Interlude in Umbarger
Subtitle: Italian POWs and a Texas church
By: Donald Mace Williams.
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Published: 1992
Place of publication: Lubbock, Tex., USA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 191
Subjects: Di Bello, Franco.; St. Mary's Church (Umbarger, Tex.); World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, American.; Prisoners of war -- Italy -- Biography.; Prisoners of war -- United States -- Biography.; Hereford Military Reservation and Reception Center (Tex.) -- History.; Hereford (Tex.) -- History.; Umbarger (Tex.) -- History.
Description: Interned in a camp in the Texas panhandle, more than 3,000 Italian POWs spent the last years of World War II an ocean away from their family and friends. A handful of men in camp were artists, and it was this small group of prisoners who struck a deal with the priest of a nearby Catholic church. In exchange for a home-cooked meal each noon, the artists agreed to decorate the plain church with murals and carvings. This compassionate story of courage and kindliness is as enduring as the artwork that still graces the walls of a modest Catholic church in a tiny Texas town.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-188).