Finding his calling

Battle Lake man, originally reluctant, has called square dances for nearly 50 years

By Carol Stender

Larry Johansen of Battle Lake loves dancing, but he wasn’t keen on the square dance lessons his wife, Pat, scheduled for them.

Larry and Pat Johansen. Larry began dating Pat when he was 15. They were regulars at the “Dane Hall” and have been dancing ever since. Contributed photo

In fact, he thought it was dumb.

“But I went anyways,” Larry said. “And I did have fun.”

Eventually, he became a square dance caller speaking or singing square dance directions. And he’s logged up quite a career calling for almost 50 years. Larry has also started several square dance clubs including ones at Battle Lake, Underwood, Parkers Prairie, Millerville, Brainerd, Wadena, and Alexandria, to name a few.

And he continues to call. He is now 83 and a resident at the Battle Lake Good Samaritan where he calls square dances several times a month at the home.

Little can stop this man when it comes to square dances including health issues. He has had a quadruple by-pass heart surgery, four heart attacks, 17 stints, a pacemaker and, two years ago, heart surgery. Today LVAD batteries keep him alive and calling.

He’s had a stroke and says his speech isn’t perfect, but when it comes to calling a dance, he has no problem giving the dance directions.

It all started with Pat. The two of them had been asked to serve on the Underwood Centennial Square Dance committee in 1976.

“She thought we should learn,” he said. “I didn’t.”

He went reluctantly and soon became intrigued by everything about the square dance. There were eight couples in a “square” with up to 20 squares at a dance. The caller would give directions on how the dancers would move around their “square” with the dancers ending at “home” or the spot where they’d started the dance number.

The couples didn’t just walk about the square during the dance, they moved in a counterclockwise manner following “calls” of “do-si-do” and “allemande left.”

When the couple got home, Larry would often go to their children’s toys and put pieces in a square. He would move them about as if they were dancers at a square dance.

Often he would call Lee Newton of Fergus Falls who called the square dance lessons they were taking. Larry had questions on the directions Larry gave to get the dancers “home.”

When they went to one dance, Lee called to Larry saying, “You got this one.”

In other words, Larry got to call his first square dance.

That was the start of his years calling the dance.

When it comes to dancing, Larry is a natural and he loves dancing. He started when he was five, he said.

The Dane Prairie Town Hall was the Saturday meeting place where old time dances took place. His sisters, Marilyn and Janice, and an aunt were often his dance partners. His brothers, Basal, Merle, and Vernon, didn’t have his dance skills, Larry said.

When he was 15, Larry began dating Pat and the two were regulars at the “Dane Hall.”

The two wed when Larry turned 18 and, even though they moved to the Twin Cities, they continued to attend dances. Larry loved waltzes and polkas, he said.

Larry Johansen “calling” a square dance at Dane Prairie Town Hall.  Contributed photo

They lived in the Twin Cities for 11 years before moving “back home” to Underwood. They wanted to raise their four children, two boys and twin girls, in the area where they had grown up, he said. Their family also includes 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

The couple farmed and milked cows during the 1980s which was a tough time for farming, Larry said. He continued his work as a mechanic and continued to call for square dances.

Larry even took a turn at acting, which he calls “the most fun I had calling.”

Another square dance caller was rehearsing with the local production of “Oklahoma” and contacted Larry to take part in a rehearsal the other couldn’t attend. Larry did, and ended up with the part.

“I had fun,” he said. “That was the best time in all my years of calling.”

One night, one of his brothers brought their parents to one of the performances. It was a special night, he said. Sadly, his father passed away two days later.

Each of his kids square danced and they visit with their parents often. Their sons also became mechanics.

“They will say, ‘Dad, I remember when you taught me this,’” he said.

He carries his cell phone with him. Larry calls Pat, who lives in their South Turtle Lake home, several times a day to touch base. Although she may not remember some things, Pat immediately knows Larry’s voice.

Set next to his chair is a boom box with a recording of Larry calling a square dance. He smiles listening to it as he recalls the Saturday nights he spent at square dances and the number of dancers who’ve become friends.

Larry and Pat have 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.