By Jill Fennema –

Dale Buse has been a resident at the Edgebrook Estates Assisted Living for the past few months. He is a veteran and a former member of the Secret Service. He is also a talented musician and gifted carpenter. All of these characteristics has led to a life that was a bit more exciting than some of us have experienced.

Dale grew up in Lake Wilson, where he graduated from high school in 1954. His family was known for being musically inclined. Dale learned to play the piano at the age of four – not by reading music. He has the ability to play “by ear.” Actually, he cannot read a musical score at all.

There were 13 children in their family – five boys and eight girls. Three of his sisters, when they were quite young, were known as the Buse Trio. They went to a competition at WCCO, which they won. The girls had an offer to go to the Arthur Godfrey show, but their dad did not want them to travel.

Dale said that their abilities really came from their dad’s side of the family. His grandmother, who died when his Dad was five years old, was known for her musical talent.

Dale graduated from Lake Wilson High School in 1954. The Korean Conflict was over and the Vietnam War had not quite begun, but fear of communism was everywhere.

In January 1966, Dale began a three-year stint with the United States Army. He served at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. The Army sent him U.S. Meteorological School for five months and he became a weatherman.

Dale’s First Sergeant while he was in the service was Roy Rhodes, who was part of a Russian espionage ring. Rhodes was discovered by the FBI and convicted of espionage along with other Russian spies in the late 1950’s.

After he was discharged from the army, Dale went on to work for the United States Secret Service for seven years, until he was injured in the line of duty. He was under cover at the time and he and a coworker were ambushed by five Russians they were tracking. They were in a sale barn in Omaha Nebraska and unbeknownst to them, the Russians knew they were tracking them and beat Dale and his coworker up. Dale took a shovel to the face, which put his nose through the roof of his mouth.

After a long recovery Dale left that job and returned to Minnesota, where he married Sandra Nett. Dale and Sandy moved to Tucson, Arizona for two years before setting in Chino, California, where they raised their three children – Scott, Kelly, and Paul. Sandra died tragically in an explosion in their home when the children were young.

Dale worked as a carpenter for a truss company in Chino. He began as a framer, but as his carpentry skills developed, he was eventually promoted to work in the finish carpentry area.

Dale would continue his carpentry work, going on to build custom homes for Mary Tyler Moore and Eric “Hoss” Cartwright. He also built many big and beautiful homes in the Chino area, including a 30,000 square foot home that had 29 bedrooms!

One thing that set him apart as a carpenter was his ability to bend wood. He learned to use steam to curve board, a skill that set him apart from other cabinet makers. “It really gave me an edge,” he said.

While Dale’s carpentry skills were notable, it was music that was his true joy. In 1987 he met Suzanne Young. Suzie was also a musician. Suzie was the Button Box Champion of the West back then. Dale met her at a competition where he was a judge.

“She was something!” Dale recalls. She was always a very animated player who really got into the music. Suzanne was into polka music and Dale loved country western and ragtime music. Dale played for various bands in California, going “on the road” for 18 years.

Dale Buse, a Lake Wilson native who now lives at Edgebrook, built this keyboard/piano from scratch. He worked as both a carpenter and a musician in California much of his life, after serving his country for several years.

Dale also used his carpentry skills to build portable dance floors. Shown is one of Dale’s portable dance floors set up at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

This is the patent certificate that Dale received for his patented portable dance floors.