As you know we here at I heart PGH are not big on celebrities – but this post is about one special friend of Pittsburgh, who probably did not consider himself a celebrity.
March 20th marks the birthday of Mr. Rogers – yes that is the Mr. Rogers of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.
Yes another important claim to fame – Pittsburgh was home to Mr. Rogers and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was filmed right here in Pittsburgh. Not only is this one of the best and most loved children’s television shows ever, but Fred Rogers was an outstanding person and gave much to Pittsburgh and children around the world.
You can read some more about the history of Mr. Roger here
But I would also reccomend googling “Fred Rodgers” – There are just many wonderful things that were writen about Mr. Rogers after his death that describe what type of person he was. And if you had the great fortune of meeting him in person, as I can attest to, he was just true to character.
I added Mr. Roger’s birthday to my calendar a few years ago and when it popped up as today’s reminder – I did a quick google search to double check the date. I came across some lovely writings about Mr. Rogers. I think that both of these articles demostrate what type of person Mr. Rogers was…
- One blogger (I think he is/was an MTV executive) writes “Mr. Rogers was my hero.” – BenjaminWagner.com
- “I was Mr. Roger’s Neighbor” An article from Time Magazine
(I found these articles this morning and I have thought about them all day – I was just about to turn out the lights but I decided that I had to get out my computer and recognize Mr. Roger’s birthday).
As others have said, Mr. Rogers is one of my hero's. He possessed strength, humility and compassion. He walked the walk.
I am very lucky to have lived in his neighborhood.
Reminds me of a piece I wrote a few years ago about my close connection with Mr. Rogers. Approaching tasteless. You have been warned.