40 years ago near Mount St. Helens: Man refuses to evacuate as volcano threat grows

Mount St. Helens still was rumbling on April 26, 1980, but scientists had no idea what it might portend.

“Ground tilt has been recorded, but doesn’t conclusively show the volcano is either expanding or contracting,” reported the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Harry Truman (no relation to the former president) was becoming an international celebrity for refusing to evacuate from his Spirit Lake Lodge at the base of the mountain. He had been warned repeatedly that he was in danger, but the most he agreed to do was shift his bed to the basement “because of the near constant shaking.”

Now, people all over world were writing to him with words of support. He even received three proposals of marriage.

“Everybody wants a piece of old Truman now,” said Harry, who admitted to being somewhat over 80 years old.

He particularly liked the letters written by kids, even though many urged him to leave. One letter read, “Only one person (in our class) thinks you should stay, but he’s strange anyway.”

By April 29, 1980, scientists were worried about a potential massive avalanche, caused by an alarming bulge on the peak’s north side. A mile-wide slab of ice, snow and rock could break loose.

The next day, scientists warned that this growing bulge could be the harbinger of something far more devastating. It might mean “molten rock is rising through the mountain on its way to an explosive lava eruption.”

By May 2, the mountain’s contortions had grown so alarming that Gov. Dixy Lee Ray ordered everybody except scientists and law enforcement officers out of a 5-mile radius around the mountain.

Harry Truman, however, stayed put.