Q: How do I set a default font?

Michigan 1958,

There are some tips in: Default font in Pages, and How to change default font on Pages?

Also read: http://macintoshhowto.com/software/how-to-change-the-default-font-style-in-pages .html

This can be found in Pages > settings. Or under format > font.

Create a new Pages document. Click in each of the Header and Footer, and change font to your desired default font.

Select the beginning of your blank body text, and change the default Helvetica to your default font attributes.

File menu : Save As Template… and give it a meaningful name (e.g. Baskerville_blank) that corresponds to the default font name. When you create a future document, use this template located in the My Templates area of the Pages v5 Templates chooser.