Rogers grew up in the western Pennsylvania town of Latrobe, where he attended Latrobe Presbyterian Church with his family. He was an only child until age 11, when his parents adopted a baby girl. There was always that play element that was cherished in his childhood. When he was a senior majoring in music composition at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, Rogers had his first encounter with television. That s when I decided to go into this field.
Children deserve better.
Children need better. So instead of going directly to seminary after graduating in 1951, he used his degree in music to get a job in television. A year later he married Joanne Byrd, a pianist and fellow Rollins graduate. He never appeared on screen but worked behind the scenes as the program's organist and puppeteer. The experience convinced Rogers he had a future in children's television.