At the age of six years old, Dale’s father died, leaving his mother to care for six children. A year later, Dale & his twin brother Dean were enrolled in Milton Hershey School, then a school for orphan boys. At the school, the boys lived in student homes under the care of “houseparents” who took on the role of parents to the boys. Dale credits loving houseparents and teachers for not only telling him about God, but for showing him the love of God by living out their Christian faith in care and concern for him and the other boys.

After MHS, Dale received his B.S. in Education (Library Science) from Millersville University in 1981 and subsequent Associates in Arts degree from Harrisburg Area Community College in 1984. Shortly thereafter, Dale first heard of George MacDonald when a friend loaned him a copy of Elizabeth Yates’ edited version of MacDonald’s Sir Gibbie. Dale soon became a “MacDonald addict”.

In 1987, Dale moved south to work with Helps International Ministries, a non-profit mission agency providing practical “helps” to other Christian missions and ministries. In 1993 HIM relocated their offices to Asheville, North Carolina, and Dale moved along with them. Shortly after moving, Dale read in one of the George MacDonald biographies that Ronald (George’s son) had actually lived here in Asheville in the late 1880’s-early 90’s where he had been headmaster of a local boarding school. Thus began what would end up being a fifteen year quest to uncover Ronald’s story.

Dale and his wife Susan live in a late 1920’s bungalow in Asheville, NC along with his mother-in-law and a finicky female cat named Mattie.