Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity has new look

Intermountain Catholic

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Abbot David Altman is proud of the new wood floor that updates the abbey's retreat area. The floor extends from the dining room into the kitchen.

HUNTSVILLE — In February, the weight of snow caused the chicken coop-turned storage for farm equipment to collapse, trapping the farm equipment inside and endangering the electrical house outside.

"It happened in the dark of night, so no one heard it," said Abbot David Altman. "But when we saw it we knew it was more than we could clean up."

Brother Bonaventure devised a plan of action, Fr. David said. He called a volunteer organization and more than 113 showed up in early June. They left little sign of the chicken coop and rescued the farm machinery.

"We had Catholic and Mormon volunteers from all over the valley," said Abbot David. "It was really a tremendous self sacrifice in response to people’s needs.

"We burned everything that could be burned under the watchful eye of the fire department, then we sold the scrap metal and used that money to repair some of the farm machinery that was damaged in the collapse.

The farm machinery belongs to Tracy Woolsey, who rents the farmland from the Trappist monastery.

The electrical houses that provide electricity to the abbey were of some concern. They were located directly beside the chicken coop, but by the time the big clean up came, electricians had transferred power from one house to another, and there was no danger of losing electrical power.

"One hundred and 13 people signed up to help us clean up, and they have become our prayer list," Abbot David said.

Unrelated to the chicken coop collapse are the new face and the new floor of the monastery. The Quonset huts have been newly covered with thick layers of vinyl, meant to preserve the buildings and keep the buildings warm in wintertime.

"We also hope the snow will just slide down the vinyl walls instead of staying on the roofs. The only building we have left to cover is the chapel."

The kitchen and dining room in the guest house where retreats are held also have new wood flooring.

With new flooring inside and new vinyl outside, the Monastery is ready to welcome new retreatants.