By KALEY CONNER

kconner@dailynews.net

WaKEENEY -- Nov. 1 is a day Dr. Bill Benkelman always will remember.

It's the day he purchased his optometry practice, and 42 years later, it's the same day he opted to retire and turn his business over to somebody else.

"I've had families I've seen four generations of the family, and so that I miss," Benkelman said.

But on the flip side, he said it's liberating to answer a telephone call without having to worry if it's a medical emergency. He never had a hard time keeping busy, and after-hours work was steady, he said.

"But I guess if you're the only optometrist in a small town, you're always on call," Benkelman said with a chuckle.

Dr. Heather Robben, who also works part-time in Hays with Dr. Dan Schmidt, took over the practice after working at the clinic since 2006.

While retirement was bittersweet, Benkelman said he's looking forward to the leisure time. An avid outdoorsman, retirement simply means more time to go fishing, he said with a laugh.

He and a group of friends have made it a point during the years to fish every Thursday, weather permitting.

"But sometimes you just have to go and not worry about the weather," he said.

Needless to say, Benkelman has seen many changes in the field during the last four decades. He began practice before the invention of soft contact lenses and before eye doctors could treat glaucoma and prescribe medication.

A native of McDonald, Benkelman was looking to get closer to home after finishing optometry school in Memphis. He found himself in WaKeeney and bought the practice at 308 N. Sixth from Dr. J.C.R. McGinness a short time later.

Two years after that, he and his wife, Susan, also purchased the doctor's former home and have been there ever since.

"I always walked to work," Benkelman said. "Half a block."

But even in retirement, he's not looking to completely give up his practice of medicine. He and his wife have gone on 10 medical mission trips with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, and plan to continue these efforts, he said.

"I've enjoyed practicing," he said. "It's been a good thing."