Roger Hanson still dancing, enjoying life at 102

Roger Hanson was born April 25, 1918 on a farm near the Oslo area and his parents were Albert and Gena Hanson. 
She was the lutefisk queen preparing the fish for 38 years for the annual lutefisk supper at St John’s Lutheran Church and also helped train in “new” volunteers like Mary Hegna and Mike Berge. His mother lived to age 95 1/2 while his dad passed at age 77 and his brother Levern lived to age 92.  
Roger had to learn English since he could only talk Norwegian when he started country school, where the brothers walked, located 1-1/2 miles away from their home.  When a new teacher started the new school year she said they had too many students at this school so they had to attend a different school for his last year. 
He was 16 when he received his 8th grade diploma as many boys would stay home to help with harvesting and then come back later in the fall. He then started school at Hayfield for three days but they told him he had to buy some books that would cost $17.10. When he came home and told his folks about the cost, they did some figuring but said we can’t come up with that much money and that ended his schooling days.   
 He mentioned the first tractor his father bought was a 10-20 McCormick–Deering and they used it to do some plowing that season. It was a tough time farming so his dad went to the dealer and said we can’t pay for it right now. The dealer said don’t worry as I don’t want it back again so keep it, pay the loan interest and any principal whenever you can. It was paid off in four years.
He started working at different jobs and then got a job hauling gravel from a local gravel pit using his parents’ team of horses and wagon to spread on nearby township roads.  
The gravel was loaded by hand using a shovel and pick axe but he was able to get 17 loads hauled each day. He made enough money to pay his dad for the use of the horses, wagon wood planks, buy fall clothes and he still had some money left over.  
He then got a job at a farmers place earning $45/month plus room and board and worked there from 1934 – 1940.  It actually got him on the inside track as he worked for his future wife’s parents, so got more in the deal after all.   
Roger and Marcella were married at her parents’ farm in 1940 with 60 relatives and friends at the wedding. He mentioned he married an older woman, as she was one year older than he was! 
The couple rented some farm land after they were married and Marcella continued as a country school teacher for a few years. They were married for 63 years until she passed in 2003.     
 
His first car was a used 1935 gray Ford coupe with a rumble seat and not many miles on it. Since tires were much different than today it seemed almost every time they drove anywhere there would be flat tire so he quickly learned how to patch tires. 
His first tractor, a 1941 Farmall H and a plow, was bought from Brewer Implement in Kasson for around $900. 
Farmers were really needed to raise food during WWII, but he came close to getting called into the military.  He was ready to line up an auction, but when they dropped the bomb on Japan the draft board said don’t go ahead with an auction as the war will be ending soon. 
They eventually farmed 800 acres, including owned and rented land. Early in their farming career they milked 32 cows, raised 80 hogs and 125 chickens besides the crops.
After he quit milking they increased their livestock production to sell 200 head of beef and 10,000 hogs per year.   
The Hanson’s raised four children: Mark (Darlene), Craig (Karen) and Sandy (Al) who all live in the Kasson area while another daughter, Diane, lives in Coon Rapids and is a retired French teacher.   
He has six grandchildren and, at the last count, 11 great grandchildren.   
Being involved in the community and various boards were a big part of his life. He was on many boards such as the township, planning and zoning, the local lumberyard, the creamery, Farmers Coop in Hayfield, PCA board and he was the church president at St. John’s Lutheran in Kasson during the building project in 1964.  
The family did take summer trips to places like Glacier, Yellowstone, Black Hills, northern Minnesota, Canada and might be gone for up to two weeks on the trip. While they were gone his parents would take care of the farm chores.
 Roger said he started going to dances with his folks when he was a teenager, but he had to teach his wife as she was not a dancer.  The Hanson’s put dancing on hold for years when they were raising their family, and started again when the empty nest appeared. Marcella and Roger did like to square dance and dancing has continued to be part of his busy life. 
He still goes to Polka Fests in Wisconsin, Iowa and various places in Minnesota. His dancing partner lives in Rochester, but with the virus issue that has been put on hold for now.
He doesn’t really have any hobbies and not much of a TV watcher except for the news and weather, and he had been a member of the church choirs for several years. 
He thought the first time he voted for President was likely the 1940 election between FDR and Wendell Willkie.  His family was not directly affected by polio, however some of his relatives and neighbors were during the epidemic that swept through the country closing down the Minnesota State Fair in 1946.
He was a long time member of the West St. Olaf church but when they moved to the farm south of Kasson they joined St. John’s Lutheran in Kasson as Marcella had been a member while growing up and he has been a member since 1962. 
In 2003 the Hanson’s moved from their farm to a town house in Kasson after farming for 52 years. Roger said he never cooked until Marcella passed so he had to learn a new skill. He has continued to mow the lawns on the farm places where his sons live for many years and has already mowed one this April. 
Each fall when St John’s church has been getting ready for the annual lutefisk supper Roger has taken part in the Wednesday morning lefse bake along with 40 – 50 other volunteers helping roll and bake lefse.  
During the annual St. John’s lutefisk supper last October he helped get coffee, milk and water ready for the waiters and waitresses and you bet he is a lutefisk eater.    
When Roger turned 100 his family members helped put on a big birthday celebration in the fellowship hall at St. John’s to a large crowd of friends and relatives. He spent a lot of time that day greeting people as they came to the gathering and even did a little dancing!
Roger has seen a lot of change during his 102 years, and we hope he can continue to enjoy many more years of happiness!