The Sisters of Santa Rita Abbey
It’s 3 o’clock in the morning in Sonoita. While everyone else is sleeping, the sisters at the Santa Rita Abbey in Fish Canyon are already up and starting their busy day, first with morning vigils of prayers and scripture reading. After a quick breakfast and personal study, the time for Lauds begins with mass, reading and communion. By 8:30 they are ready to go to work.
This beautiful abbey, founded in 1972, is perched high on a hill within view of the Santa Rita Mountains. Giant oak trees and pines embrace the numerous buildings, offering a quiet and peaceful retreat for quiet contemplation.
The ten sisters who reside here are part of the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance, an order dating back a thousand years. This abbey is one of only four in the United States just for sisters. The other three are in California, Iowa and Massachusetts.
Each abbey must be self-supporting. In the beginning they sold hand-made crafts and paintings to “keep the peanut butter on the table,” says Sister Victoria. Since 1978 they have been making and selling “Cistercian Altar Breads.” These wafers, called “hosts,” are 100% whole wheat with no additives.
The making of altar breads requires specialized equipment. In 2000 the abbey was presented with a mixer, baker and computerized cutting machine from France. Recently servicemen from the French company came to upgrade their computerized cutter, so all five sizes of altar breads can be cut automatically. When the technicians returned home, they left behind a service manual for the local handy man to use when needed. Unfortunately it is all in French.
Five days a week, the sisters gather in their unpretentious cinder-block manufacturing facility. As a family of white-tail deer pass by out their window, they start the day’s run of communion wafers. From 8:30 am to 4 p.m., with a break for lunch, the sisters are busy at their work stations.
Each week the abbey receives deliveries of hard and soft whole wheat in 50 pound bags. The flours are first mixed with water, then poured into a specialized baking machine. Then they remove the wafer-thin sheets as they come out. These go to a humidifier to eliminate premature breaking. From there they are carried to the software-controlled cutting machine where they are cut into five different sizes, depending on their intended use. A quality-control sister inspects the finished product. The wafers are then placed in plastic bags, weighed and prepared for shipping.
The most common altar bread is called “People’s Host”, which can vary in thickness from 1 1/8 ” to 1 1/2”. With their new specialized equipment, they can prepare and ship 75,000 of these a week to their 370 customers throughout the United States.
Santa Rita Abbey welcomes guests to visit their bakery, or to join them at 5 p.m. for vespers services. Their phone number is 520-455-0481 and website is www.santaritaabbey.org
Life of “Snuff” Garrett Celebrated At Memorial
“Snuff” Garrett, Sonoita resident since 1987, was eulogized by many friends at a Celebration of Life ceremony on January 9, at the fairgrounds.
Born in 1938, “Snuff Garrett was well-known in the music and entertainment industry as a successful writer, musician and western artist. The walls of the fairground were covered with pictures of him aside giants of the industry like Roy Rogers and Dick Clark.
Dawn Garrett, Snuff’s great-granddaughter, organized the event, which was attended by over 200 of his friends in the business and local neighbors alike. Suzanne Jenkins spearheaded the task of feeding the large crowd of well-wishers.
Local resident “Dutch” Quernamon, a longtime friend of Garrett, says he was an unforgettable and unbelievable human being who was loved by everyone who knew him. Many of those who came shared their remembrances of him.
Participants were mingling and talking to long-lost friends far after the formal ceremony concluded. As the crowd was slowly leaving, echoes of the parting song sung by honored guest Mr. Rex Allen, Jr. filled the Fairgrounds hall.
“Happy Trails to you, until we meet again…., Happy trails to you, keep smilin’ until then”
Sonoita Rodeo Royalty Contest Nears Application Deadline
The last day to submit an application for the Rodeo Royalty contest is February 14. The contest will select a Rodeo Queen (ages 18 to 23), a Princess (ages 12 to 17), and a Little Miss (ages 7 to 11). Applications are available at the Santa Cruz County Fairground. For information, call (520) 909-8307.