“But it’s you I like
Every part of you
Your skin, your eyes, your feelings
Whether old or new
I hope that you’ll remember
Even when you’re feeling blue”
“It’s You I Like” - Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers, known as Mister Rogers from his long-running television series, wrote many of the tunes that were part of his show over the years. In fact, over the course of the show, Rogers wrote more than 200 songs and also 13 operas. He also wrote and edited every episode of his television show.
Rogers was a multi-talented man who got his college degree in music and went on to become an ordained minister as well. An early infatuation with puppets led to Rogers trying his hand at this “new” medium of television in the 1950s, where he started as a floor director and associate producer of shows for NBC before moving back home to Pittsburgh and beginning work with the local public television station there. It was in Pittsburgh that his puppetry spawned a new show, “The Children’s Corner,” that was picked up nationally. The show had a number of iterations before settling on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” in 1968.
Rogers passed away in 2003, but his legacy lives on as Daniel Tiger, one of the puppets Rogers created and voiced, has become the focus of an animated series on PBS Kids that echoes many of Fred’s care and concern for children.
Rogers was famously quoted talking about tragedy:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
This week, as tragedy struck in Texas, a funeral for a slain legislator was held in Minnesota, and so many worldwide events broke our hearts, there are still good stories to enjoy.
Many of them feature helpers who acted without expecting recognition. In fact, not one of the stories I’m about to mention was relayed to me by the person who offered himself or herself. The stories were told to me by those who benefited from the actions.
Since May of 2024, Dakota Ave. has been an adventure to say the least, so last week’s event to celebrate the reopening of Downtown Huron was a special time. One of the highway workers pulled me aside as I was taking photographs of the event and shared a story - and it’s one that I had already witnessed myself.
Those who have been working downtown over the last two summers were not left to suffer. The worker told me that since he began working with the crew last summer and into this summer, the construction crews were always invited to come into POP and get a free small dish of soft serve to help cool them down.
I witnessed this myself when I sat down with POP owner Jeff Pownell and another member of the committee that planned the events of last Thursday at the ice cream shop to discuss what was planned for the day. The weather outside was well past 100 degrees, which meant even more intense heat for those working in the sun without much cover. Multiple times as I listened back to my recording of the interview, road workers stopped in to ask for ice cream, even though the shop was technically closed to the public.
I also heard recently from someone who witnessed, on one of the hottest days of the summer, a family pulled up with a cooler full of refreshments and bags of take-out food for workers on the sidewalks being installed between Seventh St. and Ninth St. on Dakota Ave.
After church last week, I got a text from a community member who expressed her thanks that a neighbor noticed her dog’s gate was ajar, found the dog, and got the pooch back into its fenced-in area. The person texting me only knew it happened because her neighbor mentioned something showing up on their outdoor camera and checked in.
We all have significantly more in common than we ever have that differentiates us. Being kind takes just a few minutes. In a time with turmoil and tragedy constants in the news cycle, be one of the “helpers” in whatever way you can.
