Category: Elder Folk
So, on May 18, 1980, what were you all doing? What was said eruption like for you? I know there was ash all over the world in subsequent months. Just curious to hear about your experiences.
I will never forget the reports on the radio How the Tootle River was reduced to a landslide of boiling mud with the consistency of thick pudding. We didn't do radio / television that often in our house, so it was much more than just background noise. I have a bit of a one-tracked mind, so lost the game of checkers I was playing, as I was so fascinated with what was going on.
Even with the events starting in March leading up to it, lots of my schoolmates were afraid of the whole idea of lava flowing down a mountain (not likely in that particular mountain range), but I wanted to go near it, that combination of fear / curiosity I guess. That's what started an amateur interest in geology for me. A while later, when my parents got me a subscription from the NLS to National Geographic, I kept the two issues detailing the specifics of what happened. Don't have those anymore, but for awhile, it was fun.
Also, any of you go outside when there was ash on the ground? It was a bit like snow in summer: naturally would have been gray or black, but all life was still, and even though it was sixty degrees or so, you're walking on something crunchy, like snow.
Anyway, curious about your experiences with this.
Wow, I guess I should weigh in on this. I lived in Eastern Washington at the time, near Walla Walla. I'm not sure if much of interest really happened that day, just news reports and stuff. Not even sure we got hit with ash. I do remember one of the nearby TV stations did a documentary about what happened, and I remember one of the pizza places in Walla Walla came up with a couple of volcano-related beverages. I also remember getting a T-shirt that said something like "Grab your ash and run" which I thought was funny at the time. Hey, I was about fifteen, go figure. LOL!
Nice to see someone else respond but I guess the lack of responses shows the age range on here. To them I guess guys like you and me are old dogs ...
No, I think there may be other folks our age here, but I don't think they live in the Northwest so may have forgotten about what happened. Maybe the Iran hostage situation which I think was still going on at the time may have been more important. Who knows.
I certainly do not remember said events, but ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed volcanoes and geology and studied the big eruptions, this one included, read accounts and science articles about it.
I am enjoying the eruption in my home country of Iceland, even if it is not very accessible. We´ve had very minor ash fall in Reykjavik, the capital, but the volcano is some 100 miles east of here and very seldom do we have esterly winds so the ash generally gets blown south or southeast towards Norway, England and Europe in general, they´ve had much more ash than we have.
Some good t-shirts here say things like "do not mess with Iceland, if you want your airports to remain open", and I refer to myself and an ash hole abroad.
Of course our flights from the U.S. and within Eurlope were delayed and we had some inconveniences as a result, but this is also a very special event, despite the financial damage.
The volcano seems to be quieting down now so there is a chance it may be more or less over, but it is impossible to tell.
Cheers
-B
I was (and still am) up the road a little in Vancouver, Canada.
I was 8 at the time of the eruption but don't remember much about it... while I didn't personally hear anything, I know of others who claim to have heard an explosion or rumbling or something to that effect.
My family was given a small container of ash by some relatives who have relatives who live 'State side. I'm not quite sure where the bottle is, but I remember thinking "Oh, cool." when we first got it.