Humboldt was an attractive location to Bill Prokopishin when he started his Humboldt based dental practice in September 1967.
Fifty years later, Prokopishin is saying goodbye to Humboldt and saying hello to retirement at the age of 81.
Prokopishin does believe that he is leaving the Humboldt Dental Clinic in good hands with Dr. Sok Sun and Dr. Atul Dhir buying the Clinic around five years ago, and a third dentist who was hired this month.
Even though the business is in good hands, Prokopishin says it is time to hang up the skates.
“I still didn’t want to go,” says Prokopishin, “but my age is now against me a bit. How long can I go?”
Dentists were in great demand when Prokopishin started.
There was no such things as dental hygienists or other additional staff so during that time Prokopishin says he had to do it all.
Equipment and practices have changed over the years and Prokopishin has kept up with the business with continual training being mandatory for dentists.
The Town of Foam Lake went to great lengths to make sure they had a dentist in 1965.
Prokopishin says they paid for his practice, house, and car in order to bring him into the community.
However, Humboldt had always been his ideal location considering its size and proximity to Saskatoon. When Dr. Kerby decided to sell his practice in 1967, Prokopishin took advantage of the opportunity.
While the town has become a city while Prokopishin was practicing, it is still a nice place to live.
“It was always an attractive town. People were nice and it was a centre for a lot of my patients to come from. I’ve served an area from Kelvington to Wakaw to Watrous to Foam Lake. Because we were a bigger centre they all came here.”
Not many businesses the size of Prokopishin has seen the success that he has.
So what is the key to business success?
“First of all you have to love the people,” advises Prokopishin.
“You have to love the work you do and attract those (people). A lot of people stayed with me for 50 some years and many of them are now in their 90s and still come to see me.”
Missing his patients and the community is going to be hard, especially since Prokopishin has now moved to Saskatoon.
“I hate to leave it but there comes a time when you want to.”
After 53 years, Prokopishin says he will now have to learn to take it easy and not have appointments.
“They started at 8 o’clock and you always had a waiting room full and always had appointments you had to make. I won’t have no more appointments,” he laughs.
Since his move to Saskatoon and his retirement, Prokopishin says he will no longer have to worry about driving Saskatchewan highways either.
However, there will be plenty to keep Prokopishin busy over his retirement with hopefully some upcoming travel plans to Victoria and his cabin as well as more time with his wife of 57 years.
