Retirees making covered wagon trek

Posted: Monday, April 12, 1999

GREEN, Ohio (AP) - Oral Champlin and Dick Snow are heading from Ohio to Texas 19th century style - by covered wagon. The two friends, retirees from Conneaut in the northeast corner of Ohio, are almost two weeks into a trek that will take them at least until July to complete. Their wives also are along for the ride, but not in the wagons. They're driving a mobile home and a van pulling a horse trailer, acting as self-described scouts and cooks, on the trip. Why travel the width of the country on rural highways at a speed of just 30 miles a day? For one thing, both Champlin and Snow enjoy wagon trains - Champlin, an ex-steel worker, is president of the Ashtabula County Wagon Train Association. And both men had a little time on their hands once Snow, a blacksmith and former Conrail employee, retired in February. So far, the trip is living up to their expectations. While they're enjoying the pace of the trip, Snow said the return home should be much quicker. The mules will be packed up and trucked back to Ohio, he said. "We figure if we make it out there, we'll thank the Lord we could do that and we'll just rent a truck or trailer and truck everything back to Conneaut," Snow said.