It didn’t begin to hit Todd Peterson that he was working his last shift until he began to turn in items.
His winter coat. His second set of gear.
“As I walk around and do stuff like that, it’s like holy cow, when I walk out of here (Wednesday). I mean, I’ve been doing this half my life.”
Those actions in his first few hours to start his shift Tuesday morning began the realization that it was, in fact, Peterson’s last day after 30 years with the Galesburg Fire Department. The battalion Chief sat down with The Register-Mail late Tuesday morning to talk about his career, before the rest of the day got underway.
There was a planned ice cream and cake social at the Central Fire Station Tuesday afternoon, among probably other lesser known signs of goodbye such as people swinging by the station to see Peterson off.