Randy rides again: Wagon-train evangelist preaches gospel in Chipley

CHIPLEY – The people of Chipley were treated to a unique sight Monday as a man, two dogs and four mules traveled west with the message of the Gospel on the canvas sides of the wagon.

Randy Boehmer began his latest trip on April 1 last year and will head west before turning north in a few weeks. In the process Boehmer will preach the Gospel to anyone that will listen.

Family tragedies changed Boehmer’s priorities in the 1990s. He obtained his first mules (two, along with a horse) and a covered wagon in 1990, and the Indiana eventually moved to Arizona where he learned shoeing and other skills needed to run a wagon. He said he was called to the road and soon headed out.

“Horses and mules eat out of ditches,” Boehmer said as he prepared Frank, Jesse, Dick and Jack to resume their journey. “The biggest thing is to find water every day. That’s the life for me.

“I have running water. I just run out to the barrel and get it.”

Boehmer originally asked God for two of the big Belgian draft mules, but ended up with four. He also recruited his dogs, Shep and Proverb, to accompany him on his journey. He has a main wagon and a feed wagon with food for the mules and dogs. He gathers wood for his wood stove on the road or has some provided. The only other need is propane for the cook stove.

“God is good at keeping me supplied,” he said. The four mules weight a combined 5,600 pounds and are six to 12 years old. The wagons are old farm wagons that Boehmer rebuilt last winter in Sylacauga, AL during a stopover.

“It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it,” Boehmer said with a grin as he headed back to the road.