Janet McClure was a geeky little Mormon girl, who leaves her sheltered elementary years, spent in an all-white, homogeneous Mormon environment, and heads to the ruckus and rowdy central city junior and senior high schools.

“I started writing a book about my youth and family, mainly to hand down to my grandchildren. But as I went along, the story began to weave together the rich tapestry of that era. The vibrant life of kids from the east side mingling with those from the west side of the tracks, the greasers and the betas, the geeks and the popular kids. The story then continued into the Viet Nam War years, my college years. The ‘60s shaped my life and my philosophy on life. This is a story of my family, school, and life.”

The book is dedicated to my South High graduating Class of ’67; my sister’s South High Class of ’62, and my mother’s South High Class of ’38. On South High!

Available from Amazon: “Class of ’67”.

Sample – Summertime 1961

I awoke at 7 a.m. to the sound of the drums. Boom, ba-da boom, ba-da, boo-boo-boo-boom. It was the beat of the South High Pep Club, who would be practicing at Liberty Park every morning for the next two weeks. The park was very near to our house – close enough that the drum beat echoed through my bedroom’s open window.

“Argh,” I thought as I tried to pull the covers over my head. My sister Kathy, five years older me and soon a senior at South High, would already be at the park, going through the routine with the other Pep Club girls. But for me, it was supposed to be a lazy summer morning, and I had planned to sleep in.

I would be starting junior high soon, and needed my sleep. We had only two weeks left until school started, and I hadn’t wanted to be woken up early.

Then I heard the pans crashing in the kitchen and knew Mom was making her oatmeal. She always ended up making a huge noise in the kitchen when she was trying to get her small oatmeal pan out from under the bigger pans for her early morning breakfast before going to work.

I dragged myself out of bed and padded into the kitchen.

“Really, Mom?” I asked. “Can’t someone sleep in around here?”

“Now that you’re up,” she said brightly, “make my coffee. OK? I need to get to work.”

My mother, Clarice, unlike almost every other mother in Salt Lake City, Utah, had decided to go to work when I was in fifth grade, instead of being a stay-at-home mom. I wasn’t sure why.

Sample Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars – This is a fun book as it brings back my memories of attending …
November 10, 2016
This is a fun book as it brings back my memories of attending South High class of 67 myself. Some of my favorite memories of growing up in Salt Lake City.

5.0 out of 5 stars – On South High!
July 5, 2016
What a delightful read! I went to Lincoln Junior, South High and the University of Utah with Jan, and thought I knew a lot about her. Now I know what the girls were doing while the boys were building huts, attending scout camp and playing ball. Jan (Janet McClure in those days) was a brilliant student and displays her memory for detail. She did omit a few things, like her toilet papering escapades and hiding from the police; that all of the male debate team members were handsome, now just Tim Treu; how much fun the rest of us had when we rarely beat her on a test and that while shy in some situations, she had a sense of humor. The years at Lincoln Junior were a lesson in survival, but South High provided a great academic life for students that were interested.

Thank you Jan for sharing family details, especially those that an outsider knew nothing about. The internal pathos we hide from others is what makes us real people and shapes our decisions. Jan has always been motivated and her successes are no accident. I am pleased that we have remained friends for over 56 years.