World War I exhibit's sponsors donate to tidy doughboy statue

From Post-Gazette.com: World War I exhibit's sponsors donate to tidy doughboy statue

As a traveling World War I exhibit was being set up in the parking lot across from the Heinz History Center Friday, its sponsors, Waddell & Reed, presented Lawrenceville United with a $7,500 check the size of a beach towel.

The money it represents will help the neighborhood group care for Lawrenceville's most notable gateway: the statue of the World War I doughboy and the landscaping around it.

Thomas Butch, president of Waddell & Reed, a mutual fund company, said the doughboy statue is one of the city's icons. It is also the logo of the branding campaign that Lawrenceville stakeholder groups began several years ago.

"In contemplation of our stop here, we got in touch with the folks who tend to the care of that site." said Mr. Butch.

"On behalf of the thousands of residents and business owners in Lawrenceville, thank you," said Lauren Byrne, executive director of Lawrenceville United. "This means a great deal to us."

The exhibit is in Pittsburgh through today, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and free to the public. It is in an 18-wheeler and holds a slice of the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo.

The traveling exhibit will visit 75 cities this year, the 75th anniversary of Waddell & Reed, which is also based in Kansas City. The company's founders were veterans of World War I.

Mr. Butch, a trustee of the National World War I Museum and a native of Mt. Lebanon, said the sponsorship of the traveling exhibit is a unique way to celebrate the company's anniversary, "to tell the larger story and raise consciousness about that war."

The doughboy statue, which sits at the convergence of Butler Street and Penn Avenue, was erected in 1921.