Dale was born in the hospital in Wahpeton, ND to Ed and Celia Mattson on March 5, 1934. They lived in Tintah, MN for the first year of Dale’s life, and then the three of them moved to Detroit Lakes, where they lived on the north side of the tracks on Washington Avenue. He was an only child. Dale’s dad was a barber and his mom was a homemaker. When not playing with the Thomas boys on the north side, Dale spent a lot of his childhood in his dad’s shop, where he shined shoes.
Betty DeSart Mattson was born at home in Jasper, MN to Wayne and Alice DeSart on October 24, 1936. Most of her childhood was spent on a farm in Jasper with her parents and 2 older sisters, Lois & Billie. At about age 10, Betty had a complication of rheumatic fever that resulted in her not being able to walk or talk for a year. She always said that after she regained her ability to speak, she practiced it a lot! She loved visiting with people and always made efforts to make people feel included.