Harry Truman Buried: Innkeeper Defied Mt. St. Helens
Harry R. Truman, the 83-year-old owner-operator of Mount St. Helens Lodge on Spirit Lake, became a folk hero in the weeks before the eruption by stubbornly refusing to evacuate despite increasingly urgent warnings from scientists and law enforcement. He appeared on national television, posed with his 16 cats, and declared "If the mountain goes, I'm going with it." The mountain erupted on May 18, 1980, burying the lodge and Spirit Lake under 150 feet of volcanic debris. Truman's body was never recovered. His refusal to leave captured the American imagination: songs were written about him, a book was published, and schoolchildren sent him letters. He remains a polarizing figure, celebrated by some as a symbol of independence and criticized by others as recklessly endangering rescuers.
May 18, 1980
46 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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