Umberto "Bert" Benedetti

Master’s degree in education, 1980
Retired from UM Printing Services in 1985

"When you love, it is not only pleasure. It is many other things." – Umberto Benedetti

How old are you? 
I am old. I never say that, but I am old. I don’t look at age, I look at who you are. It’s about the quality of the person. You can be 80 and 70 and so forth -- that does not matter. 

How old do you feel?
When I reach 100, I will feel old. [Editor’s note: Umberto was born in November 1911 in Vasto Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy. At the time of this interview, he was a month shy of 97 years old].

Hometown and country?
I was born in Italy. I came here in 1941, during the Second World War, and I was at Fort Missoula -- it was where they put all of the Italians.  [Umberto wrote the book "A Honeymoon Within the Campus of Fort Missoula, Montana, 1941-1943: A Pictorial Story of Life at Fort Missoula" about his experience in the internment camp.] I went into the Army in Korea, then I started in child education. I learned Italian, French, Spanish, German. Language is very difficult, any language. I learned English when I was 25 years old.  That is very hard. I don’t have a family; you see, in the Second World War my family disappeared.  

What courses did you teach?
I used to teach high-school Spanish in Miles City. I taught [grades] 10, 11, and 12. I taught Spanish, French and art. I write, I paint, all these things.

Strangest job?
In California I worked as a janitor. I painted during the day; at night I was a janitor.
 
Do you have a life philosophy?
No. There are many different kinds of philosophy. I am a democrat liberal, and I am an old-fashioned Catholic -- a Roman Catholic. Those two things I have. I am a very serious person. "To be or not to be." [Laughs.] I am a liberal -- that is my philosophy.

Is it difficult being both a liberal democrat and an "old-fashioned Catholic?"
Yes. [Laughs.] It is very difficult.    

As a liberal, have you ever been involved in a protest?
I was at the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley in California. It was the first one. Some of my friends went to jail. 

Why did you come to UM?
I found many, many, many good people here. When I was in Special Forces in Korea they would ask me to stay there. But I told them, "I am a cowboy from Montana," and I came back.

How long have you been at UM?
I remember when all of the classes were taught in Main Hall. There were only 500 students. [UM enrollment in 1941 was 1,509; however, by 1943 it had fallen to 692 because of the war.]

If you could change one thing about UM, what would it be?
We need a medical program. I talk to [UM President George] Dennison about a medical school. It is a very important thing to have.

Describe any research or special projects you’re working on.
I am working on writing another book.

What’s your favorite place on campus?
The campus is very beautiful. If you go to the second floor of Pantzer Hall, when you go there, there is a mural painting. The painting is the Kennedy tragedy. [Umberto painted it and donated it to the University.]

Favorite place in Missoula?
Nine Mile Road. There is a steak house. [Nine Mile House] Best steak in Montana.

Favorite aspect of Montana?
There is open space. It is not all buildings. [The title of Umberto’s sixth book is "I am Happy to Be in Montana."]

-- Interview by Kat Healy and photography by Shiloh Akari