Orange County ‘neighborhood’ offering Week of Kindness

“Won’t you be my neighbor?” Those iconic words sung by Fred Rogers as he puts on his red sweater and navy blue shoes with white laces are hard to forget.

Monday, April 1, launches a Week of Kindness here in Central Florida. The purpose of the series of events is to honor the show host and Presbyterian minister behind the kid series, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which ran from 1968 to 2001.

So what exactly is his connection to Central Florida? It’s where he met the love of his life, his wife Joanne.

FILE – Joanne Rogers stands in front of a giant Mister Rogers Forever Stamp following the first-day-of-issue dedication in Pittsburgh on March 23, 2018. Rogers, the widow of Fred Rogers, the gentle TV host who entertained and educated generations of preschoolers on Mister Rogers Neighborhood, has died. She was 92. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) (Gene J. Puskar/)

“His wife, Joanne Rogers, said a few years ago not to put Fred on a pedestal, because we look at those idols and say, ‘Wow, everything came easy to that person.’ She said Fred worked very hard at being the person he was because he believed it was the right way to live life and encouraged us to do our best as well,” said Rich Bradley, who produces the Mister Rogers Week of Kindness events.

According to the Week of Kindness website, the two met on the tarmac at Orlando Executive Airport in 1948 while touring the Rollins College Campus.

Fred went to the school as a transfer student and he, along with Joanne, ended up graduating from the Winter Park college. Other members of their family also went to the school afterwards.

Even though “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was recorded at WQED-TV in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, the Rogers family fell in love with Central Florida and returned every January.

This undated photo provided by Rollins College shows a bronze sculpture of Fred McFeely Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Fla. Rogers graduated from the central Florida school in 1951. Now he’s best known for writing and appearing in 912 episodes of Mister Rogers Neighborhood.” The sculpture shows Rogers in his iconic sweater and tennis shoes, surrounded by children. (Scott Cook/Rollins College via AP) (Scott Cook/)

“Fred grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, spent most of his adult life in Pittsburgh, spent summers in Nantucket and spent winters in Winter Park. He wrote about half of his 895 scripts and 200 pieces of music for ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ in Winter Park,” said Bradley, who’s also president and CEO of Buena Vista Events and Management.

Bradley said he grew up 10 miles from the studios where Fred taped his show.

“The first time I was introduced to the show was when I was 5 and my mother was cleaning out my grandmother’s stuff after she had just passed away,” Bradley said.

“She put the program on the television to keep me occupied that day, and I was immediately mesmerized by his calming and caring nature while dealing with the trauma of the first family death I faced. I became a regular fan of the show, as did my children in the ’90s on the back end of Fred’s career,” Bradley explained.

He said he only met Fred once while briefly passing by him in the Pittsburgh airport in the mid ’90s.

“He was just like the man on TV; there was only one Fred, not one for TV and one off the air. He could not have been nicer to a stranger stopping him in the airport to chat.”

He said since 2018, Original Orlando Tours, one of his family-owned companies, does a cradle-to-grave walking tour of Fred’s life in Winter Park. Early on, he met members of Fred’s family, and the cast and crew of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

He said during lunch a few years ago, he met with Fred’s cousin, Jim Okonak. They discussed how in 2023, they could mark the 20th anniversary of Fred’s passing (Feb. 27, 2003). He would have been 95 years old.

“We felt that it was important to mark these events, so that Fred’s teachings and wisdom didn’t fade away,” Bradley said.

“What could we do to keep Fred and his legacy alive, especially in one of the four Neighborhoods he spent most of his life in?”

He and his son, Michael, brainstormed and the Week of Kindness was born. This year marks the second year for the series of events. The goal is to reach different different segments of the market: the family community, the arts community, the faith community, the business community and etc.

One of those events includes an episode clip screening and a Q&A;, with David Newell in attendance. He played Mr. McFeely in the show.

David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely in “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” at last year’s Week of Kindness event.

Another event that’s part of the Week of Kindness is a prayer breakfast.

“Fred was an ordained Presbyterian minister, and the prayer breakfast looks at that side of his life, as well as how he weaved Christian principles into his content without directly quoting scripture, in order to avoid distracting conflict. As an example, he never said “love thy neighbor” on the program, but conveyed the same warmth with his signature, ‘won’t you be my neighbor?’”

Bradley hopes people also take away this important message from the week-long event: “We have choices and the power to build a better Central Florida Neighborhood for us all through kindness.”

All events are open to the public, but require advance registration. Click here for the complete list of events from April 1-6.

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