebrate the company’s 75^th anniversary, Waddell & Reed created the Waddell & Reed Traveling WWI Exhibition.  The exhibition’s mission is to raise awareness and funding for these national treasures. By traveling to 75 cities in nearly every state, Waddell & Reed hopes to raise $500,000 in donations over the course of the year.  Funds raised at each stop will be divided equally between the local museum and the National World War I Museum, based in Kansas City, Mo.

The two founders of Waddell & Reed, Chauncey Waddell and Cameron Reed, were veterans of World War I who formed a partnership in 1937 to create one of the longest-standing mutual fund and financial planning companies in the country.  The exhibit includes founder Chauncey Waddell’s flight gear, his flight suit and log book.

The Waddell & Reed Traveling WWI Exhibition will stop at museums of all classifications — including those focused on art, history, local culture, education and sports. A schedule for the tour, which will travel coast to coast in 2011/2012, can be found at www.honoringourhistory.com

Waddell & Reed, founded in 1937 and one of the oldest mutual fund and financial planning companies in the country, in partnership with the National World War I Museum, the only American museum solely dedicated to preserving the objects, history and personal experiences of a war whose impact still echoes today.  Ivy Funds, an affiliate of Waddell & Reed, offers a range of investment strategies to help investors best meet their long-term goals, all designed with a disciplined approach and global perspective.

The Willamette Heritage Center at The Mill offers a stroll through the history of the Willamette Valley and is Salem’s American Treasure. The five-acre campus is home to fourteen historic structures that present the stories and richness of Oregon's past. 

The 1895 Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, one of the best-preserved Victorian-Age factories in the West and designated an American Treasure by the National Park Service, vividly tells the story of industrialization in the West. See how it was to work in what was once a leading textile factory in Oregon, the legacy of which is continued today by Pendleton Woolen Mills. Changing exhibitions at the Willamette Heritage Center at The Mill explore and highlight the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Mid-Willamette Valley. 

MORE: Every visitor has the opportunity to make a financial donation to support the non-profit museum via electronic or cash donations.  For more information or to make a donation, visit www.honoringourhistory.com.