My friend Mister Rogers...

 

                    Fred Rogers 1928-2003

When I was a child, living in all the instability, sadness, and violence of life with my parents, as well as trying to make sense out of the terrible 

ridicule I had to also endure with being a Little Person, there was someone whose presence helped make a huge difference in my life.  Someone who became a very comforting presence who managed to have an impact on me from the other side of the television screen, and this was Mister Rogers.

Many years later as an adult I wrote a letter to him sharing how much his presence had meant to me.  Most of all thanking him.  I also included gifts of my art prints out at that time too, though I didn't expect a reply.

Well I did receive a reply.  

A very heartfelt letter of gratitude for what my letter, my life, and my art meant to him.  And so began a gift of friendship through the years I deeply treasured.

Everything Mister Rogers is on television, Fred Rogers is in person.  A dear and very gifted man.  A minister and an amazing musician. 

Fred was born on 20 March 1928, and raised in the small town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.  He earned a degree in music composition from Rollins College where he graduated magna cum laude.  After graduating from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, he became 

a Presbyterian minister in 1963.  

In 1968 Fred created Mister Rogers' Neighborhood which ran for 33 years.  It was unique for the ways it focused on the emotional and physical concerns kids usually have.

All the trademark sweaters Fred wore during the long run of his show were knitted by his Mom.  At first the sweaters were the button up kind and because Fred would often get the buttons out of sync retakes were needed.  So his Mom began knitting him zipper sweaters instead.  No more sync problems.  Though this did not keep me from affectionately teasing him for being out of sync when later watching reruns. 

Many did not know that Fred's childhood was a very lonely, difficult one because he was so shy and introverted.  He also had a weight problem and bouts with asthma that made him homebound.  Even worse, he too was bullied and ridiculed as a child which is why he so understood what being ridiculed was.  Thankfully though he had very loving parents who were always encouraging him.

So by the time Fred got to High School he had lost weight finding ways to overcome his shyness to

become very active in school.

Because television was still new in the 1960's Fred wanted to find a way to use it to reach children and their families rather than pastoring a church.  So he created Mister Rogers' Neighborhood that began airing nationally in 1968 and ran for 895 episodes.  The shows were taped at WQED in Pittsburgh and then broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). 

You see it was Fred's gentle, quiet way that has so endeared him to children and adults.  Nothing changed for the entire run of Mister Rogers other than the story lines.  Fred did all the puppets including their voices.  

At age 73 in 2001, Fred retired.  The final episode aired 31 August 2001 just days before 911 happened.  Due to the horror of the tragedy, Fred immediately came out of retirement and did episodes to comfort the children, but which also became a tremendous comfort for adults too.  

Those of us who knew him felt like the horrors of 911 took a toll on him as they did us all.  In the late Fall of 2002 Fred was diagnosed with stomach cancer and passed away on the 27th of February 2003, not long before what would have been his 75th birthday.  

Fred and his dear wife Joanne were married for fifty years at the time of his death.  They had two sons and three grandchildren.  

The legacy of Fred will forever live on though.  

He forever lives on in my heart too.