I Always Liked It Here: Reminiscences of a Rochesterian

Rochester, New York: Friends of the University of Rochester Libraries, 1983. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good. 9x6x1. First edition. Jacket edges rubbed with a few small chips and small tears. Spine slightly cocked, page ridges lightly foxed, ink gift note on front free endpaper. 1983 Hard Cover. viii, 377 pp. 8vo. Black & white photographs. "At 92, Henry W. Clune could be forgiven for setting aside the rigorous labors of the literary life and sitting instead on one of his lawn chairs and spending long hours contemplating the beautiful vista which stretches behind his home in Scottsville, New York. The author of six fine novels, a volume in the Rivers of America Series (The Genesee, 1963) and his history of his home city (The Rochester I Know, 1972), Henry Clune has also spent half a lifetime as a columnist for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. He still does occasionally sit and take in the backyard view, but mostly he writes, types, edits, rewrites, reads aloud onto a tape so he can hear how what he has written sounds, and generally continues to labor in his profession. I Always Liked It Here is the most recent fruit of his labor, and what a charming and entertaining book it is! Beginning with Mr. Clune's recollections of life as a young boy growing up on Rochester's Linden Street almost a century ago, the book is full of anecdotal commentary about his life as a Rochester reporter and he many famous and fascinating celebrities he interviewed and, in some cases, came to know. He describes his whirlwind courtship of Charlotte Boyle, a world-class swimmer; their subsequent marriage; and aspects of their long life together in Rochester. Among the many personalities that show up in these pages are the boxer Jack Johnson, Ty Cobb, Jack Dempsey, Lillie Langtry, Babe Ruth, Billy Sunday, Clare Boothe Luce, Tallulah Bankhead, Jean Harlow, Babe Didrikson and, of course, George Eastman. Equally fascinating are Mr> Clune's recollections of former playmates and fellow-reporters, old neighbors and drinking partners, show girls and nightlifers -- ordinary, forgettable people whom Mr. Clune remembers and brings back to life in his book. He also has a fine section on Charlotte Clune's father Joe Boyle, 'King of the Klondike'. The style is graceful and witty, the characters real and vividly recollected, the incidents memorable and revealing. The Friends of the University of Rochester Library take pleasure in publishing it.