Are you old enough to remember the eruption of Mt. St. Helens? Were you affected by it in any way?

My strongest memory: the people of Washington state voted out Warren Magnuson, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, shortly after the eruption. Then, these same voters wondered why federal money wasn’t forthcoming to clean up the mess and fix the damage. As the kids say, “Duh.”

No, but I was there when Mt. Ranier erupted. I was a little girl, and at first I had vivid dreams that I ran around with a basket and picked up lava. Then I learned that these eruptions could be dangerous. It was scary and a life-changing event for me, to know that something in nature could hurt or kill me. I hid under tables during the day and my bed at night for about a week.

@lillycoyote I believe it was May 18, 1980 when it erupted, which would make it 30 years ago. I remember it very well, but it did not affect me in any way because I was living in the northeast at the time.

I remember it well, but other than making for a much cooler summer in the midwest it affected me little. That said, I have a weird affection for volcanoes, very possibly because of the eruption of Mt. St Helens.

@pearls Yeah, math is not my strong suit. :) LOL. I noticed that after it was too late to edit. Still, it’s an anniversary worth noting, I think. Why can’t the mods save you from that sort of thing? Doesn’t Fluther have any standards? :)

We in alberta had a couple of hazy days. The news said it was ash. We camped somewhere a few years later- Waterton park maybe, and they sold us pottery fired with Mount St Helens ash in the paint. I choose to believe it!

The hippies were driving to a Grateful Dead show out there driving through all that stuff.
That would be kinda crazy.

I remember it clearly, or at least I remember seeing it on the TV. I was 13.

I kinda sorta do because the Christmas following then all the gift stores had fabulous blown glass ornaments made with ash from the eruption.