An important part of St. Louis Jewish history has resurfaced and is now for sale by a respected international dealer in used, rare and out-of-print Jewish books. Originally published in 1964, the book “The ‘Y’ Story: A Chronicle of the Jewish Center Movement in St. Louis,” written by Ruth Fischlowitz (z”l), provides a meticulously researched account of the evolution of what is today the Staenberg Family Complex of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in St. Louis.
In a 2014 article about the book, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Bob Cohn of the Jewish Light wrote, “Fischlowitz offers a window into the early Jewish communal life in the region, detailing milestones from the founding of the Hebrew Young Men’s Literary Society in the late 19th century to the establishment of the most impressive facility, the Carlyn H. Wohl Building at Lindbergh and Schuetz roads.”
Now, a rare first edition of the Fischlowitz book is available for sale on the website DanWymanBooks.com.
“I did a little more research on this item, since I have never come across it before in doing this work for over 25 years,” said Dan Wyman. “I checked OCLC and WorldCat, which are the most comprehensive databases of information about library collections, and I was not surprised to see that only five institutions are listed as holding a hard copy.”
Those institutions are Yeshiva University, the St. Louis Public Library, Hebrew Union College, the American Jewish Historical Society and the National Library of Israel.
Cohn on Fischlowitz
In his 2014 piece, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Cohn shared more about Fischlowitz and her exhaustive research:
“Fischlowitz defines the early years of the JCC of St. Louis as from 1880–1915. The earliest entity of a unified JCC was the Hebrew Young Men’s Literary Society, which was the predecessor to the St. Louis Young Men’s Hebrew Association. Rabbi Moritz Spitz of B’nai El Congregation wrote about that organization and a rival unit in a look-back on St. Louis Jewry he published in 1879. Spitz states, in the Jewish Tribune (later the Jewish Voice), ‘While the Disraeli Social and Dramatic Club was flourishing . . . The Young Men’s Literary Society, a forerunner of the YMHA, was dragging along a very wearisome existence.’”
Cohn also highlighted a turning point in 1897: “The great day had arrived when it could be announced that the Association had rented quarters at 2737 Locust Street and would open its doors in April. Fischlowitz notes that the acquisition of a permanent home for YMHA/YWHA activities was to mark the beginning of an upward swing for the Association. The facility included a ladies’ salon, a chess and pastime parlor, and a gymnasium where an instructor in physical culture conducted classes.”
Why It Matters
The availability of this rare first edition offers readers an opportunity to connect with a foundational period in St. Louis Jewish history. As Wyman’s research shows, copies of “The ‘Y’ Story” are exceedingly rare, with only a handful held by major institutions. For collectors, historians, or anyone invested in understanding the roots of St. Louis’s Jewish community, this book represents a unique and invaluable resource.
