Mrs. Rogers' neighborhood once was Florida State and its music halls

Byron Dobson | Tallahassee Democrat

Show Caption Hide Caption Mister Rogers' lasting impact on his hometown As the world is set to be reminded of the values and kindness of Mister Rogers through the release of a new movie about Fred Rogers life, the people from his real life hometown of Pittsburgh say his legacy hasn't faded in them. (Nov. 22)

Years before he became an icon to millions of public television viewers as host of “Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,” Fred Rogers was smitten by a child-prodigy pianist he met on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park.

Sara Joanne Byrd — who went on to earn a master's degree in music for the piano from Florida State University in 1952 — would become his wife, mother of his two sons, confidante and biggest supporter.

Their introduction at Rollins College eventually led to a marriage of 50 years before FredRogers died on Feb. 27, 2003 of stomach cancer. He was 74.

Since her husband’s death, his wife — who goes by Joanne Rogers — has carried on her husband’s legacy of promoting “goodness,” understanding and improving the world for children.

Most recently, she’s engaged in promotional appearances in support of the movie starring Tom Hanks about her husband’s life, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” which opened nationwide Nov. 22.

The last two years have been a whirlwind for Rogers, as her husband’s legacy continues to be honored and his teachings about understanding are introduced to a new generation. She cherishes every moment honoring the man she calls "my best friend."

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” ran on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) from 1968 to 2001. In 2018, Maxwell King’s biography, "The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers," was published and filmmaker Morgan Neville's documentary, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?” also was released.

“We all felt very good about it,” Joanne Rogers told the Tallahassee Democrat from her home in Pittsburgh. "I just feel so grateful, for Fred. I think it is a wonderful tribute to him, both the film and the documentary.”

She said she also attended a screening in Pittsburgh of the movie for the survivors of last October’s shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue there, in which 11 congregants were killed and six wounded, including four police officers.

“It was just for them, not the public,” she said.

Another local link: Mr. Rapp meets Mr. Rogers: A 90-year-old juggler is a person in your neighborhood

A Jacksonville native

Joanne, an only child, was attracted to the piano at 5, having been introduced to it at a neighbor’s home in her native Jacksonville. She grew up in the San Marco community on the city's south side, she said.

In a TEDx Talk, she told about having to learn the alphabet to understand notes on the keyboard. She later earned a music scholarship to study piano at Rollins College, where she started in 1946.

Fred Rogers studied at Dartmouth College a year before transferring to Rollins two years after his future wife enrolled, to study music. Joanne Rogers talked about their initial encounter during a 2001 interview with the Orlando Sentinel.

She recalls that in 1948, word got around campus about a new music composition transfer enrolling. She was part of a group asked to welcome him to campus. That was the introduction, but there was nothing serious — at first.

“I must say, we were just good friends,” Joanne Rogers said. “We didn't do much dating, as such. We all ran around in a group. But I think we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company, and he was a marvelous dancer, a fabulous dancer. So, I would ask him to our sorority dances, and he would ask me to his fraternity dances."

She elaborated during an appearance last year on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“He was different,” she said. “In his young days, he was lively and full of fun … but he talked about his feelings, and I could talk about my feelings to him, and the things that bothered us … the things that we loved.”

But Joanne kept her focus on her first love. She graduated magna cum laude in music composition from Rollins in 1950 and enrolled that same year in at Florida State’s College of Music.

She studied with the esteemed Hungarian composer and professor Ernst Von Dohnanyi. He taught piano and composition at Florida State from 1949 until his death in 1960.

“I had the honor and this wonderful opportunity to study" with him, she said. “I felt it was a very good place to be, particularly for me at the time. Dohnanyi was the most important teacher in my life and I will always remember him with great affection.”

She recalls living in a house on the “west end” of campus her first year of graduate studies before moving into a room in the basement of Dohnanyi’s home on Beverly Court.

“I loved it,” she said of Tallahassee and FSU. “At that time, it was manageable. We walked everywhere almost. We were really on campus most of the time.”

Rogers blossomed at Florida State, where she became an in-demand accompanist for other music majors and FSU’s University Singers, who performed under the direction of founder and professor Wiley Housewright.

“That was my favorite thing, being an accompanist for the singers,” she said, adding that she and Housewright became lifelong friends.

She was a member of Phi Beta, a national professional music and dramatic fraternity. In 1951, she won the International Piano Recording Competition sponsored by the National Guild of Piano Teachers.

Joanne Rogers also was a world of fun and personality, says Hilda Starbuck, who developed a close friendship that continues today.

Starbuck, whose maiden name is Hamilton, grew up in Jefferson County. She earned her undergraduate degree in 1952 from FSU in choral music education and later earned a master’s degree in library science. She also sang in the University Singers.

“She was just a joy to be around,” Starbuck, 89, says of Joanne Rogers. “She was just always an upbeat, lively and optimistic person. She still is to this day.

“With Joanne, what you see is what you get,” Starbuck added. “She is not pretentious at all. She is a very kind and giving person, a wonderful person.”

Rogers speaks of Starbuck with equal admiration.

“She was one of the undergraduates when I was there; she was one of the singers," Rogers said of her friend. "We have to be content with talking on the phone now, but we do it regularly.”

Rogers, who remains active in the arts and causes associated with her husband's interest in children's issues, also is a fan of Florida State Seminoles football and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

She said she tries to follow FSU football and is hoping to see some of Saturday’s match up with in-state rival the Florida Gators on Saturday.

“It was just sad watching (the Seminoles) earlier when the season first started,” she said. “The stadium was half empty. I think they are doing better now.”

Rogers said she returned to FSU for a solo piano performance not long after Dohnanyi passed on Feb. 9, 1960. “Fred came with me,” she said. She also remembers returning later to perform with Atlanta native Jeannine Morrison, a friend since their days at Rollins College, at a tribute to Dohnanyi.

In January 2009, Rogers was the special guest at the Tallahassee Community Chorus performance of composer John Rutter's Mass of the Children during its Unity Concert. It was billed as "Our Tribute to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" in her honor.

“Joanne came for that out at the Bradfordville Baptist Church,” Starbuck said. “She was so gracious and so many people wanted to meet her. She’s been here several times.”

Kevin Fenton is professor of music education, director of Undergraduate Choral Studies, and director of the FSU University Singers and the Chamber Choir. He remembers meeting Rogers at a 60-year celebration of the University Singers at FSU.

“She was wearing a necklace with a little train or trolley, and she told me it was a bit of a keepsake to help her feel connected to Fred,” Fenton said. “She was kind of the centerpiece of the party. She was really quick-witted, she liked to laugh, and she had a dynamic personality.”

Fred Rogers proposes—in a letter

Like his wife, Fred Rogers also graduated magna cum laude in music composition from Rollins a year after her in 1951. He got his first job in television as an assistant and floor manager of the music programs for NBC in New York City.

He and Joanne stayed in touch as he routinely wrote her letters, and finally one in which he made his intentions known.

In 1952, "my last year at Florida State, he wrote me a letter proposing marriage,” Joanne said during a 2018 Today show interview when she was promoting the “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” documentary.

Joanne also told the Orlando Sentinel, “Yes, it surprised me, in some ways. I think in some ways, we were both not surprised.

"When I say I was surprised, I was surprised at the timing," she said. "But I don't think I was very surprised otherwise. He was always pretty quiet about saying 'I miss you' or anything like that. But the people around him reported back that he did miss me. And I missed him too, I must say."

She didn’t leave him hanging. She stopped what she was doing, called her suitor from a pay phone and said “yes.”

“I don’t have the letter. I lost it," she told the Democrat. "I thought I might have left it in the phone booth because I missed it about three hours later.” It was not inside when she returned the next day, she said.

Rogers graduated from FSU on June 7, 1952. The two married 32 days later on July 9, 1952, in New York. They became parents of two sons: James, born in 1959, and John, born in 1961.

Rogers maintained her love for piano performances, but put that on hold as her husband’s career in television took off, first with a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. show called "Misterogers" and later back in Pittsburgh, where he eventually launched "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

As their sons got older, she returned to her first passion of piano performance. From 1976 till 2008, she was a concert duo-pianist performing with Morrison, her Rollins College friend.

Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers in 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" Tom Hanks shines as Mr. Rogers in "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" trailer.

The two performed recitals across the country and released recordings on the ACA Digital label.

Although her husband became known to multiple generations of fans, the private Fred Rogers remained charmed by his wife. She was equally enamored.

Joanne Rogers has long told the story of when the White House called in 2002 to inform Fred he would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country's highest civilian honors.

The person who called them said, "The president would like to give you a very special award, on July 9,’” she has recalled in various interviews.

“And Fred said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, I won’t be able to make it. That’s our 50th wedding anniversary.’ The man said, ‘Wonderful. You’ll all come to celebrate here!’ We did, and it was very special.”

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.