I went to Franklin JHS on Outer Park Dr grades 7-8, we were that limbo age when they moved grade 6 to JHS and called it a middle school for the first time when we were in 7th, then moved the 9th graders back to SHS when we were in 8th, that must have been '68.  Let's see, Grant was on W. Monroe I believe?  The year after I graduated my folks moved out to W. Lawrence out off W. Monroe where it angles southeast, and I think my two young sisters both went to Grant--although I think the illustrious Board of  Ed. had something by then called a Seventh Grade Center for the entire city in one of the abandoned grade schools.  I recall my little sister getting beat up by a future resident of the city jail at the time. 

In high school the McDonald's on MacArthur was still the hang out.  I don't remember a place called Don's Drive-in, and I'm wondering if it was gone in the intervening nine years?  Do you recall where it was?   We had someting called The Cruise.  Kids would drive continually from McDonald's up MacArthur to South GRand Avenue then up South Grand to about Second Street I think, where the Sears & Roebuchs was at the time.  Just a big circle to see and be seen.  My first car was a '65 Impala I got the summer between my junior and senior year.  283 V-8.  Really cherry, I got it from the pastor of our church for $300. 

Sounds like you were a bit of a motorhead?   My dad and my son are both motorheads.  My dad has a list of every car he's ever owned back to his first, a '29 Model A he got in high school during WWII.  Ad photos of most of them.  It skipped a generation with me--I love cars but I can't keep up with my son and my dad when they get together.  Of course the language is different...from Packard and Hudson to Honda and and whatnot. 

St. Louis, eh?  Pretty close to the old home town.  I never lived up north--I always saw Chicago as an interesting place to visit but not a place I wanted to live, even though I'm a lifelong Cubs fan.