As a person who lives in St. Louis County, I feel that a few more things need to be mentioned about the St. Louis area, lest anyone get the idea that there is nothing to St. Louis than cultural divides and the Gateway Arch. There is a worldview unique to the people who live in St. Louis.
St. Louis has been called "the biggest small town in the world," and, for good reason. The first thing any two random strangers from St. Louis do when the meet is talk until they find some other third person that they both know. They are always sucessful.
Part of thier finding common ground will inevitably cause them to ask each other "where'd you go to high school?." This question may seem odd to someone who has not lived in St. Louis, but for a local person, this question comes naturally. This question is asked because, in St. Louis, there are a large number of private schools, especially high schools. St. Louisans take pride in their school, and it is not teribly uncommon for rivalries to persist even after graduation, and the high school you went has been known to be the deciding factor during job interviews or speeding tickets, though not always in a positive way.