IU 'neighbors' react to death of Mister Rogers

To millions of today's children and older generations, Fred Rogers will be remembered not as a TV star but as a teacher, a confidante, and most of all, a neighbor.\nRogers died Thursday morning in his Pittsburgh home, leaving a wife, two sons, and two grandsons, after an arduous battle with stomach cancer. He was 74-years-old. \nIU students reminisce about his legacy and the impact he had on their developing years.\n"I don't so much remember the exact lessons the shows were about," recalled freshman Katie Collison, "but I know that I learned a lot of things about being comfortable with myself from him."\nSenior Jeff Achterhof said he and his sister watched Rogers' show almost everyday after school. "Sesame Street and Mister Rogers taught us everything," Achterhof said.\nIn 1968, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" was born and televised daily to children across the nation via the Public Broadcasting System. Though the show appeared to its young audience as merely a pleasant rendezvous with an old friend, Rogers devoted his entire life studying child psychology and development to make those visits possible. Each song, script, and puppet was a product from the imagination of Rogers alone. \nUnlike other children's programs consisting of loud, action-packed cartoons, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" offered a new form of entertainment that was both educational and brimming with creativity. The familiar routine of Rogers changing into a sweater and tennis shoes was his unspoken way of communicating -- "Let's have some intimate time together in a relaxing environment." \nChildren learned responsibility when Rogers reminded the audience to "help him" feed the fish, which were puppet goldfish in a fish tank. They learned the value of hard work through "Picture-Picture," a screen that showed mini-documentaries of other people producing interesting objects such as crayons, newspapers, zippers and spoons. \nRogers provided his viewers with "Make-Believe," an imaginary puppet land, each storyline presented a conflict and always provided a practical method to resolve it. His philosophy was that children learn better about stressful issues in a safe environment.\n"We need to remember that children are trying too," Rogers said, according to the PBS Web site. "They are trying to understand their feelings and their world, trying to please the people they love, trying to grow. When grownups and children are trying together, just about anything can be possible."\nRogers went beyond the television program to the capital, encouraging the U.S. Senate for PBS network support so that other educational shows could be disseminated for the nation. In 1971, he formed the company Family Communications, producing a myriad of teaching materials for children as well as their families, according to the Web site. \nAmong his numerous acknowledgments for public service, he graciously accepted an Emmy in 1998. In his lifetime, Rogers received a total of 30 honorary degrees from universities and was one of the most highly demanded graduation speakers for commencement ceremonies. In his book, "Thoughts for All Ages," he documented many of those speech anecdotes and messages. \n"It's not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls," explained Rogers in his book. "It's the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our very being is good stuff."\nIn 2002, President George W. Bush honored Rogers the most prestigious national civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. Bush commended him for his "legendary commitment to young people ... and a career that demonstrates the importance of kindness, compassion, and learning."\n"The guy practically raised our entire generation," said freshman Luke Doler. "Our parents could sit us down in front of the television and know that we were actually learning."\nRogers not only set a positive example but encouraged others to make positive examples of themselves. In a passage taken from his book, he said "In a lifetime, a person walks about 65,000 miles. That's two and a half times around the world. I wonder where your steps will take you. I wonder how you'll use the rest of the miles you're given"