Perched above the hills of Western Arkansas, you’ll find a monastery that’s home to the only benedictine monks in the State of Arkansas. Brother Anselm & Father Richard went to school together here in Subiaco. And while their lives have been devoted to their faith and prayer, their responsibilities lie beyond the sanctuary. For the last half-a-century, Brother Anselm has been a weather watcher for the National Weather Service.
“There’s a remote readout in the building that reads the high and low temperature measures rainfall snow or whatever” Said Brother Anselm .
It’s a job that’s gained recognition from the Department of Commerce and the National Weather Service. The weather equipment is certified and calibrated for accuracy. The books filled with prayers are adjacent to the recordings of weather information. The maximum and minimum temperature for the day are recorded here. The temperatures are recorded first thing in the morning around 7am and precipitation is measured; snow must be first melted then measured for liquid content.
Brother Anselm has even witnessed a few tornadoes…“One of them just dipped down northwest of us by the river, it didn’t stay down not even 10 minutes, you seen the tail forming then it just dropped down and then it climbed”
While Brother Anselm records his temperatures in Fahrenheit, Father Richard records his temperature on the Scoville Heat Scale. You see, after leaving Subiaco, he spent 28 years in Belize as a priest. When he came back to Arkansas, his experience wasn’t the only thing he returned with.
Habanero Tobasco Sauce is rated at 7,500 heat units. Habanero Monk Sauce is rated at 250,000 heat units.
“I brought some of the seeds of the habernero that we were growing down there and started planting them here, that first year I probably made about 140 gallons of hot sauce” Said Father Richard.
It’s called: Monk Sauce.
“I have a room in the monastery that has really nice southern windows and I use it to plant the peppers”. “The habanero pepper is the most tasty pepper that there is, this uses lots of them”. Said Father Richard.
Two men of the cloth whose passions are intertwined … one watches the heavens, the other prays for warmer days ahead.
You can buy the Monk Sauce online here Or visit the Subiaco Abbey, Monday thru Friday from 8am to 4pm.
-Garrett