By Michael Patrick O’Brien– It’s sad but seems true—Trappist monasteries don’t last longer than 70 years in the Rocky Mountains. To be fair, there have been only two—Holy Trinity Abbey…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– I often check for news about one of the most wonderful of the American Trappist monasteries I have visited—New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa. In late…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– It’s not easy to pick most memorable and unique Christmas in Salt Lake City history. Of course, there was that first December 25 in Utah for…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– An unusual Christmas arrived in Utah in December 1859. Unlike traditional holiday offerings, this one included a dramatic gunfight that raged along Salt Lake City’s Main…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– If you ever doubt that history is fascinating and ever-changing, consider that at this time a century ago, Utah’s governor was a Democrat, a non-Mormon, and…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– If you asked me a decade ago to identify the most memorable places that I associate with my old friends, the Utah Trappist monks, Salt Lake…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Beginning in the early 1970s, a now-closed Trappist monastery in rural Huntsville in Northern Utah was my home away from home. My 2021 book Monastery Mornings…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– My favorite British writer Charles Dickens wrote words in 1859 that perfectly describe the state of American collegiate athletics today—“It was the best of times, it…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Mark Twain is known around the world for many things, including my personal favorite of his many books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Twain’s name even…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– A century ago, my Northern Utah hometown was a rough and tumble place. Even Chicago gangster Al Capone reportedly said Ogden’s infamous 25th Street was too…