Sam Hynes is an author of many, many books with one being about growing up including his years around 35th and Nicollet and attending Central. The title is "The Growing Seasons: American Boyhood Before The War". He also wrote a book about his life during the war as a fighter pilot plus a wide variety of other books.

Sam was a professor of English for decades at Princeton University and one of his real memories of Central is a quote from Mr. Mulligan who said "good writing is plain as a pine board, clear as well water". Sam evidently applied that to his writing with so many books being published.

This information came from google where there is just so much information about Sam that hopefully the above will motivate you to do your own research. Just go to google.com and type in his name with reference to Central, or Princeton, or author and then select your choice of the complimentary comments about him as well as titles of many of his books.

Contributed by John Leak, CHS 1943

In his book The Growing Seasons, An American Boyhood Before the War , Sam describes a life not unfamiliar to anyone who grew up in the neighborhood in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

Sam also lived on Columbus Ave, between 38th and 39th, and talks about Chicago (Phelps) Field.
He attended Lyndale School, Bancroft, Bryant and Central.