Mount Angel Abbey owes its grandeur to colorful Swiss monk

Published: Aug. 13, 2019, 2 p.m.

Jovial and gregarious, Adelhelm Odermatt locked his sights on a vision of a hilltop monastery — and then deployed himself like a jovial, glad-handing, never-sleeping bombshell to make it happen. It was a near thing, but he pulled it off. (Mt. Angel, Marion County; 1904) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1505c.adelhelm-odermatt-mt-angel-abbey-339.html)