Retiree Writes $10K Check To Thank California For 1964 Unemployment Benefits

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A South Carolina retiree is doing his part to help California close its massive budget deficit.

More than four decades after Dennis Ferguson received unemployment benefits from the state, he wrote a $10,000 check to the treasury to pay back the money, plus interest.

Ferguson says he collected about $1,100 for about four months in 1964 after he was laid off from Douglas Aircraft in Southern California, where he had worked as an engineer. He says the benefits helped him go back to school to study computer programming and embark on a new career.

In the memo line of the check, dated Nov. 23, the retiree wrote "REPAYMENT FOR WHAT CALIF. DID FOR ME!"

Officials say Ferguson didn't designate a specific recipient, so the money will go toward public schools as required by state law.

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