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Respected Contributor
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Registered: ‎08-13-2010

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State

I was living in Bothell, WA when that happened which is far away from that, we had ash over everything. Some people were collecting the ash & selling it on ebay. A friend made alot of money doing that. Some stores made souviners and seem like everyone was cashing in. We were all hosing down everything, heard the ash could destroy the paint on your cars (don't know if that was true) but everyone was out trying to clean it off but it kept coming for days. 

Respected Contributor
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Registered: ‎12-09-2018

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State

I was a kid then but I remember when it blew.
Trusted Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-27-2010

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State

@Pearlee I'm in Washington State about 20 miles south of the Canadian border.  The kids & I are getting ready for church, I was getting out of the bathtub & the tub/water in it literally shook so I yelled at the kids what the heck are you doing.  Later during the service the minister mentioned that Mount Saint Helens had blew.

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Registered: ‎11-21-2011

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State


@Pearlee wrote:

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:

OMG! @Pearlee !!  Calm down!  I was just asking you.  Hummm?? You remind me of someone I eat with every day.  We get along quite well...because she tolerates me and I ....well....


@Annabellethecat66   You make a lot of erroneous assumptions. I am perfectly calm, and was when I posted to you.   I just thought your question was wacky, but I was pefectly calm when I posted. 


Well it seems @Annabellethecat66 didn't make any assumptions since she asked a question. Just like you asked a question about people's memories of this event. Why take such offense?

Valued Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State

I remember it very well!. We lived in the eastern part of Wa. I had the day off from work but they called me in because of the eruption. I worked for the phone company and it was crazy busy with people unable to get through to family because the circuits were overloaded.

It was eerie driving into work. There were very few cars on the road and it looked like I was on the moon. Everything was gray because ash covered everything.

One good thing about the ash was that the wheat farmers had a great crop the next season. They said it was because of the ash.

I don't know about paint on the cars but we had to change the car filters.

 

 

“We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.” Abraham Lincoln
Respected Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State

[ Edited ]

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:

snipped

 

I could never live in Washington state.  I need some sunshine.  I'll just stay here in Va.  I complain but at least we have a good amount of sunshine.  Check back with me in August.  Humidity here in Northern Va/DC area in August so bad it makes your hair stand up straight.

 

@Pearlee You thinking of moving there?  I hear it's beautiful.


Whats it like in your neck of the woods today @Annabellethecat66 ? Sunny here in the Great PNW, has been for the most part of the month. Funny I just googled, found that Virginia and Wa. state have about the same average rainfall per year, we also have 4 beautiful seasons and dont get the stiffling humidity you get over your way. No humidity, very nice. I think I would rather live here for that reason alone.  Smiley Happy 

 

 

Mt St Helens blew at about 8:00 on a Sunday morning, I was still asleep. But she blew 6 more times that year, small eruptions compared to the intial one. I remember seeing a plume from my moms deck later that summer as myself, my sis and some friends were sitting out there visiting during one of the blasts, was eerie. I worked in a banks computer center at the time of the initial blast where a girl I worked closely with lost her parents. They were up there camping, being curious as it was known it was getting ready to do something and got caught in it. We didnt get much ash in Seattle but it did settle on cars and yes we were told to wash it off as it would eat the paint off them. My mom has a good friend in Spokane, he said they had to vaccum out drawers, everything was covered there.

 

Hard to believe 39 yrs have past already. Here is a page of 30 Cool Facts about Mt. St. Helens.   www.pubs.usgs.gov/gip/103

 

Pearly, I remember the jewelry the Q was selling, it seems like it was in the 90's that that material come about. it was quite pretty but then I love green! Cant believe I didnt buy any now!

 

eta~ sorry link isnt working, if interested just copy!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 69,397
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State

Whenever someone mentions Mt. St. Helens, I think of Harry Truman who lived on Spirit Lake and refused to leave, so he perished.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State

Truman could make the choice. Unfortunately, his 16 cats couldn't and died with him.

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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State


@Pearlee wrote:

Erupted 39 years ago today, in 1980.  57 people were killed or missing.

 

Speaking of which, I have a ring I bought from QVC years ago made out of Mt. St. Helens ashes - it looks like an emerald.  QVC sold jewelry from Mt. St. H. for many years.

 

Does anyone here live near it and remember the eruption firsthand?


We live in Spokane and remember the eruption firsthand. They had an Airshow going on at Fairchild AFB that day....thousands and thousands of people on the base. For some weird reason, the Emergency Broadcast System was not working that day, so they were unable to get the warnings out soon enough. Everyone assumed that the enormous black cloud was a storm moving in. By 3:00 in the afternoon, the sky was pitch black and the ash began to fall like snow. After the darkness cleared, we were able to get an idea of the magnitude and devastation we would be facing. Everything was gray....everything. It looked like some scene out of a movie about an apocalypse. My husband was in the Air Force at the time and they had to sweep the entire flight line by hand with brooms. The ash was like flour...it went everywhere, but if you got it wet, it was like concrete. We were told to stay indoors until they determined whether or not the ash was toxic. They had to quickly evacuate all of the expensive bombers and airplanes on the base and all of the people at the Airshow tried to leave the base at the same time....it was chaotic to say the least. It was an experience we will never forget. Mother Nature is more powerful than you can imagine. 

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Posts: 3,554
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Mount St. Helens in WA State

Because I was on a trip from Eastern WA to home in Western WA that morning, I had a long time view of the plume and the eerieness of that day and evening.  It took us a long time as a lot of cars were rerouted away from where the wind was taking the ash and debris.  We stayed south and then up the coast instead of the main freeway.

 

At home, an after-eruption brought a lot of ash darkening the sky, people had to wear masks outdoors and it wasn't smart to drive through it.  It coated the ground and everything.  Also the ash was hard on car's paint, very gritty.