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My brother and Mt. St. Helens

Exactly 28 years before Mt. St. Helens erupted it was on the front page of The Spokesman-Review. On Sunday, May 18, 1952, a climber fell into crevasse on the mountain and rescue operations were underway.

The climber was my brother, Art Jessett, and he had Spokane connections. The story was on the front page of the Spokesman on Monday the 19th when Art’s fate was unknown, and on Tuesday the 20th with the report of recovery of his body and more information regarding the accident. That the mountain blew on the exactly same day Art died on the mountain has always held great meaning for my family.

The crevasse in which he died was on the north side of the mountain, where the earthquake turned the mountainside into the huge landslide.

Frederick Jessett

Spokane



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