You Were My Neighbor

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Mollie Phillips, Reporter

Mr. Rogers was an adored star of his television show for children called “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.” Known for his abounding kindness and encouragement not just to children but to adults as well, Rogers positively influenced people all over the world. The show first aired on February 19th, 1968 and the last show aired on August 31, 2001. 31 seasons were filmed and shown on TV, which consisted of a total of 895 episodes.

Mr. Rogers started every show by singing his song, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” and entering the set by walking through a door. Each time, he would take off his suit coat and put on a red sweater and change his dress shoes into blue sneakers. His show was centered around kindness and how to cope with the frightening things in the world. Although it is a children’s show, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood taught many people valuable lessons.

Rogers once said, “Real strength has to do with helping others.” He was a very encouraging man who always put others before himself, and not just on television. Fred Rogers died on February 17th, 2003. Rogers would let children from the Make a Wish Foundation come on the set and talk to him for as long as they wanted. Anytime he would meet someone new, he would snap a picture of them so he could remember to pray for them. He lived as a wonderful example of how to show kindness and spread love to everyone.