“My wife used to say that the only hobby I knew was work."”

LeRoy Peterson

LeRoy Peterson isn’t quite sure if he has served on the Clifton Town Board for 50 years or 52 years.

“I can’t remember if I started in 1971 or 1973,” he says thoughtfully, sitting at the table in the Clifton Town Hall, where he has spent countless hours over the past five decades discussing everything from building permits and new subdivisions, to snow removal. All but the first four years on the board (when he served as supervisor number 2) have been as chairman. Now, at 96, he walks with a cane. He still drives, but he says it’s getting increasingly difficult for him to get around. “I don’t like to drive in the dark anymore, and if it’s icy, I’m afraid to get out of the car.” It’s time, he says, to step down.

Peterson has spent his entire life in Clifton. He was born three miles from the Clifton Town Hall and moved to the 2,500-acre farm – where he still lives today – when he was 10. He raised his six children there with his wife, Mary Alice, who died in 2009. His brood has expanded to include 15 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. One of his sons and several of his grandchildren now handle most of the farm operations – various crops and 300 dairy cows. He also rents out some of his farmland.

In addition to farming, Peterson worked as a River Falls mail carrier for 17 years, and then as a trucker.

“I’m not sure why I quit my job with the post office,” he says. “As a truck driver, I was still behind the wheel, but it was a lot harder work.”

The only time he worked outside of the Clifton/River Falls area was after high school when he spent four winters working at a packing house in the Twin Cities.

“It was dark when I got there in the morning, and it was dark when I left. I decided I didn’t want to spend my life in that dark, gloomy place,” he recalled.

Peterson says that, for the most part, the types of board issues he’s handled over the years have not changed. Roads will always need to be repaired, and trees will continually need to be trimmed. He’s overseen the approval of several new subdivisions and has watched as more people from other places –especially Minnesota – have moved into the area.

“They’ve discovered what a nice place this is to live in,” he says.

Peterson says that maintaining the township’s roads have been one of his biggest priorities and his biggest concern, but they are also a source of pride.

“The roads are in pretty good shape,” he says. Yet, he is perhaps most proud of the fact that, during his tenure as chairman, the township has never had to borrow any money. “Some people call me a tightwad,” he says, chuckling.

In addition to serving on the Clifton Township Board, Peterson also served 20 years on the Pierce County Board. It was there that he learned the importance of sticking to an agenda. “Chairman Jeff Holst – he didn’t screw around,” says Peterson. “Some of his meetings were 15 or 30 minutes long.”

He says that, through the years, he always tried to get through Clifton Township Board meetings in about an hour.

Peterson admits that serving as board chairman hasn’t always been fun. He had to learn how to accept decisions that he didn’t necessarily agree with.

“You win some, you lose some,” he says.

He also developed a tough skin when dealing with disgruntled residents.

“People aren’t always very nice, but you can’t let it bother you,” he says. “I learned to let it go in one ear and out the other.” He recounts a story of an individual who called him, extremely upset about a snow plowing issue. “After he screamed at me for a while, I told him he was wasting his time, because I don’t hear so well.”

Now, for the first time in half a century, Peterson will not be leading the township board, as he hands over the leadership reins to Joe Rohl, who has served on the Clifton Township Board for 16 years, as town clerk from 2000-2005, and as supervisor number 2 since 2012. 

Rohl, 53, says that he’s known Peterson his entire life. In fact, Peterson has been serving as board chairman for most of his life.

“My mom was the town clerk in the 70s, and I remember going over to LeRoy’s farmhouse as a little kid,” says Rohl.

He praises Peterson, who he says is a “hardworking, intelligent man, who cares deeply about people and his community.”

Rohl says that he believes that Peterson’s biggest accomplishment as board chairman was bringing the board together in 1998 to create the township’s first comprehensive plan. This, he says, was very challenging, because there are so many different points of view regarding zoning and land use. While the plan has been updated twice, it has stood the test of time and is still being used today.

“LeRoy understands that it’s best not to rush into decisions – to take time to make sure you understand all of the factors involved with decision-making. He’s a very effective leader,” says Rohl.

During his final days as board chairman, Peterson checked off the few remaining items on his to-do list – making certain that the blacktopping was completed at the new Hidden Valley development and arranging to have the entrance road there widened. “I just wanted to make sure these things got done.” On a recent Saturday, he took a drive through the township with his fellow board members, pointing out all of the roads. “I don’t think anyone else knew where all the roads were,” he says. “I know the roads better than anyone. Way better.”

And what will he do with his new-found free time? 

“My wife used to say that the only hobby I knew was work,” he says.

Up until a couple years ago, Peterson still fished in the trout stream that runs through his backyard.

“I had to give that up – I was worried I’d slip on a rock and drown. You get your boots full of water, and it’s hard to get up.”

He says he will continue to handle the books for his trucking company. “I wanted to quit that a few years ago, but my grandson said ‘who’s gonna do it then?”

When asked to what he attributes his longevity on the board, Peterson says “Nobody else wanted to do it.” And his secret for keeping so active? “I think I was just born this way. I can’t sit still for very long.”