"Pokey Pete" (Ernest Petersen) dies in Cedar Falls

(decorahnews.com file photo)

92-year-old Ernest Petersen of Cedar Falls--best known as "Pokey Pete"--died Sunday at Stanard Family Assisted Living of Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls..

A memorial gathering will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Friday, December 29th, at Richardson Funeral Service in Cedar Falls.

Petersen entertained children for 21 years as "Pokey Pete," giving them rides in his homemade train.  He visited hundreds of communities during that time.  But when he decided to retire in 1989, there was only one community he thought of to give away the train--Decorah.

When he returned to Decorah in 2014, decorahnews.com met with him and talked about his legacy: http://www.decorahnews.com/archived-stories/2014/07/8674.html and http://www.decorahnews.com/archived-stories/2014/07/8673.html