- UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, dressed six newborns in handmade red cardigans and sneakers in a loving tribute to Fred Rogers.
- It was a surprise for the beloved television host’s widow, Joanne Rogers, who visited the hospital for World Kindness Day on Thursday.
- She was greeted by staff with a special serenade of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” the iconic theme song from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
- Caitlin Pechin, a nurse at the hospital, crocheted all six outfits for the babies, spokesman Amy Charley told Insider.
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One Pittsburgh hospital gave a loving tribute to Mister Rogers by dressing up six newborn babies in handmade red cardigans and sneakers.
It was a special surprise for the beloved television host’s widow, Joanne Rogers, who visited UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital for World Kindness Day on Thursday.
The legacy of Fred Rogers was celebrated the minute Joanne walked through the doors of the hospital.
She was greeted by staff with a special serenade of "Won't You Be My Neighbor," the iconic theme song from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
Joanne even joined in, singing along to the chorus from her late husband's show - which ran for 33 years.
After the sing-along, Joanne paid a visit to the maternity ward, where she met the six adorable cardigan-wearing newborns.
The newborns even sported crochet sneakers, a sweet tribute to the sneakers that Mister Rogers always changed into at the beginning of every episode on his show.
Caitlin Pechin, a nurse at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, crocheted all six outfits, spokesman Amy Charley told Insider.
It took Pechin between two to three hours to make each sweater, and an additional 30 minutes to make the sneakers.
Pechin told CBS Pittsburgh that she learned how to crochet while she was working in the hospital's gift shop.
"It's more something I do for fun," she said. "And I really enjoy making things for babies because they look so cute in them."
Joanne was also wearing one of her husband's cardigans in honor of World Kindness Day, which local Pittsburgh TV station WQED - where "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" was filmed - also declared to be Cardigan Day.
Charley told Insider that the hospital wanted to participate in Cardigan Day to celebrate "the legacy of Mister Fred Rogers' universal kindness and acceptance."
"Mister Rogers is an iconic Pittsburgher, and the values he represented overlap with the values we have at UPMC Magee," she added.
Joanne got to meet with both the babies and their parents, including Michael and Kristin Lewandowski and their daughter Mary.
The day was extra special for the couple, who both grew up watching "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
"When I was watching Mister Rogers, just his lessons of kindness and acceptance of everyone certainly stuck with me," Kristin told CBS Pittsburgh. "It is something that we hope to teach her as well."
Joanne said she believes her husband is still helping to spread his message of kindness to the world.
"I think Fred is doing what he can - with a little help from his friends," she told the station.
The sweet tribute comes just a week before the release of "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," which stars Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers, and is based on the television star's friendship with journalist Tom Junod.
UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital dresses up newborns for special events about four times a year, Charley told Insider.
Most recently, they dressed up newborns as pickles in tribute to a pickle-themed festival in Pittsburgh called Picklesburgh.
- Read more:
- Inside the life of Fred Rogers, the beloved icon behind 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' and subject of the upcoming biopic starring Tom Hanks
- Tom Hanks is playing Mr. Rogers in a new movie - here's the first trailer
- The first photo of Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers is perfect - and people can't handle it
- Newborn babies were dressed as pickles to celebrate an annual dill festival in Pittsburgh