Obituaries: C. H. "Dad" Boher, 1950, Winn Parish, LA
Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483
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From: April 13, 1950 Winn Parish Enterprise

C. H. "Dad" Boher, 100 Years Old, Buried Tuesday

C. H. "Dad" Boher, Winn Parish's oldest citizen, was buried in the Winnfield
Cemetery Tuesday, April 11, 1950.

Dad Boher was 100 years old last March 22.  He was born March 22, 1850 in
Shippingsburg, Pa., near Gettysburg.  He came to Winnfield in 1912 and was in
the shoe repair business for about 30 years.  His repair shop, known as Dad's
Shoe Shop, was in the building now housing Melton's Shoe Shop, on Main Street
in Winnfield, and he made his home in the back of that building after
retiring.

Dad, the youngest member of his family, had seen no relatives for 60 years. 
It is believed that he had no survivors.  He had united with the Methodist
Church in Pennsylvania at the age of 17.

After two weeks in a local hospital, Dad was taken to the home of L. H.
Melton, on the Atlanta Road, where he died last Monday.

Rev. Alwin Stokes officiated at the funeral services which were conducted
under direction of Southern Funeral Home.

Acting as pallbearers were Ernest Melton, W. E. Traylor, Dick Porter, Luther
Melton, L. D. Hofmann, and Max Thieme.

(C. H. "Dad" Boher was one of the many intriguing characters Winnfield and
Winn Parish has been blessed with during its history.  This man got off a
train in Winnfield around 1912, a hobo, and asked the then mayor for the price
of a meal.  The mayor gave him a stern lecture about being a "bum" so "Dad"
simply walked off.  Max Thieme heard the conversation and bought the man
breakfast.  The more "Dad" thought about it, the less he liked the attitude
of Winnfield's mayor so he looked the mayor up and proceeded to explain that a
"bum" was somebody who did not intend to work or try and better himself.  On
the other hand, "Dad" explained that a "hobo" was one of honorable intentions,
who was down on their luck, and was willing to work in exchange for the
necessities of life.  Before it was over, "Dad" was hired by and worked for
the City of Winnfield for several years before he eventually opened his own
shoe repairs and sales shop on Main Street, Winnfield.  The most intriguing
part about this man's life was his trip at an early age to the Gettysburg
Battlefield.  Boher's uncle was a Union soldier.  Boher told Mr. Harley
Bozeman that on the day of the Battle of Gettysburg, he and his family, living
several miles away, could hear the roar of cannons and guns.  The family
learned the day afterward that his uncle had been killed at the battle so
"Dad" and his brother went to Gettysburg to claim his uncle's remains and
return him home for proper burial.  His description to Mr. Bozeman of what
the Gettysburg Battlefield was like the day after was no doubt one interesting
story.)