Donald, who was born and grew up in Duluth in northern Minnesota, joined the Socialist Workers Party in the Twin Cities in the 1940s. For many years he worked as a janitor at Swedish Hospital where he was an active member of the Service Employees International Union.

Peterson first became acquainted with the SWP when he found a copy of the Militant newspaper on a bus seat in Duluth. He contacted the party's organization in the Twin Cities and Party leaders Vincent Dunne and Grace Carlson arranged to meet him at a public meeting sponsored by the NAACP where A. Philip Randolph, president of the AFL Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was speaking. Shortly afterward Donald moved to Minneapolis where he joined the party. In the early 1960s he was a member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in the Twin Cities.

As a party member he was noted for rarely missing and always being punctual to membership meetings, including national conventions and conferences, Militant Labor Forums, and union meetings. He regularly helped keep the Labor Bookstore, later called the Pathfinder Bookstore, open. In the early 1990s he served on a committee that helped maintain the library of the SWP branch.

A meeting to celebrate Don's contribution to the communist movement will be held Thurs., March 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the Pathfinder Bookstore, 1569 Sherburne Ave., in St. Paul. Messages can be E-mailed to TC6446325@cs.com or faxed to (651) 645-1674.  
 
 
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