Mt. St. Helens Day Today

[Attilathegun]

Remember all of the glass stuff that people were making out of the ash?? Someone in Hillsboro was making a whack load of it. It was for sale all over town. Gas stations, restaurants, Hank's Grocery store even had it at both locations. All of his stuff had a green-ish tint. Probably added pigment, but it was pretty cool. I was in 1st. grade it was pretty wild. I was standing behind a backstop at a baseball field at Poynter Jr. High. My dad was on I-5 south coming down from Seattle to get me for the summer, got turned around near Toutle.

 

[Mrmerlinn]

I was there! Flew down there twice in my Cessna 140 and got some cool pics before they closed the airspace!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Another crazy memory from that, I-5 was closed around Woodland wa. the bridges were damaged and so all traffic had to divirt, Dad was in Bremerton aboard ship when the mountain blew, and he couldn't get south to be with the family, there were no flights in or out of Portland either, I don't remember how, but it took Dad nearly a week and a half to make it back to Portland, I think he took the train, but then had to get off near Vader and then take an Army 2 1/2 ton around the damaged bridges, and then back on another train south! I remember there was NOTHING flying for weeks after, unless it was an emergency, no Helicopters, no Nat. Guard, No Air Force, and no civil flights in or out of PDX, it was crazy quiet! School was super strict too, we couldn't go outside, those of us that normally walked to school were forced to ride the bus, which was a new experience, and we had to wear dust masks all through the day! After lunch, we either played in the gym, or went to the library or hung out in the Cafeteria/second gym, and sang songs or listened to the school band, or the teachers showed a film! Lucky that the school year was nearly over, I don't know how they would been able to handle much more of us hyper kids cooped up indoors!

 

[Member 55555]

My wife and I were married in July of that year and drove to Canada for our honeymoon. Up highway 97 when we got to southern Oregon all the gas stations were selling little vials of ash for $2. When we got to the middle of Oregon the ash was six inches deep along the highway; we scooped up a bunch in Styrofoam cups.
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[orygun]

My wife and I were married in July of that year and drove to Canada for our honeymoon. Up highway 97 when we got to southern Oregon all the gas stations were selling little vials of ash for $2. When we got to the middle of Oregon the ash was six inches deep along the highway; we scooped up a bunch in Styrofoam cups.
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A friend of mine put a bunch up in small jars. Years later he gave me one of those jars. I still have it.

 

[Tlock]

I was just a twinkle in my dad's eye....

 

[Flandersfields]

Funny I was logging up there the friday before and would have been on spud mt. on monday , lived in La Center and worked for company out of Woodland , none of the local bridges on I5 were damaged or shut down , came back from coast that day and stopped in Woodland before driving back to La center .

Worked in that crappy bubblegum ash and pumice for the next 3 years , little to no stumps for tail holds or guylines on the highlead rigging sides that did most of the salvage logging , hell on chains and bucking old growth root wads that the cutters would not or could not get to and left for the rigging crews .

 

[WAYNO]

I was in my boat in downtown Portland just North of Ross Island when she blew. It is forever embossed in my brains eye, as if it happened yesterday.

 

[Mikej]

I was in my boat in downtown Portland just North of Ross Island when she blew. It is forever embossed in my brains eye, as if it happened yesterday.

Springer fishing, yeah?

 

[RecoilOperated]

I was nowhere close to being born when it erupted but I've always wondered how many people thought judgement day was upon them when St. Helens blew her top. Must've been a truly beautiful but horrifying picture to watch.

 

[AdiosPDX]

great stories. thx for sharing everyone.

 

[kmk1012]

I was just a twinkle in my dad's eye....

I was born in February, just a short time prior to the eruption. My St Helens was a mere aftershock from me!!!

 

[LibertyNews]

My first job was bagging ash for a local tourist trap to sell I think mom and dad still have a couple buckets of it in the garage.

 

[jsnprtr12]

Live up near the mountain these days! Love it out here!