Hail, Hail to U. City High
by Alan Spector

This book is a wonderful, nostalgic journey back to a simple, uncomplicated time of life where the only worries of our lives were social and school related.

Alan takes us back to his youth, when friends and acquaintances were established before entering U. City High.  Once we enter the halls of the high school, everything becomes familiar to me, although I went there a decade earlier.  Some of the same teachers were mentioned and the same school principle’s name pops up.  The friends that were established before high school remained as his best friends, and he established a few more buddies while in high school where he played  football and baseball. 

The years at the high school roll by with some of the outstanding coaches and teachers highlighted.  One such teacher (Wally Klein) is now retired and volunteers with his wife at the greater St. Louis Book Festival depot where he is the foreign language expert.  He is also mentioned as the historian for University City School system.

One of the points of interest, the U. City Wigwam, was started by the senior class and faculty of 1952 or 1953.  The idea of the “club” was to keep the students out of trouble and busy after school on Friday nights.  From this report, it became quite a hit in the late ‘50’s and ‘60’s.

While this book will stir long forgotten memories of all who attended high school, the main purpose of the book seems to concentrate on Alan’s classmates of 1964.  One can certainly enjoy the book that traces his classmates through the succeeding decades to the present time.  It is a lovely memoir.

Alan Spector will speak at the 31st Annual St. Louis Jewish Book Festival on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 10:30am, as part of the MISSOURI’S OWN Program featuring authors with connections to St. Louis and Missouri. The program will also feature: Don Wolff as Moderator; Thomas M. Bloch, author of STAND FOR THE BEST: What I Learned After Leaving My Job as CEO of H&R Block to Become a Teacher and Founder of an Inner-City Charter School; Lynne Greenberg, author of THE BODY BROKEN: A Memoir; and Eric Greitens, author of STRENGTH & COMPASSION.

The MISSOURI’S OWN program will take place at the JCC’s Staenberg Family Complex on the Millstone Campus in Creve Coeur.  The 2009 St. Louis Jewish Book Festival runs November 2 through 12 with a Preview Author Event on October 29th (at the St. Louis County Library).  For more information or Festival tickets, please call 314-442-3299, or visit the Festival website at www.stljewishbookfestival.org

Book review by Festival Committee Member Nonie Cohen