photo by: Warren Scott
Dr. Michael Pipo will be hanging up his coat later this month after operating a dental practice in Follansbee for nearly 40 years.
Later this month, Dr. Michael Pipo will be closing his dental practice after serving area residents of all ages for nearly 40 years.
And as a goodwill gesture to the community and a nod to his own military background, Pipo is donating his office at 970 Main St. to his neighbors at American Legion Post 45. The post’s headquarters has been closed since part of its roof collapsed during a severe storm on April 29.
Asked what led to his offer, he replied, “For one thing, they need it.”
Pipo said representatives of the post, learning of his planned retirement, offered to buy his office.
But instead of accepting money for his building, he suggested they apply their funds to altering it to suit their needs.
Pipo launched his long career in dentistry in the military. A Steubenville native and 1976 graduate of Catholic Central High School, he pre-enlisted in the Air Force while in high school.
He had been inspired to pursue dentistry by his own dentist, Dr. Richard Rasor, and saw an opportunity to further that goal by serving in a dental office at Rickenbacker Air Force Base in Columbus.
After enrolling in WVU’s dental school in 1986, he was approached about serving as a dental officer in the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 130th Tactical Airlift Group at Yeager International Airport near Charleston.
“Everything just fell into place,” said Pipo, who continued to serve until 2003, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He noted he had been called up to serve in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. But instead of being sent to the Middle East, he was assigned to replace active duty personnel who were deployed from Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, D.C., said Pipo.
After finishing dental school and while serving in the Air National Guard, he began working as a dentist.
He worked initially at a dental clinic at a St. Clairsville department store.
“When you get out of college, you’ve got to find a way to pay off your loans,” noted Pipo.
After obtaining a loan for the equipment from a local bank, he opened an office in the former Ben Franklin Store on Follansbee’s Main Street in 1986. Later he built his present office in a vacant lot farther north on Main that ironically, he bought from the Follansbee American Legion.
The veteran dentist confirmed he has seen generations of patients and seen many changes in his field through the years.
“I see the grandchildren of my first customers. I’ve seen more than 15,000 people,” said Pipo.
Pipo said he has mixed feelings about retiring, but at age 67, “I just felt it was time.”
Asked how he will spend his retirement, Pipo noted he looks after his mother, who is 80.
“‘l’ll probably continue with the American Bando Association,” he added, explaining he became interested in the Burmese martial art while in high school.
“I’m not nearly as active in it as I used to be, but I’ll probably become more involved with it now,” he said.