Senior stories by Cogir: Dale

Transcript

Dave: Wisconsin

Dale: Wisconsin

Dave: Ellsworth, Wisconsin

Dale: Yes, with a long O in Wisconsin.

Dave: Yeah, with a long O. Have you lost a little bit of the accent?

Dale: Yes, I’ve been out here eight years.

Dave: Okay, so the O was longer in Wisconsin eight years ago?

Dale: Yes.

Dave: Where is Ellsworth?

Dale: It’s next to River Falls.

Dave: Oh, of course. And River Falls…

Dale: Well, actually Red Wing, Minnesota is where I worked.

Dave: Okay.

Dale: Red Wing, Minnesota. I make Red Wing work boots for 39 and a half years.

Dave: Red Wing work boots — you made the boots?

Dale: Yes, at the factory.

Dave: So you’re a leather worker?

Dale: Yeah, I’m a cobbler.

Dave: That’s what they call me. How do you become a cobbler, young Dale? When did you go, “I think I want to be a cobbler?”

Dale: Well, actually there’s a long history before that. I started out as a dairy farmer.

Dave: Well, there’s a natural transition — right, dairy farmer to a cobbler.

Dale: Right. And right after I was a dairy farmer, I thought, well, I didn’t like this. No money in milking cows on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin, so I decided to go to Eau Claire Vo-Tech School. I went on to be a welder, which I did for a few years.

Dave: Whoa, Dale. I’m trying to follow along here. You’ve got Ellsworth, you’ve got — what is it — River Falls, right? And now you’re going from being a dairy farmer to a welder to a cobbler?

Dale: I started out in a little town called Plum City, Wisconsin.

Dave: Oh, of course — right next to Hooterville, right?

Dale: So Plum City, Wisconsin — the most famous thing we’re known for is Plum Creek. People go, “What’s so famous about Plum Creek?” If you follow along Little House on the Prairie, Plum Creek ran right past Laura Ingalls Wilder’s old house. She was a schoolteacher in Pepin, Wisconsin.

Dave: All right, now I’m starting to put it together a little bit. But I still don’t understand — dairy farmer to welder to cobbler. I need a backstory.

Dale: Okay, because that’s where we’ve got to start. Actually, I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dave: I heard it — that one I heard.

Dale: Right — Hennepin County. My mom was a daycare provider, my father worked for the post office, and then I had cousins that were dairy farmers. They needed a helper; their kids were getting older, so I decided to go down there and help. I fell in love with the animals, the work, the pride. It’s hard to explain — it has to be experienced.

Dave: How long did it take you to get the feel?

Dale: Well, it’s always an ongoing process. The cow feel — or goats or whatever you milk — the cow’s… is the motion close?

Dave: No — well, show me the motion.

Dale: You use the milk machine. You put a strap on the cow and it runs on a pulsator with a vacuum that draws the milk out of the cow’s udder.

Dave: There you go.

Dale: Some people understand how much work it is to do a lot of them. What I liked was the calves — the smaller animals. I was good with them, and if you overfeed them they get what they call scour, and they’ll die from that. It’s like diarrhea. So a clever mind came up with an idea — “How do I know when that cow or calf is done?” So I stole some of my mom’s clothes pins and put them on the ear of the cow. That way I knew they were finished.

Dave: So you could identify them.

Dale: Yes, as they had drank their milk for that particular time — and the scour quit. My mom was looking for her clothes pins.

Dave: That’s pretty smart.

Dale: Oh yeah, and I came up with this by myself — ingenious thing. My dad gave me a lot of static because here I am, a city kid, knowing nothing about farming, but I began to learn. Somehow or another, I had a gift.

Dave: Is that something you miss? I mean, just the smell of it? Sometimes for anyone familiar with being on a farm, there’s a certain smell you actually embrace — the smell of home and comfort for a farmer or rancher. Do you miss that?

Dale: Not anymore — the smell of money became more prevalent in my life.

Dave: So then welding comes in

Dale: That’s where welding comes in. And I did really well at that. I went to Florida and started welding there. I was an 18- or 19-year-old man, young

Dave: So this thing called spring break came in…

Dale: Florida.

Dave: In Florida, spring break — with the idea that you want to be successful.

Dale: You always have that in the back of your head. Success is one of the things you always strive for. But then I heard about spring break… so I go to spring break. Two weeks later, I finally go back to work — no longer have a job.

Dave: Meaning you did it right. Congratulations — you’re 19 years old, come on, you’re from the Midwest, you’re in Florida, it’s spring break. So Dale, I’m giving you a pat on the back.

Dale: Thank you.

Dave: You have credit.

Dale: Yeah, I know — but they shipped me back up. But first I had to go in for drug treatment before I could go back home. So I spent some of the money I made doing that.

Dave: Okay.

Dale: But that was successful — and the good Lord, you know, always looking out. That’s when I started believing.

Dave: That’s kind of weird how you always say, “Well, did you find Jesus?” He never was lost.

Dale: Exactly.

Dave: So you were not spiritual until that time?

Dale: Well, I was kind of going to church. My mom played accordion, and I was in the choir. I went to Christian camp and did all the other things a kid would do — but not really understanding what it is He does, how He can make your life, until you get down in that dump and realize.
Dave: That’s when you knew.

Dale: Yes.

Dave: So for you, it was during recovery.

Dale: During recovery — after I realized this is not a path I need to be on.

Dave: And since that time, have you always had a relationship with Jesus?

Dale: Yes — a very strong one. I tell people about Him, and I’m not afraid to. Some people say, “Are you scared?” Scared about what?

Dave: Do you tell people about this and share your thoughts at Cogir at Park Terrace?

Dale: Yes. My view is different than anybody else’s because it’s my personal relationship with Jesus. He’s my personal Jesus. The first time I heard the song “Personal Jesus,” I thought, “Oh my God, I love this” — Rob Zombie.

Dave: That’s really interesting.

Dale: A guy who was portrayed as not Christian — not knowing that this song would ever stick in my head as long as it has. He wasn’t the first one I heard sing it, but he was the first one that made it stick.

Dave: Many people don’t find that relationship or that peace until later in life, if ever. You found it as a young man. Take me from there.

Dale: Before I moved to Park Terrace, I lived in Yuma, Arizona, for about seven years — because it’s the sunniest city in the world. I have a vitamin D deficiency, and the Midwest needs sunshine. Shots and pills aren’t as good as the natural thing, so I thought, “Well, the sunniest city in the world ought to work.”

Dave: And did it?

Dale: It did. But you had one source for medical. As I got older, I needed more than that — I needed options, different types of doctors and specialists. Before COVID, they had all kinds of people, but after COVID they all left and never returned, as far as I know.

Dave: So Park Terrace by Cogir — how did you hear about it?

Dale: I was looking for places in Portugal and elsewhere. I thought, “Hey, I can live on $1,200 a month easily.” Then Park Terrace pops up on Facebook. For independent living where you get your meals cooked — after a while, you get tired of cooking. At least I did. I had three children — twin boys and a daughter — and I was around them a lot. Grocery shopping, cooking, all that.

Dave: You taught your kids how to do things for themselves?

Dale: Yes. They’d say, “Dad, why didn’t you ever show us how to build a fire?” I learned by myself. My parents never camped or fished. I was self-sufficient.

Dave: Like learning how to barbecue?

Dale: Exactly. I moved into an apartment with an old Weber Smokey Joe grill. At the time, I still helped my dad on weekends, even though I was making shoes for a living. I’d put in a long day and still make the 45-minute drive from Plum City to Red Wing, Minnesota — an hour or more in the winter.

Dave: Everybody from the Midwest knows exactly what you’re talking about.

Dale: Right. And you’ve got to go easy on the lighter fluid. And people don’t realize there are five seasons — the fifth is “black ice.” It’ll take your ankle or leg out in a heartbeat. The winters will kill you if the summer lightning doesn’t.

Dave: So living in the desert was a completely different lifestyle.

Dale: Exactly — 360 degrees different.

Dave: You brought up something interesting about Cogir at Park Terrace — independent living, dining, good food, and storytelling for seniors.

Dale: Yes, we can go out and tell our story. No one else does this. It’s good to share with people who don’t understand where we came from. We didn’t just turn 60 with zero life experience.

Dave: You also mentioned you used to be on the radio. I wanted to ask you about that.

Dale: Before I was a cobbler, I was a DJ in 1977. While going to welding school, I wanted to pay off my college loan. I worked weekends as a dairy farmer and went back to school on Monday nights. Welding school is different than high school — you enjoy the homework. I was good at welding — top of my class out of a thousand people. They wanted me to get certified, but I thought I’d do it later. Later never happened.

Dave: So in 1977, as a DJ — was this radio?

Dale: Yes, radio. In Eau Claire, Wisconsin. My on-air name was DC — Dale C. I did voiceovers for John Menard’s commercials.

Dave: And you were making $300 a week in 1977?

Dale: Yes — a lot of money back then.

Dave: What kind of music were you playing?

Dale: Older rock, some disco — Boston, Alice Cooper, Kiss, BTO, Doobie Brothers, Guess Who, Bee Gees.

Dave: Disco was controversial with rock fans. How did you handle that?

Dale: Timing is everything. Don’t play too much of anything. For some reason, I had it — I don’t know where it came from

Dave: Why did you leave radio?

Dale: I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, who were sending me to welding school. I thought I’d get back into radio someday, but it never happened

Dave: We should start a Cogir radio station so residents can share stories. Would you be up for it?

Dale: Absolutely.

Dave: What’s the first song you’d play?

Dale: “Beth” by Kiss. Though I also like Metallica and Rob Zombie.

Dave: You must make friends easily.

Dale: My dad always said, “Give everyone five minutes of your time — you never know where it’s going to go.”

Dave: You’ve even been a volunteer firefighter?

Dale: Yes. Once, a friend and I were going upstairs in a burning house when a door blew open. His tank landed on my chest, my tank on his. We walked out with three people — and the third “person” wasn’t human.

Dave: What do you want people to know about Christ?

Dale: He’s the Almighty. Through Him, you can do anything. Never quit. Always pray. The answer might not be what you expect — it might bless someone else.

Dave: That’s a powerful message. Thank you for the time you’ve given us today.

Dale: You’re welcome.

Dave: We should mention Park Terrace is in Arizona, and our studios are here too. We’re lucky to have had you in person.

Dale: I’m blessed you had me.

Dave: And thanks to Chris for bringing you down here.

Dale: Awesome guy — he wears many hats too. I enjoyed this.

Summary

Dale grew up in Minneapolis and started his working life helping on relatives’ dairy farms before transitioning into welding, cobbling at the Red Wing boot factory, and even a stint as a radio DJ in the late 1970s. Over the years, he built a varied career that also included volunteer firefighting and a deepening of his Christian faith, which he shares with others at Park Terrace. Dale’s life has been defined by adaptability, humor, and his love for music, craftsmanship, and community, with each chapter shaped by hard work and a willingness to try new roles.