Growing Up: Farm Life & Basketball in the 1940s & '50s

by Harold L. Schoen

An inspiring story of growing up in a midwestern farm family of 15.

Heart-warming memories of a secure, but not easy, childhood with many fun times moderated by hard farm work and economic and educational challenges.

And, at childhood’s end, the life-changing experience of attending college on a basketball scholarship.

Born in 1941 on a farm that had no electricity and was operated with workhorses, Hal Schoen helped his parents and others in their neighborhood group to thresh wheat and oats and to butcher hogs among many other farm chores.

The farm was not just a site for work, but also a giant playground for us kids … we had exclusive access to a large barnyard, fruit orchard, the barn and other farm buildings, and 135 acres of fields that included a small woods and creek. (p. 47)

Neither parent had graduated from high school, yet the Schoen children did very well in school. College, though, was beyond their parents’ experience and financial means.

Fortunately, Hal’s college bills were paid by a basketball scholarship granted by legendary University of Dayton coach Tom Blackburn on condition that he make the team each year.

After some tough personal challenges and lucky breaks, he became a starting forward then team captain of the Flyers before earning his bachelor’s degree.

When the team returned [after winning the 1962 National Invitation Tournament], ...Mom, Dad, and a carload of siblings were in the crowd at the Dayton airport. After ten days in New York City competing in Madison Square Garden, I was struck the moment I saw them by the vast difference between the world I had just left and that of my childhood. (p. 178)

Don’t miss this richly entertaining memoir of family, farm, and sports in mid-twentieth century America.

222 pages, Paperback

Published January 27, 2017

About the author

Harold (Hal) Schoen grew up with 12 siblings on a small farm in west-central Ohio in the 1940s and ‘50s. Thanks to a basketball scholarship to the University of Dayton, he became the first in his extended family to earn a college degree. Upon completing the necessary graduate education, he spent 34 years as a jointly appointed Professor of Mathematics and Education. He is author of high school and beginning college mathematics textbooks, the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test, and many professional papers. Growing Up is his first attempt at writing for a more general audience.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoughts soon.

[Jack Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. My parents are about the same age as Harold and I am about the same age as his kids. I grew up in Kentucky and my parents grew up on a farm. His childhood seems very similar to my parents. The story affected me in three ways. First the nostalgia of small town life is so American and it is something that is being lost in our country on a daily basis. Second you really get a feel of how good we have it these day. Don’t listen to any of these stupid media types that try to convince you that the standard of living in the US is not improving. Read this book for proof. Third I love basketball especially UK and Georgia Tech and to see his story at UD and how much the sport has changed is really incredible. Thanks for sharing your story with the public Harold and be proud of a life well lived and a beautiful family.