March 27, 1980 “Mt. St. Helens Eruption ‘Soon’” is splashed across this morning's Seattle Post-Intelligencer front page. The last prediction from scientists took two years to play out. This one, from Steve Malone and his UW team, won’t take that long.

March 26, 1980 Multi-agency meeting at Forest Service headquarters in Vancouver. Sheriffs, state agencies, Weyerhaeuser, USGS, media—30 attendees. USGS geologist Don Mullineaux walks them through Mount St. Helens' 4,500-year record of violence. Forest Service's Ed Osmond "gets it." This is real.

March 26, 1980 At Timberline, snow falls hard. Portland and Seattle reporters brace against wind gusts and shaking Earth, hoping for clear shots. Beyond roadblocks, Spirit Lake Lodge owner David Smith evacuates as deputies clear the area. Private cabins sit empty, watched only by snow and trees.

Truman: The Life | Twilight 🧵 "Eddie's sick. Eddie's sick." Harry Truman raced to the Forest Service work center next door, frantic. Ranger Rick Lawton grabbed a first aid kit and followed Truman. Yet it was already too late. On Sept. 7, 1975, Edna "Eddie" Truman died of a heart attack. She was 66.

March 26, 1980 Cabin owners near Spirit Lake were ordered out. Roadblocks went up. USGS geologist Don Mullineaux met with state and federal officials in Vancouver to plan for a potential eruption. 53 days left.

March 26, 1980 Cabin owners near Spirit Lake were ordered out. Roadblocks went up. USGS geologist Don Mullineaux met with state and federal officials in Vancouver to plan for a potential eruption. 53 days left.

I've threatened to do a Pirates deep dive into our hell, but with a B1 performance like this, you're forcing my frigging hand. God damnit.

Truman: The Life | Twilight 🧵 "Eddie's sick. Eddie's sick." Harry Truman raced to the Forest Service work center next door, frantic. Ranger Rick Lawton grabbed a first aid kit and followed Truman. Yet it was already too late. On Sept. 7, 1975, Edna "Eddie" Truman died of a heart attack. She was 66.

March 25, 1980 At Timberline, KGW's Boyd Levet interviews a WSDOT snowplow driver tasked with keeping Highway 504 open to Mount St. Helens. Down at the Spirit Lake visitors center, warning signs and earthquake updates can be seen at the climbers' and backcountry registration.

Truman: The Life | 60s and 70s As Harry Truman entered his 60s and 70s, life around the lake was joyful and stressful. Boat rides on the lake? Good. Cabins being damaged by the 1962 Columbus Day Storm? Not good. Yet, paradise was still paradise—even if the clientele and their tastes were changing.

March 25, 1980 The quake count keeps rising at Mount St. Helens—five above a Magnitude 4 in an hour, twenty-two in eight hours. KATU films new seismic equipment being installed in the snow. Cougar, WA, sits 13 miles away. Fewer than 100 people. Some worry. Others wonder how to meet tourists' needs.

Truman: The Life | 60s and 70s As Harry Truman entered his 60s and 70s, life around the lake was joyful and stressful. Boat rides on the lake? Good. Cabins being damaged by the 1962 Columbus Day Storm? Not good. Yet, paradise was still paradise—even if the clientele and their tastes were changing.

March 25, 1980 The quake count keeps rising at Mount St. Helens—five above a Magnitude 4 in an hour, twenty-two in eight hours. KATU films new seismic equipment being installed in the snow. Cougar, WA, sits 13 miles away. Fewer than 100 people. Some worry. Others wonder how to meet tourists' needs.

Truman: The Life | William O. July 1953. A man in a rumpled suit enters Mount St. Helens Lodge. Harry Truman notices. "Tell that old coot if he wants a cabin, we don't have any." The man leaves. A bar patron tells Truman that's Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. "I'll be goddamn go to hell!"

March 24, 1980 (II) News spreads. Mount St. Helens is shaking. The phones won't stop ringing at UW, USGS, and Gifford Pinchot National Forest. On Portland’s KATU, Forest Service spokesperson Jim Unterwegner urges people to stay away from the mountain.

March 24, 1980 Steve Malone reviews last night's quakes. It's getting worse. Time to panic? He calls USGS's Rocky Crandell, who says the activity was 20 km away, as Mullineaux told Chuck Tonn. Malone says no. They're centered shallowly beneath Mount St. Helens. Crandell calls USGS HQ in Virginia.

Truman: The Life | William O. July 1953. A man in a rumpled suit enters Mount St. Helens Lodge. Harry Truman notices. "Tell that old coot if he wants a cabin, we don't have any." The man leaves. A bar patron tells Truman that's Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. "I'll be goddamn go to hell!"

March 24, 1980 (II) News spreads. Mount St. Helens is shaking. The phones won't stop ringing at UW, USGS, and Gifford Pinchot National Forest. On Portland’s KATU, Forest Service spokesperson Jim Unterwegner urges people to stay away from the mountain.

March 24, 1980 Steve Malone reviews last night's quakes. It's getting worse. Time to panic? He calls USGS's Rocky Crandell, who says the activity was 20 km away, as Mullineaux told Chuck Tonn. Malone says no. They're centered shallowly beneath Mount St. Helens. Crandell calls USGS HQ in Virginia.

March 23, 1980 At 7:23 a.m., a magnitude 3.5 earthquake shakes Mount St. Helens. District Ranger Ken Johnson calls avalanche expert Roland Emetaz at home, voicing concerns. That afternoon, Emetaz drives to Spirit Lake. It's snowing. The mountain is shrouded in clouds.

Truman: The Life | Eddie / The 50s With the war over and tourism picking up again at Spirit Lake, Harry Truman was ready to move on in business and life. Marriage #2 to Marjorie was beyond saving, but she held on. Meanwhile, Edna “Eddie” returned—the partner he always needed. Something had to give.

3D Model of Mt. Saint Helens with a 1.5x Vertical Exaggeration, exported from elevationAPl. Generator DEM Net Elevation API | Digital Elevation Model NASADEM | Imagery MapBox Satellite #3D #MountStHelens @mountsthelens1980.bsky.social

Topographic model of Mount St. Helens with panchromatic orthoimage, constructed from historical aerial photographs acquired on 14 September 1975. Photogrammetric analysis with Agisoft PhotoScan. #3D #MountStHelens @mountsthelens1980.bsky.social

Truman: The Life | Eddie / The 50s With the war over and tourism picking up again at Spirit Lake, Harry Truman was ready to move on in business and life. Marriage #2 to Marjorie was beyond saving, but she held on. Meanwhile, Edna “Eddie” returned—the partner he always needed. Something had to give.

March 23, 1980 At 7:23 a.m., a magnitude 3.5 earthquake shakes Mount St. Helens. District Ranger Ken Johnson calls avalanche expert Roland Emetaz at home, voicing concerns. That afternoon, Emetaz drives to Spirit Lake. It's snowing. The mountain is shrouded in clouds.

Truman: A Life | 1920s-1940s Fleeing California gangsters during Prohibition, Harry Truman packed his family and a Thompson submachine gun and headed to Spirit Lake at the foot of Mount St. Helens in 1926. A fresh start in paradise.

March 22, 1980 At 2:23 p.m., UW seismologists log a magnitude 4.2 quake at Mount St. Helens. Chuck Tonn of the Forest Service falls while skiing on flat ground near Spirit Lake. At the nearby ranger station, Sharon Burchard radios to district headquarters: "Another quake—like Thursday."

Truman: A Life | 1920s-1940s Fleeing California gangsters during Prohibition, Harry Truman packed his family and a Thompson submachine gun and headed to Spirit Lake at the foot of Mount St. Helens in 1926. A fresh start in paradise.

March 22, 1980 At 2:23 p.m., UW seismologists log a magnitude 4.2 quake at Mount St. Helens. Chuck Tonn of the Forest Service falls while skiing on flat ground near Spirit Lake. At the nearby ranger station, Sharon Burchard radios to district headquarters: "Another quake—like Thursday."

Truman: A Life | Birth-1920s Harry R. Truman. Besides David Johnston, no one is more synonymous with Mount St. Helens than the man who lived in its shadow. Since his life is often reduced to those final days at Spirit Lake in 1980, looking at his whole story helps to explain just why he stayed.

Check this out, @mountsthelens1980.bsky.social !

Some, like Riffe, are now underwater. Riffe was flooded when the Mossyrock dam was built in the 1960s. At least they named the lake Riffe Lake so there's some small memory if its existence, most drowned towns don't even get that.

A lot of these mountain towns were much larger in the early 20th century than they are today. Some had thousands (or tens of thousands) at their peak and now have hundreds. These weren't vacation spots, they were working towns. Some mining, but mostly logging and associated industries.

Upcoming Deep Dives: 1. Why Gonzaga Crumbles in the Tournament Might just leave that to Jon Bois, tbh.

Truman: A Life | Birth-1920s Harry R. Truman. Besides David Johnston, no one is more synonymous with Mount St. Helens than the man who lived in its shadow. Since his life is often reduced to those final days at Spirit Lake in 1980, looking at his whole story helps to explain just why he stayed.

March 21, 1980 The day after the first quake, the Vancouver Columbian's headline: "Nothing to Get Shook Over." But at UW, seismologists notice something unusual: aftershocks aren't fading as expected. Four portable seismometers had just arrived by chance. Steve Malone and Elliot Endo head south.

March 21, 1980 The day after the first quake, the Vancouver Columbian's headline: "Nothing to Get Shook Over." But at UW, seismologists notice something unusual: aftershocks aren't fading as expected. Four portable seismometers had just arrived by chance. Steve Malone and Elliot Endo head south.

March 20, 1980 | 3:47 p.m. PST 🧵 Forest Service ranger Sharon Burchard and two Oregon State students chat in the Spirit Lake station. Spring break climbers who turned back—not so easy. Then—a jolt. The hut shudders. They fall silent. Cups rattle, a lantern wobbles. "Earthquake!" "Avalanche!"

March 20, 1980 | 3:47 p.m. PST 🧵 Forest Service ranger Sharon Burchard and two Oregon State students chat in the Spirit Lake station. Spring break climbers who turned back—not so easy. Then—a jolt. The hut shudders. They fall silent. Cups rattle, a lantern wobbles. "Earthquake!" "Avalanche!"

March 20, 1980 | Morning It may be the first day of spring, but it's still wintertime up at Mount St. Helens. Heavy snows bring the risk of avalanches on the steep slopes, but that doesn't stop some spring break students from tackling the 9,677 ft. tall peak. A crystal silence blankets the basin.

March 20, 1980 | Morning It may be the first day of spring, but it's still wintertime up at Mount St. Helens. Heavy snows bring the risk of avalanches on the steep slopes, but that doesn't stop some spring break students from tackling the 9,677 ft. tall peak. A crystal silence blankets the basin.

March 19, 1980 As the sun sets over the N. Fk Toutle River, Forest Service ranger Sharon Burchard drives back to Spirit Lake after an errand run to Longview. Passing Weyerhaeuser's Camp Baker, the activity hub for their St. Helens Tree Farm, she spots something ahead in the distance on the road.

March 19, 1980 As the sun sets over the N. Fk Toutle River, Forest Service ranger Sharon Burchard drives back to Spirit Lake after an errand run to Longview. Passing Weyerhaeuser's Camp Baker, the activity hub for their St. Helens Tree Farm, she spots something ahead in the distance on the road.

Hiya. Fair warning: if you followed #MSH45 last year, you'll see much of that content again over the next two months, with some new material mixed in (stories, clips, yadda). One thing that'll be different this year: Post-May 18, I'm pivoting back to a more general focus. Sound good? Alrighty.

Mount St. Helens ash samples -1980

Before 1980 | Warnings Meet Donal Mullineaux and Dwight "Rocky" Crandell. WWII vets, family men, U.S. Geological Survey scientists. Starting in the 1950s, they mapped volcanic deposits across the Cascades—Rainier, Lassen, Shasta, Baker, Hood. One peak kept rising above the rest in explosiveness.

1900-1980 (II) By 1950, Spirit Lake was thriving. Harry Truman's Mount St. Helens Lodge on the SW shore. Jack Nelson's Harmony Falls Resort. Forest Service campgrounds. Private camps. And Spirit Lake Lodge, built on the old Lange homestead by the North Fork Toutle. But time doesn't stand still.

1900-1980 (II) By 1950, Spirit Lake was thriving. Harry Truman's Mount St. Helens Lodge on the SW shore. Jack Nelson's Harmony Falls Resort. Forest Service campgrounds. Private camps. And Spirit Lake Lodge, built on the old Lange homestead by the North Fork Toutle. But time doesn't stand still.

In January 1937, "God's Country and the Woman" hit theaters—a story about rival timber companies filmed at Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake. The mountain was becoming part of Pacific Northwest culture, an awareness that stretched with each fawning article, each glossy photo magazine spread.

Postcards showed the perfect cone reflected in mirror waters. Towns promoted themselves as "Gateway to Mt. St. Helens." Castle Rock called it "Sleeping Bag Country." After World War II, another boom. Veterans came home with new cars, disposable income, time off. By 1950, Spirit Lake was paradise.