Man celebrating 105th birthday remembers when jobs paid $1 a day

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR/Gray News) – Ray Magstadt celebrated his 105th birthday Thursday and said he’s seen it all.

Born on Aug. 17, 1918, in Tripp, South Dakota, Magstadt’s life has been carefully documented in photographs.

There are pictures of his dad, who served in the Army during WWI. Magstadt was born while his dad was serving in France.

“I was 9 months old when he got back,” Magstadt said.

He grew up in the Great Depression and remembers searching for work.

“You couldn’t find any jobs at that time. They were paying $1 a day, maybe,” he recalled.

He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939 doing different kinds of work. Magstadt was assigned to work at Wind Cave in the Black Hills.

“We made blocks, rock blocks for steps to get into the cave. We dug rocks from the fields,” Magstadt said.

He was drafted into the Army in WWII, but an illness kept him from serving overseas. Instead, he worked stateside at a parachute camp in North Carolina.

After the war, he worked in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore before returning to South Dakota where he took a job as an accountant for the Bureau of Reclamation.

He was transferred to Bismarck in the 1950s and has remained there since.

“When I was younger, I thought I’d never see the year 2000,” Magstadt said, laughing, adding that he’s not sure why he’s lived so long.

He said at his age, every day is a gift – a gift he’s happy to receive.

Copyright 2023 KFYR via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.