Dr. Mark Shull, D.D.S., opened his dental practice in Ada 52 years ago and continues to work fulltime.

Why did you select Ada for your practice?
I grew up in a small town, Hicksville, so looked for a small college town. Ada has been a wonderful town for me and my family. My wife Julie and I have three grown children who continue to live in Ohio. Our daughter Lorraine lives in Bowling Green while Sherry and Stephanie live in Columbus. Ada has been a great place to raise a family. Julie taught kindergarten for 30 years.

Where did you learn dentistry?
I graduated from Capital, then OSU dentistry, and served in the Army for four years before opening my practice here.

What changes have you seen in the dental profession over the past half century?
There have been great improvements in anesthetics, composites used for fillings, hand pieces (drills), chairs, and the time it takes to complete a job.

How many patients have you seen over the years.
Oh, I have no idea. I have many second and third generation patients.

Where is your office located?
The brick building on South Main was built for Dr. Bill Shambarger and me in 1969. Although we never combined our practices we were good friends from day one until his passing. After many years in the same profession in the same office, I continue to work four days a week, traveling less than a mile to work from my home on South Park Drive.

Since you live across from the stadium, I imagine you've seen a lot of football games.
No, the bleachers are in the way. I did climb on the roof one time, but learned you still can't see the game...but I can see the scoreboard.

Have you been active in the community?
Yes, I have been a member of Kiwanis Club for 52 years. I am the sausage cooker for the club's pancake day...that's cooking over 500 pounds of sausage. Our next pancake day is March 14. I received the Ada Distinguished Citizen of the Year award in 2002.

Your camper got a lot of use.
We took the camper on family vacations, but also got a lot of use hauling kids from St. Mark's Lutheran Church to camp and other activities, especially during the years when our daughters were growing up,

Does Dr. Shull have plans to retire? Definitely not, he says, because he enjoys what he does.    (Monty Siekerman)