Above: “Pittsburgh – Three Rivers from Duquesne Heights (1968),” photo credit Roger Wollstadt. Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
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“Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person.”[1]
– The Rev. Fred Rogers ’62, creator and host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Welcome to My Open Porch
The word “neighbors” can have many connotations. It carries powerful cultural meanings. It symbolizes safety and deep community. It evokes nostalgic images of front porches and shared childhood memories. Neighbors often offer trust during emergencies. They can act like a chosen, extended family. This word ultimately implies a sense of universal human brotherhood and sisterhood. At the same time, the word can describe physical proximity. It highlights the reality of shared spaces and boundaries. This closeness can spark natural curiosity. It often leads to a watchful eye over the street. Sometimes, it simply suggests the everyday routines of local life.
So, when I think of neighbors, I think of the lyrics from one of my favorite songs ever, “Home”[2], from the widely popular Broadway stage play and motion picture sensation, The Wiz:
“When I think of home
I think of a place
Where there’s love overflowing
I wish I was home, I wish I was back there.
With the things I’ve been knowing
Wind that makes the tall grass bend into a leaning
Suddenly, the raindrops that fall, they have a meaning.
Sprinkling the scene makes it all clean.
Maybe there’s a chance for me to go back,
now that I have some direction.
It sure would be nice to be back home,
where there’s love and affection
And just maybe I can convince time to slow up,
giving me enough time in my life to grow up.
Time, be my friend, let me start again.
Suddenly, my world’s gone and changed its face.
But I still know where I’m going.
I have had my mind spun around in space, and yet I’ve watched it growing.
Oh, and if you’re listening, God, please don’t make it hard to know if we should believe the things that we see?
And tell us, should we try and stay?
Or should we run away?
Or is it better just to let things be?
Living here, in this brand new world, might be a fantasy.
But it’s taught me to love
So it’s real, so real to me.
And I’ve learned
That we must look inside our hearts to find…
A world so full of love, like yours, like mine, like
Home!!!”
Welcome to My Sunny Side of Town
This song hits incredibly close to home for me. I was born and raised on the Northside of Pittsburgh, Pa., in a beautiful neighborhood fondly known as Manchester. Though my journey has taken me through various cities in North Carolina and Virginia, to my current home in Georgia, and across international borders, Manchester will always remain “the Sunny Side of Town” to me.
For the first 17 years of my life, my world revolved around one single alleyway. When I was just three years old, my parents achieved a massive milestone: they became homeowners at 1405 Stedman St. We packed up and moved just a few doors up the very same alley.
From 1960 to 1977, this little stretch of Pittsburgh was my paradise. It earned its nickname, “My Sunny Side of Town,” because of my family, but just as importantly, because of the incredible people living around us. Our neighbors made Manchester the most loving, exciting, fun, and interesting place a child could ever hope to grow up in. We were blessed.
From the Porch to the Pixel: Staying Connected
Decades have passed since those days on Stedman Street, but the bonds remain unbroken. Remarkably, many of those childhood Manchester neighbors are still my dearest friends today. While time and life have scattered us across the country and even the world, social media has done something truly miraculous: it has kept our old neighborhood circle tightly connected, erasing the thousands of miles between us.
One way I have chosen to stay close to my neighbors was by creating a Facebook page in honor of our defunct but near-and-dear-to-our-hearts Allegheny High School (AHS). Over the years, I have sponsored AHS All Class Reunions, and at the last one I held (in 2023), there were close to 300 alums in attendance. The Facebook page began with just two of us—me and my number-one neighbor, Marilyn Lydia Adams—and now we have more than 1,500 members.
Planning our reunions has always been a team effort, but the 2020 and 2023 committees were especially close to my heart because they featured my dearest neighbors who were also my high school classmates: Donna T., Renee M., Emily W., Ronald W., Kimberley T., and Michael “Magic” W.. While Renee, Emily, and I grew up in Manchester, Donna, Ronald, Kim, Michael, and I share deep roots as Northside neighbors. What makes our bond truly extraordinary is our daily group chat. For four years straight, not a single day has passed without someone from the team sending a “good morning” Scripture, an encouraging word, or an uplifting meme. This daily ritual beautifully preserves our spirit of love, compassion, and fellowship, keeping our neighborhood camaraderie vibrant and fresh.
There are many others on my personal Facebook page who inspire me daily with their ministries of love, support, and kind words of encouragement, and also with their generosity. When I visited home in June 2026, Donna, Emily, and Renee invited me to dinner and hosted a book signing for my new children’s book, London, Paris, and Me, and many others support my fundraising efforts for my non-profit organization, Lee’s Academy. They keep me connected to my Sunny Side of Town, Manchester, and the phrase Liz Boxley, whom I affectionately call the Queen of Manchester, coined always makes me “Manchester Proud.”
Redefining What It Means to Be a Neighbor
“The loving part of you allows you to love your neighbor, which is anyone you are with at any time in your life.”[3]
– The Rev. Fred Rogers ’62, creator and host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Growing up in Manchester taught me a fundamental lesson about humanity. A neighbor isn’t just someone who lives behind the wall next door. A neighbor is a reflection of community, kindness, and shared joy. Because of the foundation built on Stedman Street, I have been able to find and cultivate that same neighborhood spirit wherever I go.
I am excited to introduce you to the friends I proudly call “my neighbors,” whom I have met far beyond Pennsylvania’s borders—in different states and in entirely different countries. No matter where we live in the world, we can all find our own “Sunny Side of Town” anywhere we go!
The Rev. Edith Lee Thorpe is a lifelong educator and a media professional. She served two terms as the first African American president of the North Carolina Public Radio Association and founded the African-American Public Radio Consortium. Rev. Thorpe has served on the boards of the Esteria Woods International Outreach Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and various community health and educational task forces. She is also the author of London, Paris, and Me, a faith-based children’s book. In the fall of 2026, Rev. Thorpe will launch Lee’s Academy at The Lord’s House Community Church (Norcross, Ga.), a grassroots collaboration that will offer an after-school program, Saturday academy, and summer vacation Bible school. She holds degrees in radio, T.V., and film (B.A., Shaw University), mass communications (M.A., Norfolk State University), and Christian leadership (M.A., Shaw University Divinity School), and she was awarded a D.H.L., honoris causa, by the International School of Champions Theological Institute. She is pursuing a D.Min. at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in the Intergenerational Black Church Studies cohort.
Read Next
Footnotes
[1] Fred Rogers, You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor (New York: Penguin Books, 1994), 62.
[2] Charlie Smalls, “The Feeling We Once Had,” on The Wiz: Original Broadway Cast Recording, Atlantic Records SD 18137, 1975, LP. Charlie Smalls, “Home,” on The Wiz: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, produced and arranged by Quincy Jones, MCA Records MCA2-14000, 1978, LP.
[3] Fred Rogers, “Boston University Commencement Address” (speech, Boston, MA, May 17, 1992), Boston University Archives.
Bibliography
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Episode 1665, “Love.” Directed by Bob Walsh. Aired March 5, 1993, on PBS.
Rogers, Fred. The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember. New York: Hyperion, 2003.
Rogers, Fred. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Season 23, episode 5, “Episode 1665.” Directed by Bob Walsh. Written by Fred Rogers. Featuring Fred Rogers. Aired February 26, 1993, on PBS. WQED, Pittsburgh.
Rogers, Fred. “Boston University Commencement Address.” Speech, Boston, MA, May 17, 1992. Boston University Archives.
Smalls, Charlie. The Wiz: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Music produced and arranged by Quincy Jones. Lyrics by Charlie Smalls. MCA Records MCA2-14000, 1978, LP.