Marven and LaVona Getzlaff stand in their Minot home with a cake celebrating Marven’s 94th birthday.

Longtime Minot resident Marven Getzlaff celebrated his 94th birthday on Jan. 5.

Getzlaff was raised in Willow City before moving to Minot on May 15, 1945.

Shortly after moving, he enlisted in the Army.

“I volunteered because at that time they were drafting for the Korean War. I went overseas to Germany in 1948 and spent about four and a half years there before coming back,” Getzlaff said.

After coming back to the states, Getzlaff was stationed in Virginia and taught basic training to new recruits. He then decided to move back to North Dakota.

“I looked for jobs that were available, I was pretty good at carpentry so I did that for a year, then got hired by the Minot Police Department in 1955, where I stayed for 35 years,” Getzlaff said. “After retiring, I got married and the rest is history.” He and his wife, LaVona, have two children.

Getzlaff said Minot was quiet when he first came here in 1945.

“Things have gotten progressively more interesting. The longer I’ve stayed, the more the city has grown. I’ve seen a lot of things. I lived through two floods, which brought a lot of different challenges. We had to move out of our house once during one of them,” Getzlaff said.

“Life is a challenge, whether you are working a job or sitting in your rocking chair. That’s all I do nowadays,” he said.

Getzlaff used to do a lot of work at the church, but his ability to help out has lessened these days.

“It has been a busy life and I don’t count the days. I’m just glad the Lord gives me another day or another year and I make the best of it,” he said.