Ep. 263 - Holy Cross Abbey

 
Moment in Oddity - Green Olivine Crystals from the Sky

The eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea (Kill a way ah) volcano started on May 3, 2018. This is an eruption that has wreaked havic on the island, but it has also spawned something else: it's been raining little green crystals. That's right, little gems from the sky. What the crystals actually are is a mineral found in basaltic lava that is known as olivine. Olivine is formed in hot and deep magmas and eruptions bring it to the surface. The reason the olivine seems to be falling from the sky is that it has been carried up with spewing lava. The green mineral is found in all sorts of rocks in Hawaii. There is even a green sand beach. The crystals are heavier than sand, so when the ocean rolls in with waves and pulls the sand back out, the green crystals are left behind. And while olivine seems to be a common mineral in Hawaii, having it fall from the sky is an unusual event and, certainly is odd!

This Month in History - The Berlin Blockade

In the month of June, on the 24th, in 1948, Soviet Russia began a blockade of Berlin, known as the Berlin Blockade. The Berlin Blockade lasted nearly a year, ending on may 12, 1949 and was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. This left West Berliners isolated and without food and other supplies. The Allies, which were made up of aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the French Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force, responded with an emergency airlift that ended up being 278,000 flights, delivering 2.3 million tons of food, coal and medical supplies. The Soviets allowed the airlifts to continue without disruption because they feared starting a war. The operation was so successful, that it was delivering more supplies than had previously been transported into the city by rail. The Allies continued their deliveries until September of 1949.

Holy Cross Abbey (Suggested by Cheryl Lynn)

The Roman Catholic Church purchased 90 acres of land in Canon City, Colorado, formerly known as Fruitmere Orchards, from Captain Benjamin F. Rockefeller for the Benedictine Society of Colorado. The Benedictines called the new religious foundation the Holy Cross Abbey. The main building was constructed in 1924 and rises to four stories and was designed by Joseph Dillon and L.A. Des Jardins with a Collegiate Gothic and Jacobean Revival style. This was not only a monastery, but it also was a boarding school for boys. There were bigger plans for the property, but the Depression stopped those plans. This property has been the scene of many suicides and other deaths and it seems that this has led to haunting activity. I am joined on this episode by Dennis Batchelor of Simply Ghosts, our listener Cheryl Lynn and two other investigators, Cindy and Sean, to share the history and their paranormal experiences at the Holy Cross Abbey.

Just based on the experiences of Cheryl, Dennis, Sean and Cindy, it would seem that clearly, some unexplained activity is going on in the various buildings on this property. Are some of the boys from the boarding school still here in the afterlife? How about monks and nuns? Is Holy Cross Abbey haunted? That is for you to decide!