When did your family first arrive in St. Louis? What was the most memorable bar mitzvah you’ve ever attended? Where’s the best place to find your favorite Jewish foods? Who was your favorite rabbi? What is the best advice a Jewish mother ever gave you?

KETC/Channel 9 hopes simple questions like those will prompt the memories of St. Louis’ Jewish community and inspire individuals to write and share their stories about the Jewish experience in this area.

The station is seeking personal memories for St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans, a community engagement initiative designed to collect and preserve the history of Jews in St. Louis.

In addition to collecting local stories, the St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans project includes a speakers bureau and an April KETC documentary, also called St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans.

The St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans community engagement initiative recognizes how American Jews in St. Louis have helped shape the culture and civic life of our region.

In the aggregate of tales about relatives, Jewish-owned businesses, holidays, going to temple or synagogue, Hebrew school, traditions, vacations and more, the project will draw a portrait for future generations about Jewish life in the region. The stories can be submitted via mail, e-mail or online at www.ketc.org/jewishamericans. They will later be archived in the KETC collection at the Missouri Historical Society..

A member of Channel 9’s Speakers Bureau will meet with school, business or community groups at their location. The presentation will show clips from the national documentary, The Jewish Americans, as well as vignettes produced by Channel 9 about well-known Jewish St. Louisans and businesses. To make an appointment for a speaker, call Sydney Meyer at (314) 512-9137.

The hour-long KETC documentary St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans will be broadcast April 8 at 7:00 p.m. and April 13 at 4:00 p.m.