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Closing up shop

By CAITLIN SULLIVAN/Correspondent

Sherman “Bubby” Pippin’s been working on cars a long time.
At 8 years old, back when people drove tires until they were wore through, he’d fix flats for a dollar a piece.
One summer he made $300, enough to buy himself a cow.
He began working full-time with his dad at Pippin’s Garage in Mendota since he graduated high school.
Now, at almost 50 years old and 31 years in the business, Pippin’s retiring.
“All I’ve ever done is work on cars,” he said, leaning over the open hood of a blue Honda.
His parents, Bea and Fred Pippin, built this garage and opened shop in 1955.
“Mom mixed the cement and daddy laid block,” he said.
Pippin fixes everything from lawn mowers to hair dryers. He got that from this dad.
“Dad could make anything; he was a lot better than me,” Pippin said. “He made pieces for farmers when they couldn’t afford to buy the equipment at the store.”
Outside in the sunshine, a man pulls a lawn mower up to the shop’s door. Pippin wipes his greasy hands on the rag in his back pocket. He turns the jammed carburetor over in his hands and then cleans it out.
Customers come from Saltville and Marion, North Carolina and Johnson City. One man from Nashville drops his car off at Pippin’s Garage every time he visits his brother in the area.
“My customers is what kept this little country shop,” Pippin said.
He says he hates leaving his customers. He’s says he’s still not sure what he’ll do when people ask for help with their cars.
“I don’t know, it’s going to be hard. My biggest problem is that I can’t say no.”
For the past 31 years Pippin’s worked until 8:30 or 9:30 at night, missing maybe five to 10 days the whole time, he said.
Pippin and his wife, Susan, have been planning this retirement for 10 years. When he turned 50 he was going to shut the doors. He’s thinking about maybe getting into plumbing, but mostly he’s just looking forward to not working when he’s sick or just doesn’t feel like it.
The phone rings. A farmer in Scott County is stuck with a tore up tractor. Pippin hops in his green pickup and is off.
He says retiring is just a hard thing.
“There’s no easy way to do this, it wouldn’t be easy at 62 either,” he said.
Although he’s now closing up shop, he said he’s not getting rid of any tools.
“I can’t see missing (this work) but I’m liable to.”