Mount saint helens, 40 years ago

I hadn’t see this posted today so here it is.

40 years ago in 1980 mount saint helens blew its top.
I was almost 9 at the time any remember it pretty well.
My teacher sent away for an ash sample for the class. No idea what happened to the vial..hmm

Anyway, where were you?

a reply to: Bluntone22

I was getting ready for school watching the river of ash and mud pushing cars down a street on Good Morning America. I was 13 years old and thought it was pretty cool- and was thinking how glad I was that I didn't live near any volcanoes!

a reply to: GeauxHomeYoureDrunk

I think it popped on a Sunday morning so you must have watched it Monday morning.
It was probably all over the news on Monday.

I remember it vaguely being a thing, but I was only in kindergarten.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: GeauxHomeYoureDrunk

I think it popped on a Sunday morning so you must have watched it Monday morning.
It was probably all over the news on Monday.

Could be. Back then it would have been the first I saw or heard of it. Can't say I was much of a news watcher at that age, but Mom had GMA going on the television every morning before school in those days and I remember she was making me eat a grapefruit for breakfast- and I HATE grapefruit!

a reply to: Bluntone22

I was a young man, overseas when it happened.

Spoke to a friend living in Canada (Calgary) at the time, he said ash covered his house and car.

I wasn't even a twinkle in my daddy's eye yet.

a reply to: Bluntone22

I was working on a thread like this. Phone died and lost it. 🙁

I’m glad you posted this.

I was gonna post this article
Mount St. Helens Eruption: Washington, May 1980
It's been 40 years since the iconic volcano blew its top.
Some interesting first hand experiences in there.

"One minute you've got landmarks all over. You know where the stream is, where the roads are. [The next second] No roads. No streams. No nothing. I mean, just gone. It was like it picked you up and put you on a different planet."

I was a just a lad, but my grandma was in Seattle when it happened, I don’t remember much about her except I remember she gave me vial of ash from the eruption.

It’s funny how we crave permanence and structure, yet how can we really when the earth can’t even sit still.

S&F

a reply to: GeauxHomeYoureDrunk

and was thinking how glad I was that I didn't live near any volcanoes!

If the super volcano in Yellow Stone goes, most of us in the states could kiss our asses goodbye.

Luckily it's an incredibly rare occurrence.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

If that one goes most of the world’s population will die.
Mass starvation from the ice age.

I was somewhere in the Carolinas. My older brother was traveling in Washington state and said it looked like black fingers descending from the sky. After the ash covered an area it stayed dark for days. I saw the ash first hand when I went to visit weeks later. It had a little second major eruption the day after I was hiking up Mt Rainier with my brothers. It was the highest level I climbed wearing summer clothes and walking shoes. I think we were at the 10000 ft level up on the glaciers. The mountain climbers in their hiking boots with rope and gear were giving us odd looks like who are these crazy kids? I could see Mt St Helens was venting some ash or steam. It had its second major eruption the next day. You could see the mountain up about 10000 feet on Mt Rainier. We had talked about sneaking up to the summit of Mt St Helens the day it erupted a second time. That might have been exciting.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: CriticalStinker

If that one goes most of the world’s population will die.
Mass starvation from the ice age.

It would end the debate on global warming though.

Gotta think positive.

I was 15 years old. I remember seeing it on the morning news, and I was just floored. The next few days it was a little hazy outside, but we didn’t get anywhere near the ash fall places west of us got. I do remember hearing a few months later that it did effect the bees and the honey crop was very bad that year just from the little bit of fallout we got. I’ve stood near an active volcano (Kilauea) in Hawaii, and it was frightening and creepy. I couldn’t get away fast enough. I don’t want to be anywhere near an active volcano.

I remember that day...I was ten living in a Seattle suburb. Unimaginable power was unleashed that day. I remember the news showing straw hay that had completely pierced the trunk of a tree. Who would believe it. I remember Harry that wouldn't leave the mountain because his home rested on the land. I don't know if I celebrate him for that strength of conviction or condemn such recklessness.

We sold ash outside our local supermarket...it didn't fall anywhere near our city...you had to drive an hour to get any. We thought it was cool enough to sell anyway.

It's hard to accept that 40 years have passed.

originally posted by: ketsuko
I remember it vaguely being a thing, but I was only in kindergarten.

Yeah, I was six. I remember seeing it on the news. I also remember watching the movie that was made a few years afterwards on cable for some reason. Also reading the Nat Geo issue that came out afterwards.

The neat thing now about technology is that we get to see all this stuff for real now. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, etc. Fascinating.

originally posted by: ChiefD
I was 15 years old. I remember seeing it on the morning news, and I was just floored. The next few days it was a little hazy outside, but we didn’t get anywhere near the ash fall places west of us got. I do remember hearing a few months later that it did effect the bees and the honey crop was very bad that year just from the little bit of fallout we got. I’ve stood near an active volcano (Kilauea) in Hawaii, and it was frightening and creepy. I couldn’t get away fast enough. I don’t want to be anywhere near an active volcano.

We hiked to Kilauea. Really cool. Hiked maybe two or three hours through a forest and then we burst out of this clearing and it literally looked like we were on the moon. Not a tree or blade of grass in sight for at least a mile or two. Just a massive field of old lava rock. We could see the plumes off in the distance. There were a few signs warning of imminent death from falling rocks / explosions.

I was 7 years old. I remember hearing them talk about it on TV but not very well. My earliest memory of TV news was the Iran hostage thing and and wondering what the word "Vollent" meant.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
I was 7 years old. I remember hearing them talk about it on TV but not very well. My earliest memory of TV news was the Iran hostage thing and and wondering what the word "Vollent" meant.

Some of the earlier TV memories I have are of Mt. St. Helens, Princess Di's Wedding (upset because it was on everywhere and not what I normally watched - I recall the wedding parade bit though), the first shuttle launch, I also recall Reagan being shot (but I was older then).

I remember it well i was around 15 and thought the one guy who refused to move was a moron and that one reporter was as well .
Really that is not the memory that makes me feel old . The memory that makes me feel old is I was 3 and Remember neal stepping out of the ship saying one small step for man one large step for man kind .
That makes me feel old and even at 3 years old i was in awl and now at 54 i still am .

That old volcano sure did make the biggest fireworks in my life time no nuk came close . Really glad science wa up for the job of getting every one out in time . Kind of feel sad for Helen But women have been known to blow there tops every now and again .