Episode 1081
Air Date: February 23, 1970
Previous Episode: 1080
Next Episode: 1082
Mister Rogers does not change into a sweater and sneakers when he arrives. Instead, he cuts a circle out of paper and talks about seeing a manhole in the sidewalk which he invites viewers along to see. Mister Rogers watches as a few men work inside the manhole.
Returning to the house, Mister Rogers spends sometime talking about how these workers stay safe as they work. After singing You Are Special, he receives a phone call from Bob Trow who has lost his dog, Jennifer. Mister Rogers finds the missing dog on his front porch and gives her a dog biscuit as he waits for Mr. Trow.
In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Henrietta Pussycat is frightened by Bob Dog who is playfully barking outside her door. Intimidated by Bob Dog's teeth, Henrietta is worried about being bitten and is comforted by X the Owl and Lady Aberlin. Lady Aberlin explains that she was afraid of scissors when she was young -- much for the same reasons that Henrietta is afraid of Bob Dog's teeth. She also mentions that King Friday and Queen Sara have a good secret to share. Anxious to find out what the secret is, everyone sings Wait and See.
Back at the house, Bob Trow stops by to pick up his dog and Mister Rogers concludes for the day by talking about teeth and singing It's a Lonely Kind of Thing.
Notes
As he describes a manhole, Mister Rogers' choice of words are a clear sign that gender roles were still evolving in the late 1960's and early 1970's: "It's not a boy hole, or a girl hole, or a lady hole. It's a manhole. Men go down to work there."
Appearing In This Episode
Songs
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Episode Credits
Produced by WQED, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in association with Small World Enterprises, Inc. for N.E.T.
Producer-Writer: Fred Rogers
Associate Producer-Director: David Fu-Ying Chen
Musical Director: Johnny Costa
Neighbors: Betty Aberlin, Bob Trow
Film: George Boyle, Diana Dean
Executive Producer: Paul K. Taff
Production funds for this television visit were provided by a grant from the Sears Roebuck Foundation and a children's program fund established by N.E.T. affiliated stations.
© 1970 National Educational Television and Radio Center