From Capa High School

Publication: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Author: Carmen J. Lee
Date: February 28, 2003

HIS ‘CHILDREN’ REACT: FROM CAPA HIGH SCHOOL

By Carmen J. Lee
Post-Gazette Education Writer

Having an icon from your childhood die can be disorienting when you’re a teenager. But as half a dozen Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts students sat informally on desks and chairs in an empty classroom yesterday, the memories of Fred Rogers and the feelings of loss at his death flowed freely.

“I was devastated, I thought, ‘Wow, a man I watched for the first 10 years of my life is dead,’” said senior Ben Czajkowski, 17, a literary arts major.

“Mister Rogers was my childhood hero. I’d spend every afternoon with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bag of chips watching him on television. He was a fatherly presence. My father was hardly ever around. Mister Rogers would teach life lessons. He helped my imagination grow.”

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