Timmons, 66, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa when he was 22. He taught English to and became a special adviser to the President of Niger and then spent 10 years in the Philippines as an educational missionary. Following that, he became a development missionary for 15 years in Thailand and was awarded a royal decoration from the king of Thailand for his child welfare programs. It was there he became a CIA operative for awhile. His book "Never Push an Elephant" is based on his time in Thailand, and because of it, Timmons laughed that he may never be able to return. Timmons said he had never written before he began writing his books two years ago; and in fact, he had failed most of his college English classes. "I just pretend for hours on end, and it works. The words flow, and when I go back a week later and look at what I've written, I think, 'Where did this come from?'" he said Timmons shared some adventures in other countries with wife Dr. Rachel Timmons, who is a professor at Cal Baptist, along with daughter Dr. Amy Stumph, whose twin sister is Dr. Sarah Pate, a psychologist with the Corona-Norco Unified School District. The couple adopted another set of twin girls while in the Philippines, Elizabeth Lauda, a chemist, and Cynthia Harris, a teacher. The couple has nine grandchildren. With so many teachers and professors in his family, Timmons joked that, "We all sit around professing to each other."
Niger RPCV William V. Timmons writes "Becker's Farm," about a German POW on a Nebraska farm
Movie growing on 'Becker's Farm'
LA SIERRA: An ex-Cal Baptist professor who was a missionary and a CIA operative is now a writer.
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10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, March 16, 2010
By NITA HILTNER
Special to the Press-Enteprise
It's doesn't happen often that the first book a writer publishes gets picked up for a movie, but that is just what happened to La Sierra resident and former California Baptist University adjunct art professor, William V. Timmons.
His book "Becker's Farm," about a German POW on a Nebraska farm, is in pre-production for a network presentation to be directed by Mark Roemmich, according to the production company, Noble House Entertainment.
Officials there say it is in negotiations with actors Ed Lauter, Kathleen Quinlan, and Sean Patrick Flaneryfor the movie. The idea for the book came from Timmons' contact with farm families and their interaction with some of the 381,000 German prisoners of war incarcerated in the United States during WWII. Many of these POWs were allowed to work on local farms due to the shortage of Americans, who were fighting in Europe. Also, 33,000 Italian POWs were held in the United States at that time.
Timmons said he stumbled upon the information about the high number of German POWs brought to the states, as his in-laws were one of the families that used them.
"I don't know why it's not in the history books," said Timmons. "The farmers in western Nebraska were mostly German Lutheran, who spoke German, and the prisoners of war were not hostile. They got along well with the American families, and would come back for reunions for years after the war."
Timmons said that only a small percentage of the POWs belonged to the Nazi party, and for the most part, there were no problems with the prisoners. He said that although an American soldier would accompany the POWs to the farms, the soldiers would spend time napping or having coffee with the farm wife while the prisoners worked. The prisoners would be treated to Sunday dinner, also. Out of the 381,000 German POWs, only seven were unaccounted for after the war. Timmons book is about what might have happened to one of those unaccounted for.
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Kristin Vaughan / Special to The Press-Enterprise
William V. Timmons' book "Becker's Farm," is in pre-production for a network movie presentation.
"I had dozens of phone calls after the book came out last year. One was from a widow of a German POW, who was choked up talking about how her husband was adopted by the farm community and treated well," said Timmons.
Timmons, 66, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa when he was 22. He taught English to and became a special adviser to the President of Niger and then spent 10 years in the Philippines as an educational missionary. Following that, he became a development missionary for 15 years in Thailand and was awarded a royal decoration from the king of Thailand for his child welfare programs.
It was there he became a CIA operative for awhile. His book "Never Push an Elephant" is based on his time in Thailand, and because of it, Timmons laughed that he may never be able to return.
Timmons said he had never written before he began writing his books two years ago; and in fact, he had failed most of his college English classes.
"I just pretend for hours on end, and it works. The words flow, and when I go back a week later and look at what I've written, I think, 'Where did this come from?'" he said
Timmons shared some adventures in other countries with wife Dr. Rachel Timmons, who is a professor at Cal Baptist, along with daughter Dr. Amy Stumph, whose twin sister is Dr. Sarah Pate, a psychologist with the Corona-Norco Unified School District. The couple adopted another set of twin girls while in the Philippines, Elizabeth Lauda, a chemist, and Cynthia Harris, a teacher. The couple has nine grandchildren.
With so many teachers and professors in his family, Timmons joked that, "We all sit around professing to each other."
He accompanied daughter Sarah Pate to Columbia when she adopted three children and got an idea for another book about Nazis in South America, which is halfway written. He said he liked to write spiritual books, ones that have old-fashioned heroes with good triumphing over evil in the end.
"I'm an old Eagle Scout, and I think today that's the theme that's missing in books today -- good begets good," he said.
Reach Nita Hiltner: nhiltner1@sbcglobal.net
inland people
William V. Timmons
Researched book about German POWs which now could become a movie.
AGE: 66
RESIDENCE: Riverside
NOTABLE: Former Cal Baptist University adjunct art professor.
