Patrick McBride – Sartell’s very own ‘Mister Rogers’

McBride models Mister Rogers’ kindness, compassion

by Jessica Tomhave

news@thenewsleaders.com

In this fast-paced digital world of busy schedules and online orders, Patrick (Pat) McBride’s friendly greetings at a neighborhood grocery store in Sartell stand out because genuine face-to-face, down-to-earth, honest-to-goodness conversation is hard to come by.

McBride grew up near Pittsburgh, Penn.  And like that city’s famous “Mister Rogers,” McBride makes it his life’s work to connect with everyone he meets and in some small ways brighten their day.

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was a popular children’s TV show that ran from 1968 to 2001. Hosted by Fred Rogers of Pittsburgh, the show gained warm accolades for its promotion of kindness, inclusion and compassion for all people. It is famous for Rogers’ refrain of “It’s nice to be your neighbor,” an attitude McBride exemplifies daily.

McBride, 36, moved to Sartell 10 years ago after meeting his life partner, Erin Johnson of Sartell, while playing the online game Pokémon. He joined her working side-by-side as a cashier at Coborn’s-Riverside grocery store on First Avenue. From day one he said he felt like the store and job were tailor-made for him. He said he likes the small, orderly, cohesive environment of the store and truly enjoys helping wherever he is needed. But McBride said he finds the greatest happiness in the people he meets every day.

Thousands of shoppers have come through his line during the past decade, a perk for someone who enjoys speaking with people as much as McBride does. He only has a few short minutes with each guest but immediately offers a genuine smile and “How are you?” For McBride, this is the highlight of his work. He said he considers many of the “regulars” to be his friends.

McBride said the close-knit neighborhood-style of the store reminds him of his childhood in a small coal-refining town in southwestern Pennsylvania about one hour outside of Pittsburgh – the very same area where kindhearted television legend Mister Rogers was born, lived and filmed.

McBride was a talkative and friendly child, much like he is today. Raised by three strong and loving women – mom Jean McBride; great-aunt Hannah Pringle; and grandma Georgia Rosser. He credits their influence, along with Mister Rogers, for his open-minded, caring personality.

“I am genuinely curious about people,” McBride said, “You never know what they are going through.”

Born in the early 1920s, his great-aunt Pringle and grandma Rosser experienced the hardships of WWII rations as they ran the local steel-company store. The two sisters shared stories with McBride about their kind and generous father inviting neighbors for dinner and conversation during the Great Depression (1930s), when food was scarce and spirits low. They would liken little McBride’s friendliness and good-hearted nature to that of his late great-grandpa.

“Sometimes people just need to see a friendly face,” McBride said. “Sometimes giving a smile to someone is the most uplifting thing they receive all day. It’s small, but it matters most.”

McBride looks back on his childhood fondly. He spent his days playing around the woods and coal-refining ovens near his home. His mom attended seminary in Pittsburgh while his grandma and great-aunt tended to him. He was a joyful, outgoing kid. High school was a different story. McBride’s teenage years were fraught with bullying, and he retreated into himself because of it.

“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down,” said McBride, remembering how it felt having his bubbly personality bullied into silence.

A field trip to the Mister Rogers television set in Pittsburgh was an uplifting reprieve during those distressing years. McBride said he has long been inspired by Mister Rogers’ willingness to learn and eagerness to get to know people.

Today, McBride looks back on the bullying he endured as a lesson on how not to treat people. It wasn’t a fun lesson, he said, but it was a good one. He doesn’t want anyone to feel the way he did. And he holds fast to the “Golden Rule” of treating others how you want to be treated. In college, McBride began to embrace the jovial side of himself again, emerging even more compassionate toward others.

“We might not have had the same experiences,” McBride said, “but we can learn from each other.”

Like Mister Rogers, McBride listens with sincerity to the answers people give him when he asks how they are or what they have been up to. McBride asks follow-up questions the next time he sees someone. He remembers people by name. He looks for visual signs of sadness, always keeping his eyes and ears open to better understand how people are feeling and what they are saying.

One time a shopper asked McBride what he would do if they answered his “How are you?” honestly. McBride’s answer was easy: He would listen without judgment. He said he thinks there is a lot to learn from one another in our shared stories. McBride said he believes our success as humanity depends on it. He acknowledges conversation beyond simple pleasantries can feel uncomfortable at first. But he says that as we take time to look out for each other we discover we can rely on each other.

McBride’s mother relocated from Pennsylvania to Sartell three years ago to be near her son. Grandma Rosser passed away a couple of years before McBride moved to Sartell, and great-aunt Pringle died a few years after. The three women shine bright through McBride every day, in his generous smile and genuine concern for others – those simple gestures of kindness that matter most.

Mister Rogers famously said this: “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”