USC man’s humorous stories benefit Casey’s Clubhouse
A generation of Upper St. Clair residents are probably familiar with the nostalgic musings of resident Jay Lynch, whose short stories, full of humorous memories, appear quarterly in USC Today Magazine and keep residents chuckling.
His more than 50 short essays, published over the last 12 years, reflect his own “coming of age” years and are now available in book form, “The Lighter Side of Upper St. Clair.” All proceeds benefit Casey’s Clubhouse, a local nonprofit giving children with disabilities the opportunity to play baseball. Casey’s Clubhouse was founded by Upper St. Clair resident Sean Casey, former first baseman and Major League Baseball All-Star.
Lynch graduated from Upper St. Clair High School in 1971. He and his wife, Katie, have three children, Kevin, Brian and Eric, also USC graduates.
“Most of the stories relate to my life in Upper St. Clair as a kid growing up … school teachers, neighbors, fun stuff; kind of ‘Wonder Years’ memories,” said Lynch.
For example, take the story from Lynch’s 1971 senior year at Upper St. Clair High School when he was a basketball player, sentenced to the bench for one game due to a case of bad judgement.
As Lynch tells it, he was hurrying through the chaos following homeroom to reach his first class. He wore a shirt and necktie, as required of the athletes on a game day, “because you were supposed to reflect the best values of the school and the community,” Lynch said. Spotting his girlfriend at the time, Marty, some 20 feet ahead in the hallway, he waded through the sea of students in “not so good behavior,” he recalls, “I was pushing freshmen out of the way.” Wanting to surprise her, but not certain of the plan, he approached his girlfriend. who was wearing the “dress code” of the times, a sweater and skirt with long, straight hair, from behind and planted a kiss on her neck.
“She freaked out, books flying, screeching,” recalls Lynch. To his surprise, “She turned around and it wasn’t Marty. It was my Spanish teacher, Senorita Roberts. She had the same brunette hair, the same cashmere sweater, the same skirt, as Marty. She turns around and asks, ‘Jaun Carlos (my name in Spanish), why did you do that?’ and I said, ‘I thought you were Marty!'”
“The upshot was, unbeknownst to me, my basketball coach was behind me in the hallway and saw the whole thing. I was to be representing the finest attributes of USC High School as an athlete in our district. I got to sit on the bench during the game and the next Saturday morning during practice, I got to jog with a medicine ball around the perimeter of the gym the entire practice.
“I wish I could say I learned my lesson, but there are many other stories in that book based on Jay Lynch errors in judgment,” said Lynch.
After years of favorable feedback from residents, Lynch and the USC Magazine editors discussed the possibility of making the stories more widely available to the benefit of the community, particularly children.
All of the previously published stories were combined into a book with all proceeds from the sale donated to Casey’s Clubhouse (formerly the Miracle League of Upper St. Clair).
The book incudes Lynch’s stories, along with a contribution from Upper St. Clair resident and former Pittsburgh Pirate Steve Blass along with Lynch’s 42 winning contributions to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Caption Contest.
Originally published in 2021, Lynch refers to the collection as a “living book,” because it is printed on demand through Amazon publishing. This arrangement allows him to update the book with new stories as they are published.
Lynch wanted all proceeds to benefit children and he found that Casey’s Clubhouse pulled at his heartstrings.
“I use the (USC) rec center a lot. I’ve always just been impressed by both the field and the playground, and I’ve also taken some time to watch a couple of the sessions, and my heart was just overwhelmed by the things taking place at that location and by that charity,” Lynch said.
Casey endorsed the book noting, “Wonderful reflections on our community and some really funny baseball stories.”
Lynch’s chance meeting with former Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher and Upper St. Clair resident Kent Tekulve at The Home Depot secured the former pitcher’s endorsement of the book.
The stories keep Lynch connected to his past.
“In my stories, I always check with the people who are featured in the story and sometimes, rarely, people will ask me to use a pseudonym for them. Sometimes, people will add things to the story and make it better, which is part of the fun – the reality is far better than what I have in my head. It’s pure joy.”
To promote sales of the book, Upper St. Clair Today Magazine will run an advertisement usually once a year, Lynch said, regarding the book and the beneficiary for the proceeds.
“I’m very blessed to be able to put some words together and have a lifetime of friends and family who are funny, and help to other people,” said Lynch.
Westminster Presbyterian Church’s WROC Program and Providence Point Senior Living have given him opportunities to provide “stand-up storytelling” and purchase books on hand.
The book retails on Amazon for $27.95. Lynch said he doesn’t have a running total of donations made to Casey’s Clubhouse, but said royalty checks received from Amazon are provided to the charity.
Lynch recently retired from a career in management consulting. His ather Jack, now deceased, once said, “If he spent as much time at his job as he does writing funny stories, he’d be a millionaire.” That quote is included on the back of “The Lighter Side of Upper St. Clair.”
Beyond his magazine articles, he frequently writes letters to the editor and has been published locally as well as in the New York Times, Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.
He also continues his ultimate and elusive quest: winning the New York Times caption contest.