We then were sent to Naples, Italy, with another missionary couple, Carl and Joanne Ridgeway. Back then, Naples was struggling to recover from the devastation of the war. It was difficult to find a house, so for a few months, we lived in a tiny two-room apartment.

I grew up hearing my parents speaking the Neapolitan dialect, so my Italian​—despite the American accent—​was understandable enough. Fern had difficulties with the language. But I have to say that she caught up with me and even overtook me.

At first, the only interested people we found in Naples were a family of four. They sold contraband cigarettes. Each workday, one member of that family, Teresa, underwent an amazing change. In the morning, with cigarettes stuffed in the many pockets of her skirt, she looked fat. By evening, she looked as skinny as a beanpole. The truth totally transformed this family. Eventually, 16 members of the family became Witnesses. Now there are almost 3,700 Witnesses in the city of Naples.

Opposition to Our Work

After we had been in Naples only nine months, the authorities forced the four of us to leave the city.

1952

In Turin and Naples with other missionaries