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. "...Schoen grew up in rural western Ohio in a community of German Catholics who, despite having lived in the United States for more than a century, had only recently transitioned to speaking primarily in English. ... even readers with no connection to that time or place will be charmed by this account. ..." Kirkus Reviews "Reading GROWING UP...was so much fun. It was like sitting across the kitchen table with an old friend who might have grown up just down the road, and swapping stories over coffee...Well done. Very highly recommended." Tim Bazzett , author of the Reed City Boy memoir trilogy "...Hal tells a classic tale of character development from unsure novice, to maybe I'll quit, to maybe I can do this, to conquering hero. What a story. Would make a great movie." Greg Kohmescher "The book has proved to be a delight... The latter...chapters are filled with [basketball] stories from that era including Red Auerbach scouting an eighth grader named Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar), putting the basketball moves on Bill Russell..." Donna Seim , author of Asante Sana Tanzania "... I loved hearing about the farm work, the Catholic-public school, the emerging sports culture. But more...I had to congratulate Hal and his 12 siblings for rising from humble origins to outstanding accomplished individuals." Mary Margaret Funk , author of Humility Matters: For Practicing the Spiritual Life (The Matters Series) 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. After a productive 34-year career as a college professor, he is now Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Education, University of Iowa.