Office Space

By Morgan Paris

It was serendipity the day a colleague of Fred Rogers suggested he connect with then-Father Douglas Nowicki, a well-known and highly regarded child psychologist in Pittsburgh. The two would become fast, lifelong friends—sharing a bond that would not only benefit both professionally but would also result in Saint Vincent College becoming home to the Fred Rogers Archive upon Fred’s death.

Emily Uhrin, C’05, an English major, spent all four years at Saint Vincent as a work study in the library before enrolling in the University of Pittsburgh’s Master of Library and Information Science program. It was early on in her grad school career that a circulation desk assistant position opened up at her alma mater. But when she applied, serendipity may have been at play again; Brother David Kelly, S’75, director of the library, had another job in mind for Emily: become his intern, which would give her requisite credit for grad school, and start going through and inventorying Fred’s files at WQED, which would ultimately result in her becoming the senior archivist for the Fred Rogers Institute.

Interestingly enough, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood wasn’t one of Emily’s go-to shows while she was growing up. Instead, Emily always looked forward to watching Wishbone after school. Little did Emily know, while going through the Archive one day, she would discover a letter Rick Duffield, creator of Wishbone, wrote to Fred, explaining how inspired he was by a speech Fred recently gave at a conference. This letter was accompanied by a life-sized, stuffed Wishbone that Fred would then keep in his office. This was a real treasure for Emily, who loved Wishbone, and there are more treasures still to find when you step not into The Land of Make-Believe, but the Fred Rogers Archive.

  • Phot the dog named Whisbone as a stuffed animal toy wearing a tuxedo

    Wishbone

    My favorite PBS program is Wishbone. I was excited to find this stuffed Wishbone and learn that it was in Fred’s office. Rick Duffield, creator of the program, wrote to Fred in 1998 to thank him for his dedication and the example he sets in the field of children’s television.

  • photo of the celest a piano like instrument with open lid showing the keys.

    Celeste

    The celeste was used to create the ding-ding sounds of the trolley. We acquired it from WQED where it had been stored in a closet when production of Neighborhood ended. Fred Rogers Productions visited the Archive recently to record the sounds of the celeste for their future programming.

  • photo of the castle replica from Mr Roger's Neighborhood.

    Replica of Castle

    This castle was used for a museum exhibit that celebrated the thirtieth year of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The exhibit premiered in April 1998 at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and then travelled across the country for children to experience what it would be like to step into the Neighborhood.

  • A photo of the framed quote that says The essential is invisible to the eyes.

    Framed Quote

    One of Fred Rogers’ favorite books was The Little Prince. He often quoted the book in his speeches. Archabbot Douglas had a calligrapher write out this quote for Fred’s office, which translates to, “The essential is invisible to the eyes.”

  • the windmill and someplace else sign used in the show Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.

    Some Place Else Sign and Windmill

    Donkey Hodie was an early Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood puppet who settled in the windmill at Some Place Else. His character lives on through Fred Rogers Productions’ television program Donkey Hodie, starring his granddaughter along with Purple Panda and Bob Dog.

  • folded blue sweater with white trim Mr Roder's wore on the show.

    Sweater

    Fred’s mother knitted the sweaters he wore on the program. He received one from her each year at Christmas. Fred then gifted some of those sweaters to special friends, including Archabbot Douglas. Archabbot Douglas donated his sweater to the Archive in 2008.

  • two posters used from the exhibits at the Latrobe Art Center

    Posters from Exhibits at Latrobe Art Center

    We have been holding student-curated exhibits, which were originally funded by a grant from the Council of Independent Colleges, at the Latrobe Art Center since February 2022. Students in our Fred Rogers Scholars program have the opportunity to pick subjects for exhibits and select items from the Archive to display.

  • a stack of Around the Neighborhood newsletters fanned out on display

    “Around the Neighborhood” Newsletters

    Fred Rogers and his team at Family Communications published newsletters to go along with each theme week of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The newsletters contained explanations of the child development theories behind the themes and give us insight into why Fred presented what he did on the program.

  • book cover titled Our Small Worlds showing illustrations from Mr Roger's Neighborhood

    Our Small World Book

    Fred Rogers’ first television program was Children’s Corner, which aired on WQED in the 1950s. Most of the puppets we know had their start on the Corner. The book Our Small World tells stories from the perspectives of Daniel Tiger, King Friday, Lady Elaine, and X the Owl.

  • white file storage boxes with notes attached to the side to list contents.

    Storage boxes (standard and flat)

    Although most of the items in the Archive are paper, we store them in different ways. Office files that came to us in file folders go in the bankers boxes. Loose pages, like newspaper clippings and Fred’s drafts, usually on yellow legal pads, go in the flat storage boxes.