Places - Lost in Time: Spirit Lake, Washington

Hello, and welcome again to Places - Lost in Time, a series that looks back on the tale of places and locations that have existing within living memory or photographic record, but are now lost to the pages of history.
A place that has often held my fascination, due largely to my love of lakes and snowy scenes, Spirit Lake, high in the rolling hills of Washington state in the Pacific northwest, was perhaps the most idyllic location one could imagine, a crystal blue body of water nestled perfectly against the slopes of the snow-capped Mount St Helens.
Then, in a matter of moments, forces from deep within the earth upheaved the land and caused the destruction of this beauty spot, turning the forested hills and crystal waters into stagnant devastation, but one from which nature is now slowly being reborn against the predictions of scientists.
A majority of the information gathered about Spirit Lake prior to the eruption comes courtesy of Shirley Rosen's book, Truman of St. Helens: The Man and His Mountain. This book superbly captures the story behind the folk hero, and demonstrates not only the quirky life he had led prior to the disaster, but also how he was both brave and afraid of the looming threat posed by the mountain he had known so well. It's a fantastic read and I thoroughly recommend its purchase to catch a more detailed glimpse into the life of a simple lodge-owner who defied his fears to become a legend of the Pacific Northwest.
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References:
- Truman of St. Helens: The Man and His Mountain, Shirley Rosen (and her respective references)
- USGS (and their respective references)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)

[@FreedomLovingLoyalistOfficial]

This whole disaster felt like an entire sad movie. RIP Harry, What a legend.

[@westonadams7135]

Dante's Peak

[@threeparots1]

It is an ominous sight to visit. The scope of the damage is huge. Good visitor centre up there

[@drewcraig6791]

You have never been stop lying

[@Retr0racin]

My 6th grade science class did a field trip to ape cave and we stopped at spirt lake, met Harry he gave our class a nice talk about the mountain and lake quite the character. This was in 75 or 76.

[@nomad4k]

Wow. You actually met the man. Never thought I'd see someone who had met him. Great to see your comment sir. Could you recall if you visited the boy scout camp at harmony falls or did you go to Harry's st. Helens lodge located between the lake and the mountain ?

[@Retr0racin]

@@nomad4k We were at the lodge, Harry did a speech to our class. we stopped there after visting Ape Cave.

[@nomad4k]

@@Retr0racin makes sense. :) You probably went up there driving from the cougar area south of the mountain. Wow. I was born in 1984. So exciting to hear these stories from people like yourself who have experienced this stuff happening.

[@Retr0racin]

@@nomad4k I was stationed in the Navy up at Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island when the mountain erupted. We were sitting in the barracks recovering from a night of partying when we heard two big bangs and the windows shook. 10 mins later all personal were told to report to our squadron. We had to get all our planes ready to fly, they sent them up to Abbotsford BC. The ones we could not get in the air had to be taped up and put in the hangar. We never got any ash up there though. Couple weeks later we had to fly to San Diego to get on the USS Ranger we flew right by the mountain and could see all the destruction it caused. I live in Tacoma area and go visit the mountain every few years. Pretty cool watching mother nature repair itself over the years.

[@tgmccoy1556]

Goat rocks were the old Dome/vent and the first obvious area to move. Also quite recent. St.Helens isn't done yet.

[@LiamE69]

At around 18 mins you claim this was the largest eruption in recorded history in the continental USA. This is not true. It may be true of the contiguous USA, but not the continental USA. The 1912 eruption of Novarupta in Alaska was about 30 times the size of the Mount St Helens eruption.

[@paintinganimalsonrocks7633]

@@martinr1834 Hey, but true.

[@LiamE69]

@@martinr1834 * unfurls acceptance speech * * taps mic * Ahem. I'd like to thank my family, my friends, my under 11 football team, my school teachers...

[@srosenow98]

Alaska was not part of the United States in 1912.

[@LiamE69]

@@srosenow98 A swing and a miss. Alaska became part of the USA in 1867. It did not become a state until 1959 but that is neither here nor there.

[@srosenow98]

@@LiamE69 Your argument is still wrong... Alaska didn't officially become a U.S. territory until May, 1912. While a possession, it was not officially recorded as a territory - or part of the United States - until then. At least that is how history books play it. And on a level of technicality, the original claim that it was the "largest eruption in the history of the contintental United States" is still correct because of basic Geography 101, which means that the "Continental United States" in this instance refers to the lower 48. That is literally how broadcasts back then played it, and how geography books (and encyclopedias alike) describe it.

[@CaptainJerry-]

I visited Spirit Lake often during my teen years 1973-1979. Harry always had a whiskey and coke in his hand, licked his lips a lot (when he wasn't talking), and was followed by many cats where ever he went. Great times and Fujiama of the west.

[@The_Vaporizer]

Imagine if Harry had evacuated, he would only have what he carried with him. After the blast there would be nothing for him to go back to and he wouldn't be allowed to go back, no one was. He would have ended up homeless. No one would have remembered him... instead his death was Glorious!

[@JorgenRomeMojo]

Yep, he was probably cremated, buried, ripped to shreds , washed and vented out through that fumarole i form of a gas. A truly legendary funeral.

[@JeffSherlock]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@progressivehardindustrialslug]

I was in 5th grade in the tri-cities (pasco). There is no way to describe that day properly. Or the next 6 months either. 6 inches of ash. Everywhere.

[@scottmacdonald3438]

My 6 years old birthday was on the day of the first activity on Mount St Helens.

[@Naedlj]

Very well done.

[@uncinarynin]

How did Northern Pacific Railroad gain ownership of the lake? It's not exactly the core business of a rail infrastructure and transport company.

[@socore3197]

To service the logging industry.

[@theboz1419]

I used to have a bottle of the ash when I was a kid.

[@yanceymolash6787]

I was in Renton Washington

[@chiasanzes9770]

Harry Truman truly had interesting life. A life what cowards and othe loosers here whining never will have. Cheers to Harry !

[@esterbaque7757]

Video is nice but the speaker talks way to fast.

[@Rich-on6fe]

That Truman guy doesn't seem at all dodgy.

[@FreedomLovingLoyalistOfficial]

Please bring back the background music.

[@joan53263]

truman knew what made him rest in peace

[@royramey5659]

I met Harry about 1967 at his lodge , he told us about big foot tribe attacking miners, i was about 11 or 12 years old . I remember a a 3 foot wave coming across the lake with not one boat on the lake but ours , i asked a local who was with us where the wave came from he told me it was volcanic activity , and the indians there named it Spirt Lake because of this. I went there camping with friends right before it blew it's top.

[@aWienerandaBeaner]

I was 12 and live in upstate South Carolina when it blew. We had ash on our cars in the driveway all the way over here.

[@killlr0y]

Ok then

[@deniseyeaisaidit]

I totally believe that story. There have been many tales that came out after the volcano eruption, that scientists were flown out privately because they found many dead bigfoots from the blast. I went to school with one of the kids, whose dad was one of the scientists that was flown out from the East Coast to investigate. I know some people may read this and think this is nonsense, but I’m not surprised by what you’re sharing. And also, harry Truman was no nonsense kind of guy and didn’t care what ppl thought of him, so what reason would he have to lie?

[@lucidfangirl1030]

@@aWienerandaBeanerwas it hard to breathe? The flying ash

[@jamesleyda365]

My mom has similar to say about Harry and Mt St Helen's but maybe 3 or 4 years earlier. She was a child and went to school in Carson WA in the 60s but live in Moses Lake WA when it erupted in 1980, I was about 6 years old. We had a lot of ash and it went from sunny to looking like midnight by noon that day, scared the heck outta me

[@henkbarnard1553]

I heard the eruption in Vancouver BC.

[@thethesaxman23]

I really wish I could have seen Mount Saint Helens and Spirit Lake prior to the 1980 eruption. All the photos I've see are absolutely stunning!

[@MidnightWarrior1976]

People say it was the most beautiful Boy Scout Camp in the USA.

[@royramey5659]

IT WAS , THER WAS A RATHER LARGE WATER FA LL ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE LAKE THAT FELL RIGHT INTO THE LAKE.

[@franklinshriver8441]

Flew over it in the 70's...beautiful soft round top..then was in Portland when it blew...sooo much ash covered the town. Been up there since...it has really recovered and beautiful...but no top anymore.

[@royramey5659]

@@franklinshriver8441 What about Spirt LAKE?

[@ocsugar]

I did two summer YMCA camps in the mid seventies, waking up and seeing the deep cold lake with the mountain towering above and the smell of pine trees. I am sorry others like you didn't get a chance. It was obscene what that eruption did to Spirit Lake and Mt St Helen's.

[@nightflyer3242]

Truman had nothing to lose. He knew the mountain was going to erupt at any moment, and he accepted his fate.

[@wafflesnfalafel1]

right - lost his wife, all he had was the lodge, a jack and coke and his Cadillac... RIP.

[@Dovietail]

I disagree. No one foresaw the horizontal eruption and massive slide that exploded right into the face of Spirit Lake. If even professional volcanologists were caught off guard, clearly no one expected the size and scope of the cataclysm.

[@scottkemery867]

Correct. Harry had multiple escape plans he was unable to use because of the speed of it all. He planned on surviving and rebuilding. Of course we know now that would be impossible but he didn't know that.

[@dacechasinghawk3910]

That's right on, man. I respect and admire that. And that he was moved to tears and had to visit that school? He knew exactly what he was doing. Kind of takes away the sadness that he perished from the eruption. That he was ready for "Eternity". Where all good souls go.

[@arlitabeard7693]

Harry was akind and gentle man the lake was his life l spend many summers there my grandparents were scout leaders there for many years

[@bitey-facepuppyguy2038]

Good job researching this. This is a video of rare quality in terms of accuracy and presentation.

[@johndurrer7869]

Now days they wouldve dragged him saying that he was a danger to other. I miss the days when freedom was valued

[@EnemyOfThePeople1984]

Great! So you’re pro-choice, correct?

[@johndurrer7869]

@@EnemyOfThePeople1984 Nope, I’m against murder

[@EnemyOfThePeople1984]

@@johndurrer7869 Great! So you’re also against capital punishment.

[@johndurrer7869]

@@EnemyOfThePeople1984 Are you actually trying to compare an innocent baby in the womb to murderers? That’s cold

[@kimberlyfoster6865]

I was thinking this when he was talking. How quickly and stupidly a nation falls

[@pho3nixinflight]

Damn Truman lived a life! Survived a sinking in WWI, got involved with bootlegging and the mob, became a folk hero and immortalized by dying in the most famous volcano eruptions.

[@MidnightWarrior1976]

I don't think he suffered. Way too fast. The boom must have been deafening.

[@lukewalker3905]

The size of that explosion is hard to comprehend. The amount of energy needed to toss a single 100 tonne tree like a matchstick, let alone thousands of them is insane.

[@SMOBY44]

Not thousands, hundreds of millions of trees. All in about 30 seconds. I live about 30 miles from St Helens and got to view some of the destruction 1st hand the following saturday. I was 12 at the time.

[@nomad4k]

Yepp. At least a couple of hundred million trees. Just thrown around like toothpicks. Wow.

[@ALLLL4him]

This might help a tiny bit. The eruption produced a force equal to 10-50 megatons of TNT, the equivalent of 25,000 atomic bombs released over the city of Hiroshima during World War II.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Eight feet of diameter in some of those trees. Incredible force needed to snap something like that.

[@dalejr183]

It erupted the day I was born so I'm reminded of it every year

[@charlesmullins3238]

Bout a month after me

[@billofjazz]

So, my brother is exactly 81 years older than you. Neat.

[@billofjazz]

No, it's 44 years older. Please excuse my memory loss as I'm 3 years older than he.

[@michaelhardt9145]

Good job, you pronounced all the names right! I was camping in the gorge when it blew, saw a solid wall of ash to the North that went from the horizon to the top of the sky. If the wind had changed directions, I might not be writing this e-mail...

[@ej9236]

Did you take any pics?

[@victor-th4qs]

I lived about 70 miles from this Mountain, when it erupted in 1980. I walked up the hill. A clear day. I couldn't believe what I saw.

[@narglefargle]

Well, this was a pleasant surprise! The areas around Mt. St. Helens happen to be my absolute favorite hiking spots. Even four decades later, it still looks like a different planet in spots.

[@drewcraig6791]

Liar

[@nomad4k]

Yes indeed. My favorite place in the world. I fly there twice a year from New York and spend about a week each time. I take the time to go to the Johnston's ridge, Coldwater lake, harrys ridge (north side), spend a day on the south side in cougar WA area, and drive to the eastern side (from randle WA) to explore spirit lake and windy ridge areas. The regrowth of plants has been staggeringly quick in the last 5 years. It feels like plant growth is speeding up and there are visible differences I am noticing on a yearly basis.

[@coreym162]

@@nomad4k Wow! I hope to visit someday myself. Just remember, every time you visit you get a glimpse of the world just after the Dinosaurs went extinct and how it was possible for anything to survive after at all. The Earth and life is strong.

[@discingaround]

As a resident of WA, I'm really loving this story. Great storytelling, and I learned a few things about my area too.

[@dmrowell1]

Me too

[@grumble2009]

Me too! I remember being at at Fairchild AFB (near Spokane) for open house that Sunday, and then the traffic nightmare when we all had to leave because of the ash cloud.

[@drewcraig6791]

Stop pretending to be from Washington

[@mammadijacopo3347]

The man would rather die in his lodge, in the place he loved. I admire that.

[@chiasanzes9770]

A much Bitter than die in oli people home later. Cowards do differ.

[@RobJaskula]

Great stuff. This was such a big story in science class for those of us growing up in the 90s

[@michaelwills1926]

We watched this happen in real time 😳 one day the mountain peak is there, the next minute it’s history.

[@tonysansom]

I grew up in UK in the 80s. I don't remember it happening but I do remember learning about it at school.

[@drewcraig6791]

Stop lying

[@fleetwoodvo8673]

Chehalis is pronounced Chehayliss. Even so, Truman's bootlegging was news to me!

[@joshroolf1966]

Amazing job with our Washington tribal names, Chehalis was the only mistake I noticed! (I butcher U.K. proper nouns all the time apparently) I was also unaware of the bootlegging and 16 cats, what beautiful wrinkles to that story..:::❤

[@screwthishi5thing]

Every shot of the scenery is a Bob Ross painting...

[@e020443]

This is a remarkably comprehensive and interesting look at an event that has been described many times, but not with this focus. The gentleman who produced it, to my knowledge, mostly looks at railway and other transportation topics, mostly in the UK. Very well done!

[@jamesjacocks6221]

Let's let Harry live as one of the defiant ones who proved their commitment with their lives. Perhaps not the decision one would make in the prime of life, don't forget that Harry was checking out, and only was concerned where his hat was. What is regrettable is that his example will be abused to show human response to evidence that contradicts it. I hope that everyone understands that he had lived a great life and was fine with whatever happened. Not quite suicide, but then again, if you live long enough, each day you get out of bed is an act of defiance.

[@WildernessForever]

❤️

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

A great life. What was he? 84,? With a beloved wife and property for years and years uninterrupted. He died where he loved, as an old man. You cant beat that.

[@Murph1331]

The cats didn’t have a choice which is why he’s a stubborn ahole

[@SurnaturalM]

I would do the exact same thing as he did. I understand and have a lot of respect for his decision.

[@Terry_Fritz]

The National Geographic magazine report gave figures in cubic miles of rock being turned into dust that covered the countryside for hundreds of miles down wind. Pictures of the mountain don't convey the sheer size of it before the eruption. No internet back then for minute by minute reports like we would get now and the local newspapers here in Australia treated it as a one day event. My eternal thanks to the NGS for their articles.

[@Bradonomous]

That was superb. Simply sublime. Thank you for this wonderful story, so carefully told.

[@ivertranes2516]

Thanks so much. I've always wondered what became of Spirit Lake. I always thought it had simply been obliterated. I had no idea that it still existed. Goes to show just how tough this old planet really is.

[@drewcraig6791]

That's a lot of work to get done with the way you are so common the other side of the world is that the picture

[@drewcraig6791]

Are u saying your anti black

[@ivertranes2516]

@@drewcraig6791 ?????? How do you possibly come to a conclusion like that? Also, your first comment seems incomplete.

[@ivertranes2516]

@@drewcraig6791 for the record I'm not anti anybody. I extend respect to every human I meet simply because they are people.

[@drewcraig6791]

@@ivertranes2516 what happened?

[@penelopelopez8296]

I was 16 and watching the eruption unfold on the news back in 1980. My Uncle was living up there at the time and he just barely made it out. We didn’t hear anything from him for about a week….we didn’t know if he was okay. He finally called my mom and told her he was at a hotel somewhere and he was fine.

[@daleolson3506]

Thank you for no music 👍

[@russellgxy2905]

Only a volcanic eruption can move a mountain like that...

[@sw5713]

My grandpa told me a story right before he died in 2018 that he hated truman because he hit on my grandma at the lodge. My grandpa said he was working with forrest service in that area and he and my grandma was just dating back then. Guessing in the 40s ish. He said they had words. All he said. Grew up in Woodland, wa.

[@rEdf196]

I was 16 living on Vancouver Island 200 miles away when St Helens blew its top. I saw many beautiful pre eruption video tape footage of Spirit lake along with the famous Harry Truman interview just weeks before the eruption hit. I was shocked at its brutal destructive transformation. The wide spread intensity of the eruption surprised everyone.

[@eirinym]

It's all well and good if Truman wanted to stay but he should have let those cats go.

[@analogidc1394]

Did you want him to draw the cats a map of the area and have them follow a 10 mile road to safety?

[@Rich-on6fe]

They could have built a cat ark and sailed away across the endless crystal water to eternal safety.

[@altsplash9717]

There's a very dark animated kid's movie in that idea.

[@theextremeanimator4721]

@@altsplash9717 which one is it

[@WildernessForever]

I live very close to Yellowstone...if that baby ever blows I'll make absolutely sure that my cats know the way into town 🤣

[@squeekytheanimefreak]

I live in WA, have for most of my life and I’ve never been to Mt. St. Helens. Definitely need to make a trek there this summer!

[@jeepy8067]

Very interesting thanks. Really enjoy your channel!

[@kavorkaa]

I felt sorry for the cats

[@eagle-eye29]

Yeah, they weren’t given a choice 😢

[@anpj2006]

Very informative, thank you

[@JerryFisher]

One thing that I think many people might've forgotten is that all but four or five people who died in the eruption were *outside* the red zone. Immediately after the eruption, the governor victim-blamed the dead and hotly defended her cruel, thoughtless lie. That lie would become widespread, believed as fact until the facts became more widely published. Even today there are people who still think many or all of the victims "Got what they deserved." when the majority of them were not even in sight of the volcano, assured by the authorities that the areas they were in would be safe. But, all that aside, this is surely one of the best videos I've seen in a long time. There wasn't the usual reality crap angle. It wasn't exploitive. It explored areas beyond just Mount St. Helens herself, giving more context to the history and what was lost in 1980. Thank you for this video!

[@SJR_Media_Group]

I climbed the steep north face of St Helen's in 1971 with 3 other climbers. It was a spectacular mountain surrounding by so much natural beauty. On May 18, 1980, I was in Yakima. We felt the quake and a few minutes later heard the lateral explosion. 30 minutes after that, the sun vanished behind the giant ash cloud. We didn't see the sun until the next day. Everything was covered in grey ash, looking completely lifeless. The massive cleanup took months. Even today, there is a layer of ash close to surface. Dig down deeper, there are multiple layers of ash from much older eruptions. St Helen's will erupt again...

[@SA1NT53]

He told us he would never leave the mountain No matter what he did he wouldn’t go Some folks said he’s crazy But How can you blame him? Because they couldn’t take him from his home Here’s to you Harry Truman You’ve showed us the pride of a great human If the mountain goes then so do I This is where I live and where I choose to die Yes this is a song

[@Lurker1979]

My friend grew up in the shadow of Mt St Helens. His family working in the lumber industry. He said it was a was a miracle that it erupted on the weekend. If it had blown on day later. There would have been a lot more death. Thanks to all the lumber employees that would have been working.

[@joshmoore6165]

I wished I could have seen the look on his face that morning ...

[@robertmoir5695]

Today is May 18th 2023 43 years today Such a beautiful mountain destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption I was still 18 then

[@TrueHighlander_Scotland]

I visited the lower slopes of Mt St Helens as a teenager in 1975 and played in the water near the bridge on the North Tuttle River in July of that year. It was icy runoff from the mountain and cold. I also got to visit Spirit Lake and remember how surreal it was to stand on her shores and see the waterfall in the distance. I was in military basic training when the eruption took place in 1980. I returned in 1991 while visiting my grandparents in Longview. My grandmother and I took a drive completely around the mountain and observed the devastation left on the North/Northeast side. I have not been back since 1991 and not sure if I will ever return again as I no longer have living relatives there.

[@sarjim4381]

Excellent video of an important geological event. My brother lived in a rural area west of Spokane WA. He and his family used to go to Spirit Lake for camping and water skiing. We had taken trips to Spirit Lake several times to go with him camping. It was a beautiful area. They lived far enough away from St Helens not to have their lives being directly threatened but, after days of eruptions, his home was buried to nearly the roof by ash. He and the others in the small town they lived in needed to be evacuated as they ran out of food and water, there was no power, and structures began to collapse, but it was nearly impossible, as ash clogged up an internal combustion engines, and vehicles would grind to a halt after just a few miles in the falling ash. They were preparing a plan to bring in hundreds of horses and mules to take people out when the eruptions finally stopped. After specially preparing Greyhound busses to run though the clouds of ash stirred up by the traffic, they were able to get everyone out. He lost almost everything in the eruption, but they were glad to just be able to leave. As you might imagine, he now doesn't live anywhere near a volcano of any kind.

[@drewcraig6791]

Your not from Washington stop with the b.s.

[@dianalewis3148]

Nowhere had ash up to their roofs. Several inches maybe … but no way it was several feet.

[@kdog543]

Truman heart was there in that place like he said his place was there out of the whole world and country.🕊✨🌌🌬

[@kdog543]

Those 2 mountains are my favorite in the world and my country🦅🌬🌌🥂🕊🖤💜💛💞🦁🦝🐍🐘🍊🌴🌧

[@joeylantis22]

You make such amazing videos, bravo! So much of KZbin is filled with half-truths and dummies, love, love, love your videos!

[@drscopeify]

This is the absolute best video on the event. Your research, background Info, side details and delivery is just fantastic and I learned many new details from it.

[@matthewmurphy3140]

In my opinion you have the most engaging tone of any documentary narrator second to Attenborough albeit a close second I hope this channel becomes very big as you thoroughly deserve the recognition.

[@benscoles5085]

I want to be just like Harry,,,I hope when my time is up, something absolutely amazing is the cause, like a big ol sink hole, or a mountain falls on me, heck even an all out hail storm with basketball sized hail, knocks me in the head. anything other than to die in a bed surrounded by people all holding a copy of my will.

[@sc8307]

Well done! Excellent presentation and speaking skills. I was at Mt. St. Helen's about a week ago. Unfortunately it was so cloudy/foggy we couldn't see it. Guess I'll have to plan another trip!

[@wildlyunrulyadventures3942]

I have lived here for both St. Helens eruptions. My family still has jars of ash. Harry Truman was a Washington legend in life and after. She will always be his Mountain. This was a well done and accurate documentary.

[@wackbatt4746]

enjoyed that , well written , nice doc

[@arlitabeard7693]

This is God's country I miss Spirit lake and Harry my grandparents where scout masters there we when every summer you could see to the bottom of the lake and it was cold

[@thelastjohnwayne]

I live nearby. And I was there that day and watched erupt. We used to be able to see the top of the mountain from our living room window on a sunny day. But after the mountain erupted it is much shorter so we have to view it from a different spot.

[@corinheathcote9868]

Really enjoyed this one, thanks for putting it together.

[@Gizathecat2]

My mom and sister met Harry and many of his cats in the mid 1970s.

[@NaomiChambers]

I remember writing Truman a letter when I was little. I was 5 when the volcano erupted, I was in a cabin with my mother and sister. I remember the ash fall. Mom made us wear handkerchiefs over our mouths. It was a very scary experience for a kid my age.

[@jamesleyda365]

God!!.... that was a beautiful place. Well it still is but in a different way. This was a place literally near.....& dear to my family 🌋🤘

[@Mr.Martini549]

A very fascinating event I remember dominating the news for weeks. I visited Mt. St. Helen's in 2007. It's a very eerie place!

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Im starting to think whiskey and coke was the internet back then. Something to pass the time in a somewhat remote area. Did Harry have TV or anything? Odd question, but im curious as to how off the grid he lived. He seemed happy, and I think he absolutely LOVED his fifteen minutes of fame.

[@TheBandit7613]

Local lodges had whatever anyone else had at the time, electric and phone.

[@kai990]

I really wonder what would have happened if they nuked erupting mt st helens back in the day

[@charlesburgoyne-probyn6044]

A flash

[@kai990]

@@charlesburgoyne-probyn6044probably even like a rumbling sound in the distance

[@frankblangeard8865]

Thank you Mount Saint Helens for clearing out the area so that it could become a National Volcanic Monument.

[@jamesmoore9511]

A much better video than I expected - very well done. When the mountain went off it woke me up with the thought - who had the gaule to be blasting stumps at this time on a Sunday morning.

[@johndeere8866]

Harry was 83 years old when the mountain blew. He would have turned 84 in the coming November. I believe he could have lived till 100 years old. To get to his lodge property now, you would first have to swim out on the lake 200', then dive down 100' to the lake bottom. THEN dig down 200' feet through the debris and sediment. Then you will be where he was that fateful day. God bless you Harry, your wife Eddie and your Daughter.

[@rapidthrash1964]

I was born exactly 13 years after the eruption. RIP to Harry and his cats

[@MidnightWarrior1976]

If people were sneaking around and looting etc, I wonder if there were more than 57 victims. It was a Sunday -- a good day for adventures.

[@LilyGazou]

I thought all the thieving was a recent problem. Now I see that that thieving was always a problem in this state.

[@jeffmutrie227]

Harry Truman is a true American. He carved out a piece of beautiful land when people could. He built the most beautiful lodge and cabins by what was arguably the most pristine part of the Pacific Northwest to ever exist.

[@pyrodoll2422]

Great video, very informative. Thanks for putting it together.

[@zanelindsay1267]

This account really added perspective to my knowledge of the subject. I happened to drive south through western Washington State the day before St Helens blew up in May 1980. The next day I was having breakfast with a friend in Eugene Oregon and we heard a noise that we later realized coincided with the eruption. I was fortunate not to get into the mess of ash fallout that followed. Oregon had some uncharacteristic significant earthquakes in the 1990's and we should not forget that the Cascade mountain range is still capable of volcanic activity. My current home has a distant view of the rim of Crater Lake in the Oregon Cascades, formerly the site of Oregon's highest mountain before it blew up an estimated 7700 years ago.

[@The-Thinking-Cat]

I met people who went to Spirit Lake when they were young, who told me it had a really strange presence, just an eerie feeling.

[@thephoenixking1945]

Chehalis is pronounced Shuh Hail iss, not Shuh Hall iss. Good video besides that.

[@kdog543]

Thank you informative maps cascade range and the Pacific rim of fire and connections of the mountains and the plates going down to the ridges under the oceans. Love native American stories telling history in the spiritual ways. And history for many my fellow Americans don't even realise old maps and history for going back to before 1400's records or to 1500 to 1600 in my part of the region. For I research this area and old names before modern day names of towns to cities.

[@kdog543]

I knew this as a kid at 3 or 4 yr old and by God and devil spirit I used here alot or with me as a kiddie until I got older and wiser in my like Truman that place apart of him as much my state is apart of me. I love history stuff anything old fabric caught in time or old story excretra. Its ironic for high school days hated world history stuff except history and visions to my own state and country before I went to college and had an great college professor that gave me a profoundly love for history stuff or new outlook on the world and country.

[@raymundoo6768]

I first met Harry in 1978. It was in August and I was staying the Summer with my grandparents in Kelso. My grandpa had heard his wife passed on and wanted to pay his respects since he and Harry were old friends. When we got there Harry met us in the parking lot with a rifle, screaming at us and cussing us for trespassing. He must’ve been drunk as hell because he didn’t even say hi to my grandpa and they had known each other since the 50’s. He loved his whiskey.

[@geoffreyrichardson8738]

Mother Nature is awesome

[@chloehennessey6813]

That dome forming on the side with smoke and steam emitting. Surely they thought an eruption from the side was possible? Why else would it melt the glaciers and emit volcanic gases?

[@Clearanceman2]

The ironic thing was Truman could have given the looters anything they wanted and at least those things wouldn't have been buried under tens of feet of mud and ash.

[@panowa8319]

They should make a biopic of Harry Truman. I'm not referring to the embellished version played by Art Carney.

[@Clearanceman2]

A $500 fine or $1554 dollars in 2021 or 35,136 dollars in 2024.

[@SandraLily2]

Harry Truman. The only documented case of suicide by volcano.

[@rsnell22]

Only a handful of the victims were "violators" of the red zone. That, however was not how the media portrayed them.

[@fourdegreeswarmer]

Sixteen cats.

[@MomentswithDavid]

How do they know it was erupting in the 1400s??

[@kimcavagna2082]

I lived in Oklahoma during this event, there was ash falling from the sky

[@SunsetRailMultimedia]

All child's play compared to what's coming when Rainier blows....

[@LilyGazou]

Waiting for the 9.2 eq Any day now. I’m amazed people buy houses in the Kent Valley and Nisqually Valley.

[@brightfalls6788]

18:01 So as usual, the media freaked everyone out and made a big deal about it being a permanent wasteland. Then A few years later, nature quickly begins recovery. lol

[@ryanh3176]

The media?