June 20, 2024
Volume 54 - No. 25
“You rarely have time for everything you want in life, so, you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices come from a deep sense of who you are.” Fred Rogers
er episode of the ground-breaking children’s TV show begins.
By Pete Peterson
***
A logo appears on the TV. Then we see buildings and landscaping as the “Neighborhood Trolley” crosses several streets. The text reads, “Mister Rogers Talks About . . .” . Fred Rogers enters the TV house, wearing his work clothes. While singing “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” He opens the closet door, removes his jacket, hangs it up and dons a cardigan zipper sweater. Then, he sits, takes off his dress shoes, and puts on a pair of blue sneakers. As cool as the underside of a pillow, as familiar as a glass of milk, anoth-
Over 35-plus years, Fred Rogers – the lanky, gawky-looking man who created and starred in this revolutionary Public Broadcasting System’s show left an indelible mark on American children. Today, his series which ran from February 19, 1968 to February 20, 1976, and again from August 20, 1979 to August 31, 2001, is recognized as a breakthrough show in educational TV and Roger’s himself is a luminary in the field of child psychology.
Welcome to Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
But, Fred Rogers was not a psy-
The Paper • 760.747.7119 online: www.TheCommunityPaper.com
email: thepaper@cox.net
chologist. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister. He was never a Navy Seal a distinction wrongly attributed to him. He was not a homosexual, or a communist, and he certainly was not out to destroy the American way of life as his detractors claimed. He was instead, a communicator, a man of vision who harnessed the great potential of television to teach and entertain. He aimed his efforts toward an underserved, but exceedingly important segment of the population, kids. Dangerous Topics During the show’s long run Rogers stretched the envelope, tackling topics thought to be verboten, particularly on a children’s program. He spoke with his young viewers about serious subjects, including death.
On March 23rd, 1970, he retrieved a dead fish from his aquarium, placed it in a small box and buried it while his audience looked on, a first for TV of any type. Over the years, Rogers broached topics as controversial as divorce, depression, anger, competition and other challenges he knew his audience experienced, but which were seldom talked about, certainly never on TV. The Show’s Format During each half-hour segment, Rogers spoke directly to his viewers taking them on factory tours, introducing them to science and chemical experiments, showing them how certain crafts are created and how musicians make music, all the while interacting with his them as if they were his best friends. Rogers was
Mister Rogers See Page 2