Jon Hassler was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 writer and teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 known for his novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s about small-town life in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. He held the positions of Regents Professor Emeritus and Writer-in-Residence at St. John's University

College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University

The College of Saint Benedict , for women, and Saint John's University , for men, are partnered liberal arts colleges respectively located in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Students attend classes and activities together, and have access to the resources of both campuses...

 in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Jon Hassler was born in Minneapolis, but spent his formative years in the small Minnesota towns of Staples

Staples, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,104 people, 1,278 households, and 732 families residing in the city. The population density was 684.5 people per square mile . There were 1,436 housing units at an average density of 316.7 per square mile...

 and Plainview

Plainview, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,190 people, 1,157 households, and 824 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,452.5 people per square mile . There were 1,223 housing units at an average density of 556.9 per square mile...

, where he graduated from high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

. He received his Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in English from St. John's University in 1955.