In the early spring of 1980, a man named Harry Randall Truman became a minor celebrity across the Pacific Northwest.

As signs that Mount St. Helens was on the verge of a major eruption became more obvious, scientists and law enforcement began to warn people who lived on or near the mountain that it would be a good idea to move, at least for the time being.

But Truman refused. The owner and caretaker at the Mount St. Helens Lodge on beautiful Spirit Lake, he said he was staying put.

He was 83 years old, and no one -- and no rumbling -- was going to chase him off the mountain.

Then the mountain called Truman's bluff. Thirty-five years ago Monday, Mount St. Helens literally blew its top. Exploding with the force equivalent to about 1,600 atomic bombs of the type dropped on Hiroshima, it lost 1,300 feet of elevation and killed 57 people, Truman presumably among them.

Mountain of facts

The United States Geological Survey has published a list of

Among them:

* During the past 4,000 years, Mount St. Helens has erupted more frequently than any other volcano in the Cascade Range.

* Most of Mount St. Helens is less than 3,000 years old, making the mountain younger than the Egyptian pyramids.

* The May 18, 1980, eruption was the most economically destructive in U.S. history.

His remains were never found, nor were those of his many beloved cats. The lodge was buried under 150 feet of mud, then covered with about 150 feet of water when the lake filled with debris. The huge trees that surrounded it were nothing but blown-down kindling.

The nine-hour cataclysm that day did billions of dollars in damage and altered the landscape of vast areas of Washington state for centuries to come, including 250 square miles of once-green forests around the mountain -- and the mountain itself. The 8,364-foot snow cone you now see from Portland was once a majestic 9,677 feet.

So much ash was thrown into the air that it turned day into night, and the darkness caused streetlights to go on in Yakima and Ritzville at noon.

Spokane and other towns in eastern Washington ended up with as much as 5 inches of ash on the ground. It was years before it was all cleaned away.

The ash cloud was carried around the Earth for 15 days. At least three other eruptions followed in the next couple of months, including one that dumped ash on Portland.

The mountain awoke again with another eruption in 2004. But none came close to equaling the size and impact of the first. The explosion was a reminder that to live in the Pacific Northwest is to live in the "Ring of Fire," an area scientists say runs around the rim of the Pacific Ocean and contains more than 400 volcanoes.

Mount Hood is one. Mount Rainier is one. Even Mount Tabor, a pastoral city park in the middle of Portland, is one, albeit a very quiet one. The outdoor basketball court there actually sits in the caldera.

While many mountains in the ring occasionally do some shaking -- Mount Hood had a couple of episodes recently -- most don't blow up the way Mount St. Helens did, at least not a regular basis.

But just like scientists say that a major earthquake doubtlessly will hit the region one day, the same is true of our exploding mountains.

As for Truman: While he's long gone, memories of him linger. Mike Lloyd of The Oregonian produced the video above on the 30th anniversary of the blast; KATU (2) did a feature about him just a year before the eruption; a book was written about him, and there was a movie, starring Art Carney, a year later.

In addition, the Truman Trail and Harry's Ridge on the mountain are both named for him.

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Where were you when the mountain blew? What do you remember about it? Or if you weren't alive at the time, how do you remember learning about the eruption and its aftermath. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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-- John Killen

503-221-8538; @johnkillen