“You know, when I put on one of these sweaters, it helps me to think about my mother. I guess that’s the best thing about things. They remind you of people.”
— Fred Rogers on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”
Everyone knows the sweater.
In a world where the terms “icon” and “iconic” are overused, the cardigan sweater is truly an icon of Fred Rogers and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
So much so that one he wore on the PBS show — a red, zippered, acrylic sweater, size 38, donated in 1984 — is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History. He’s depicted wearing one just like it on his “Forever” stamp being released by the U.S. Postal Service to mark the show’s 50th anniversary. (The first-day-of-issue ceremony is set for March 23 at WQED’s Fred Rogers Studio in Oakland.)
Fans weren’t happy when the Smithsonian Institution put its sweater away in order to preserve it. But visitors to the Washington, D.C., museum once again can be warmed by its sight because it’s part of the “T Is for Television” exhibit that opened at the end of November and runs through July 4 (details at americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/t-television).
But you don’t have to travel that far to see Mister Rogers icons. A relatively “hidden” attraction in his hometown of Latrobe is a multimedia exhibit on the upper level of the Fred M. Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College (fredrogerscenter.org/about-us/about-fred/fred-rogers-exhibit).
The self-guided exhibit, which is open 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays, includes four sweaters — red, green, gold and purple — as well as pairs of blue canvas sneakers and dress shoes.
Archivist Emily Uhrin confirms that almost all of the sweaters Mister Rogers wore on the show were hand-knitted by his mother, Nancy. The center’s collection include some store-bought ones, but she says those were mostly for photo shoots. Her archives hold some other original sweaters she takes to appearances or loans to other institutions, such as the Minnesota History Center, which through most of this year will have one of the center’s sweaters and shoes as part of its “The 1968 Exhibit” (mnhs.org/media/kits/1968-exhibit).
No one knows for sure how many original sweaters there were, as some wore out or were donated to various charities over the show’s long run. Mr. Rogers himself said at the time that he donated the one to the Smithsonian that he had about a dozen, and that sounds about right to Ms. Uhrin.
“I don’t think there are any that managed to make it out there on eBay,” she says with a laugh.
The display cases for the Latrobe center’s exhibit, which opened in 2008, may be redone soon, with an eye toward better conservation of the sweaters and other artifacts. Certainly Ms. Uhrin will freshen things for the 50th anniversary, especially the documents, which are in the process of being digitized.
“I think what makes our exhibit unique is all that you can read about Fred and learn about Fred ... things you wouldn’t learn anywhere else.”
She points out that there’s also an original sweater (red) and shoes on display at the Neighborhood Visitor & Information Center of the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Chamber of Commerce in Latrobe.
The website of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh on the North Side uses “icon” and “iconic” four times in its description of its popular Mister Rogers collection, which includes one of his sweaters (a baby blue one, in the MAKESHOP), a pair of sneakers (in the Attic), as well as original puppets from the show, including King Friday XIII and Daniel Striped Tiger. (The museum’s “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” exhibit begins traveling this spring.)
Show writer-producer Hedda Sharapan says that Mr. Rogers actually started with button-up sweaters, but quickly switched to zippered ones after the star misbuttoned his sweater as the camera rolled. (In fact, in episode one, he takes off his trench coat and suit coat and buttons on a cardigan.)
Museum spokesman Bill Schlageter, who heard the story from Ms. Sharapan, says, “Most people are fascinated” by the museum’s zippered sweater. “We work hard to preserve it.”
The museum will celebrate the original show’s 50th anniversary with a series of “Happy Birthday Mister Rogers Day” events March 17-20 (March 20th would have been his 90th birthday). Get details at pittsburghkids.org.
In its fourth-floor Special Collections Gallery, the Sen. John Heinz History Center’s exhibit features a life-size figure wearing a red cardigan and blue sneakers and sitting on the bench he actually sat on in the show.
What’s called “the largest collection of original items from the ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ television set on public view” includes the entryway and living room that Mister Rogers walked through to start every show, King Friday XIII’s Castle, the Great Oak Tree and Mr. McFeely’s “Speedy Delivery” tricycle.
The exhibit is “arguably the most popular display at the History Center, especially for out-of-town visitors,” says Brady M. Smith, director of marketing and communications. For Mr. Rogers’ 90th birthday, the center is pulling from its “Smithsonian-quality” storage area one of Fred Rogers’ original sweaters and a pair of his shoes for visitors to see (those artifacts had been on the road with a traveling “1968” exhibit). Also in March, the center is displaying other new artifacts (including a second Daniel Tiger clock) and interactive features in Discovery Place and posting a virtual “Mister Rogers” themed exhibit on Google Arts & Culture.
You can take a peek at the center’s exhibit at heinzhistorycenter.org/exhibits/mister-rogers-neighborhood.
Yet another display including a sweater and shoes and more greets travelers with a “Welcome to the Neighborhood!” at Pittsburgh International Airport — in the Airside Terminal, in Concourse C, near the Kidsport play area.
Bob Batz Jr.: bbatz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1930 and on Twitter @bobbatzjr.
First Published: February 19, 2018, 11:30 a.m.
