August 09, 2018
Volume 48 - No. 32
“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 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, another episode of the ground-breaking children’s TV show begins. The The Paper Paper -- 760.747.7119 760.747.7119
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Welcome to Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. *** 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. But, Fred Rogers was not a psychologist. 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 sel-
dom 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 them as if they were his best friends. Rogers was careful to be himself in front of the camera because he said, “One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self. I also believe that kids can spot a phony a mile away.” Rogers used puppets to chronicle occurrences in the “Neighborhood of Make-Believe,” and often talked with neighbors about their jobs. Thus, viewers learned of Brockett’s
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood - See Page 2