2013.09.28 - The Mister Rogers` Neighborhood Archive

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S atu rd ay , S e p te mb e r 28, 2013
The Jeremy Show Interviews: Mister Rogers
Archivist Tim Lybarger
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Tim Lyba rge r visiting X The Owl in The Ne ighborhood of Ma ke Be lie ve .
It wa s a nnou nce d thi s we e k tha t a fi lm a bou t F r e d R oge r s (ba se d on a book by
Ti m M a di ga n's me moi r I'm P r ou d of You ) i s i n the e a r ly sta ge s of
de ve lopme nt. I sa t down wi th the Inte r ne t's a u thor i ty on M i ste r R oge r s Ti m
L yba r ge r , the cr e a tor of The N e i ghbor hood Ar chi ve : A Colle cti on of All
Thi ngs M i ste r R oge r s. R e a d wha t we ta lk e d a bou t a s we took a nosta lgi c wa lk
thr ou gh The N e i ghbor hood of M a k e Be li e ve .
So, wha t a r e you r thou ghts on the movi e comi ng ou t?
I'm a ctua lly pretty surprised. There wa s a lot of ta lk a few months a go a bout this but it wa s
a ll so va gue tha t it didn't seem a nything would rea lly come of it. Looks like tha t ma y not be
the ca se. I'm thrilled for Tim Ma diga n -- his book is wonderful a nd he's such a grea t
person!
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And who do you thi nk shou ld pla y M i ste r
R oge r s?
Tha t's a tough ca ll to ma ke. I'm not sure tha t the a ctor
ha ve to be a spitting ima ge of him, but thinking tha t
wa y, Jim Pa rsons would be grea t!
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Jim Pa rsons
I wa s a bi g M i ste r R oge r s fa n. M y M om sa i d
tha t she thou ght Se sa me Str e e t wa s too fa st a nd
lou d for me . I di dn't r e a lly ge t i nto i t. D o you fi nd thr ou gh you r a r chi va l wor k
not even that hot
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wi th M i ste r R oge r s tha t the i r a r e M i ste r R oge r s pe ople a nd Se sa me Str e e t
pe ople ? Is the r e a nythi ng spe ci fi c you 've noti ce d a bou t a M i ste r R oge r s fa n?
Not to sa y tha t there a ren't kids who enjoyed both progra ms, but there a re definitely
Mister Rogers kids a nd Sesa me Street kids. These two progra ms were groundbrea king in
very different wa ys. Likewise, they were a pplica ble to children in very different wa ys.
While one wa s fa st-pa ced a nd empha sized the ABCs a nd 123s, the other kept a slow tempo
a nd ta ught kids tha t it's oka y to ha ve feelings. Is there a nything specific I've noticed a bout
Mister Rogers fa ns? Absolutely. Among the ma ny tha t I've hea rd from through the
Neighborhood Archive, they a re a very kind, ca ring, a nd pa tient group of people. Whether
this is fully a ttributed to their a pprecia tion of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood or not is up in
the a ir...but I certa inly think it's no coincidence.
You ha ve si x di ffe r e nt we bsi te s/ blogs whi ch a r e a ll a ma zi ng. O n the ma i n
por ta l to you r si te Ti mL yba r ge r .com you r i ntr o li ne i s "a r chi vi ng the
i nsi gni fi ca nt." Te ll me a bou t tha t sta te me nt.
It ta kes a certa in kind of person to ha ve a ny kind of interest in wha t I do. Either you get it
or you don't. My brother ha s a pretty solid music collection a nd I remember him jokingly
sa ying once tha t he wa s "a rchiving for future genera tions." I, too, a m a rchiving for future
genera tions. I'm just a rchiving stuff tha t only myself a nd a very sma ll niche of other
people a re interested in. To most people it's insignifica nt.
I thi nk we a r e a ll li br a r i a ns of pop cu ltu r e i n some wa y. We a ll ha ve ou r
li br a r i e s of D VD 's a nd book s a nd toys fr om ou r chi ldhood. Wha t i s the focu s
of you r colle cti on? How mu ch do you ha ve ? And how doe s you r wi fe fe e l a bou t
i t?
I guess the focus of my collection would be things tha t remind me of my own childhood. I've
often sa id tha t I ha d a wonderful childhood a nd given the opportunity, I would relive a ges
2-17 over a nd over a ga in. So I often find myself picking up items a t flea ma rkets a nd
ga ra ge sa les tha t I owned a s a kid -- books, ga mes, toys. Likewise, I love wa tching
television shows tha t I enjoyed when I wa s young. I'll ta ke the A-Tea m or a hea lthy dose of
Sa turda y morning ca rtoons over America 's Got Ta lent a ny da y. As for my wife...she's
doesn't get it. I don't mea n tha t in a nega tive wa y either. She's the type of person who is
content to ta ke a picture of something a nd throw it a wa y while I love being a ble to
physica lly see something to bring ba ck memories. She does a good job of tolera ting my
collection a nd humoring me when I sta rt telling her a bout the la test thing I've found.
M y fa vor i te M i ste r R oge r s song, or the one I r e me mbe r the most i s "I L i k e to
Be Told." Be tte M i dle r sa ng i t i n a conce r t I sa w a nd I cr i e d. Tha t song ha s so
mu ch me a ni ng. The i de a i s ma i nly- chi ldr e n (a nd a du lts) li k e to be told the
tr u th. And wi th tr u th come s tr u st. The mor e I thi nk a bou t i t the mor e I ca n se e
i t a ppli e s fa r be yond chi ldr e n a nd i nto the a du lt wor ld- wor k , r e la ti onshi ps,
gove r nme nt. Wha t M r . R oge r s song r e sona te s for you ?
This is exa ctly wha t got me into a rchiving the ca reer of Fred Rogers. I ha d grown up
wa tching the Neighborhood progra m a nd a s a n a dult, pa rent, a nd educa tor, I bega n to
recognize tha t his messa ge wa s one tha t wa sn't just for kids. I Like To Ta ke My Time ca n
be a pplied to rush hour tra ffic a nd Let's Think of Something to Do While We're Wa iting
ca n help during a lengthy stop in a ny wa iting room. I ca n't sa y tha t I rea lly ha ve one
specific Mister Rogers song tha t resona tes with me a ny more tha n others, but I often think
a bout his overa ll messa ge of pa tience, love, a nd compa ssion for others -- our neighbors -in this world.
O K te ll me e ve r ythi ng you k now a bou t L a dy
Ela i ne . She i s my fa vor i te . Wha t's he r de a l?
She's a feisty one, tha t La dy Ela ine. Fred often ta lked
a bout how he expressed his va rious feelings through
the puppets in Ma ke-Believe. No doubt a ny mischief
Angry lesbians next d oor who d on't say
hello
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buy me a c oke. $2.98
wa s expressed a t the Museum-Go-Round! (Most)
everything I know a bout La dy Ela ine ca n be found on
her pa ge of the Archive site -
La dy Ela ine Fa irchild
http://www.neighborhooda rchive.com/mrn/cha ra cters/la dy_ela ine/index.html
Te ll me a bou t the e volu ti on of you r a ma zi ngly thor ou gh a nd be a u ti fu l
a r chi ve . Whe r e di d i t sta r t? Wha t a r e you r fu tu r e pla ns or de ve lopme nts do
you ha ve comi ng for the N e i ghbor hood?
My brother a nd I ha d a Mister Rogers record when we were kids a nd one da y I wa s looking
for some deta ils a bout it online. I figured surely there wa s some ca tch-a ll site deta iling
every nook a nd cra nny a bout the long a nd influentia l ca reer of Fred Rogers. Much to my
surprise, there wa s nothing of the sort. Ha ving spent severa l yea rs deta iling the ca reer of
consta ntly-touring folk singer Todd Snider on EighteenMinutes.com, I figured there wa s
only one thing I could do. From there, the site just ca ught on like wildfire a s other fa ns of
Fred a nd his work picked up on my efforts. As the site continues to grown, I'm consta ntly
a ma zed by the response I regula rly receive from Mister Rogers fa ns a round the world.
D i d you e ve r ge t to me e t M i ste r R oge r s or othe r ca st me mbe r s? Te ll me a bou t
tha t.
Although I never ha d the cha nce to meet Fred in person, I did invite him to my college
gra dua tion (sort of). Finishing my undergra dua te degree, I wa s sending a nnouncements to
fa mily a nd friends a nd ha d a few left over. Not expecting a ny sort of response, I sent one
of the extra s to Mister Rogers with a note tha nking him for the messa ge he instilled in me
a nd countless other children a round the world through our childhood visits to his
Neighborhood. Much to my surprise, within a ma tter of just a few da ys, I received a
persona l response in the ma il from Fred. It wa s a t this point tha t I knew this ma n wa s so
much more tha n just the host of some show I wa tched when I wa s a kid. As for others, I've
ha d the cha nce to meet Da vid Newell (Mr. McFeely) a few times a nd very briefly met Betsy
Sea ma ns (Mrs. McFeely) once. I've ha d a few phone conversa tions with Audrey Roth (Miss
Pa ulifica te) a nd Burt Lloyd (Mr. Allmine). Betty Aberlin (La dy Aberlin) a nd I ha ve
corresponded off a nd on through ema il a nd Twitter over the pa st few yea rs a nd I've
recently been in conta ct with Fra ncois Clemmons (Officer Clemmons). In every one of
these ca ses, I ca n sa y tha t ea ch a nd every one of these people ha ve been wonderfully kind
a nd generous a s they a re very clea rly not fa r removed from the cha ra cters they portra yed
on the Neighborhood progra m.
As for the N e i ghbor hood of M a k e Be li e ve i tse lf- i t se e ms to be a tr i ppy mi r r or
i ma ge of wha t's goi ng on i n M i ste r R oge r s "te le vi si on home ." Wha t's the
psychologi ca l r e a soni ng for a ll of thi s a s you se e i t? Why i s the show se t u p i n
thi s wa y?
The shows were scripted from sta rt to finish a nd no deta il wa s left una ccounted for, so the
simila rities between the "rea l" neighborhood a nd the Neighborhood of Ma ke-Believe were
certa inly intentiona l. I've a lwa ys felt tha t the show spoke to children on va rious levels in
different wa ys. While some where a ble to ta ke a wa y Fred's messa ge from his "rea l"
neighborhood segments, others were more comforta ble with the ma ke-believe portions. To
me, this provided children a t va rious sta ges in their lives with the opportunity to pick up
the sa me importa nt messa ge being sha red on a ny pa rticula r Neighborhood episode.
Who i s you r fa vor i te N e i ghbor hood of M a k e
Be li e ve r e si de nt a nd N e i ghbor hood r e si de nt?
In the Neighborhood of Ma ke-Believe, if I ha d to pick a
fa vorite, I'd sa y it'd proba bly be X the Owl a s I a pprecia te
his light-hea rted outlook on life. Tha t being sa id, I ha ve a
somewha t weird obsession with the a lien cha ra cter -- Yo Yo
La Belle -- tha t only a ppea red in a few episodes. In the
"rea l" Neighborhood, it's ha rd to pinpoint a fa vorite. If I
ha d to chose, proba bly Mr. McFeely simply beca use of the
regula rity of his a ppea ra nce a nd his fun intera ctions with
Mister Rogers throughout the run of the show.
Y o Y o La Be lle
D o you k now wha t ha ppe ne d to the se t a nd pr ops of the show?
Up until recently, most of the Neighborhood of Ma ke-Believe set wa s on displa y
throughout the building which housed the office spa ce for the Fred Rogers Compa ny.
Ea rlier this summer, the FRC reloca ted to new spa ce in Pittsburgh a nd I'm not sure if these
pieces went with them or went into stora ge. The Neighborhood of Ma ke-Believe models
were on displa y in the FRC offices a t their previous loca tion a nd I ca n only a ssume tha t
they a re on displa y in their new spa ce a s well. I've a lso been told tha t the street displa y
seen in the opening a nd closing of the progra m is on displa y in the new office loca tion, too.
As for the set of Mister Rogers' television house, the la st I knew is tha t those pieces were in
stora ge.
Why wa sn't the r e mu ch me r cha ndi si ng for the show?- i t se e ms li k e Se sa me
Str e e t wa s a ll ove r the pla ce . I wou ld ha ve k i lle d to ge t my ha nds on tha t
pla yse t.
Yea h. The pla yset. Tell me a bout it. I'd
do a nything to get my ha nds on one of
those. I've tried a sking everyone from
the Fred Rogers Compa ny to the
individua ls who designed tha t piece
a nd ha ve come up with nothing. The
best I ca n put together is tha t a
prototype wa s crea ted but never
ma rketed on a ma ss sca le. I think the
fa ct tha t there wa sn't a huge ma rket for
Mister Rogers mercha ndise ca n be
a ttributed to Fred's na ture of
simplicity. I think his one a nd only focus wa s rea ching out to children on a persona l a nd
individua l level. He could ha ve ta ken the Neighborhood to a ma ss ma rket a nd ca pita lized
in a ma jor wa y through mercha ndising opportunities. Instea d, he chose to keep the focus
on the messa ge ra ther tha n the ma rket. Typica l Fred, from wha t I understa nd.
Wi th you r own k i ds, do you se e
a nythi ng e lse on chi ldr e n's
te le vi si on tha t ge ts close to
M i ste r R oge r s' style ?
Nothing. There's Da niel Tigers'
Neighborhood which is the "next
genera tion" of Mister Rogers'
Neighborhood, but there's nothing
out there tha t comes close to a da ily
visit to the Neighborhood.
Everything on TV for kids is either
fa st, fla shy, commercia lized, or a ll
of the a bove. I've yet to find a
children's progra m tha t ha s rea ched
the ma sses tha t Fred rea ched in
such a simple yet unbelieva bly
influentia l wa y. For the record, my
kids LOVE Da niel Tiger's
Neighborhood a nd I could not be ha ppier to see Fred's messa ge ca rried on in such a
positive a nd popula r progra m. The response to Da niel Tiger ha s been phenomena l!
Wha t i s k nown a bou t M i ste r R oge r s pr i va te li fe ? Is the r e a nythi ng tha t ha s
su r pr i se d you or tha t you fou nd i nte r e sti ng i n you r r e se a r ch? Ha s the r e be e n
a ny good bi ogr a phi e s you ca n r e comme nd?
When it comes to Fred's persona l life, everyone ha s this pa rt of them tha t hopes there's
some dirt somewhere...some sort of secret life tha t could ta rnish the seemingly perfect
persona seen on television. While I ha te to disa ppoint, everything I ha ve ga thered over
severa l yea rs of resea rching his life a nd ca reer ha s pointed to one thing -- he wa s the
sa me kind a nd ca ring person in rea l life tha t you sa w on TV. There a re two different
biogra phies tha t I would recommend for a nyone interested in a quick look a t Fred a nd his
ca reer -- both in video forma t. The first is Fred Rogers: America 's Fa vorite Neighbor. This
one is a fa nta stic look a t Fred's life a nd ca reer sca ttered with ma ny clips from the show a s
well a s lengthy interviews with Fred himself. The other is Mister Rogers & Me (a va ila ble
on Netflix Prime) -- a documenta ry fea turing va rious individua ls touched by the messa ge
of Fred Rogers.
Wha t do you di scu ss on you r podca st?
The podca st sta rted out with conversa tions with a few other fa ns of the Neighborhood a nd
ha s evolved a bit into mostly interviews with people who ha ve been involved with or
hea vily influenced by the Neighborhood progra m in some wa y. I've spoken with a ha ndful
of Neighborhood ca st members such a s Audrey Roth (Miss Pa ulifica te) a nd Bert Lloyd (Mr.
Allmine) a s well a s others who were involved behind the scenes (Eliot Da ly). I ha ve to
a dmit tha t the podca st is one a spect of the Neighborhood Archive tha t I tend to neglect. For
some rea son it a lwa ys seems to go to the ba ck burner a s you ca n see by the fa ct tha t there
a re only a bout 20 episodes.
Cle a r ly, you we r e a chi ld of the e i ghti e s- wha t i s i t a bou t the e i ghti e s? Wha t
do you r e me mbe r a s the vi be of tha t de ca de for you ?
It might just be tha t I wa s a kid a nd things a re simple when you're young, but I feel like the
80s were a much simpler time tha n we live in now. We didn't ha ve the fla shy movies a nd
video ga mes we ha ve toda y...but we didn't know a ny better. We were content to drop a
qua rter in a ma chine for a few minutes of Pa c-Ma n or to hea r a song we liked pla yed from
a jukebox. I'm sure tha t the 80s were no less complex for a dults tha n toda y is for people my
own a ge, but the feelings of comfort a nd simplicity tha t come ba ck to me with memories of
my childhood in the 80s ca nnot be ma tched.
Whe n pe ople a r e pa ssi ona te a bou t some thi ng (for me i t wou ld be M a donna ,
M a r tha Ste wa r t) I fi nd i t i nte r e sti ng, no ma tte r wha t i t i s. M y boyfr i e nd i s a
BIG D i sne y fa n. I mi ght be wr ong bu t I do fe e l li k e you ca n follow the tr a i l of
ou r de e p pa ssi ons (li k e e ve r ythi ng e lse ) ba ck to ou r chi ldhood. How do you
fe e l a bou t tha t? D o you thi nk tha t you a r e tr yi ng to ge t ba ck some thi ng fr om
you r chi ldhood? O r doe s you r pa ssi on for pop cu ltu r e r e la te to some thi ng
e lse ?
I think you've hit the na il on the hea d. Ma ny people -- myself included -- find comfort in
remembering simpler times. Being a ble to thumb through my ba seba ll ca rd collection
from when I wa s a kid immedia tely ta kes me ba ck to summer a fternoons of ba ckya rd
ba seba ll a nd trips to the drug store to buy wa x pa cks of the current ca rds. Listening to
certa in songs will immedia tely put me ba ck in my bedroom on a wa rm summer evening
with the windows open while I listened to the loca l pop music request show. I've often sa id
tha t I ca n't tell you much tha t I lea rned in college, but I ca n ea sily come up with a ny deta il
from my childhood tha t you'd ca re to request. While some people ma y sa y I'm stuck in the
pa st, I look a t it a s a recognition of the wonderful childhood tha t I wa s blessed enough to
experience.
Vi si t Ti m a t The N e i ghbor hood Ar chi ve a nd follow hi m on Twi tte r !
Poste d by Je re my a t 8:25 AM
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