May 18, 1980 a day that will live in many peoples memories. It was the day that Mount Saint Helens erupted in the state of Washington. No one was prepared for what did happen. Everything that happened was just someone’s educated guess; no one knew anything for sure. What did happen was a complete surprise to everyone involved. And a long overdo soil Reminalization for the surrounding landscape.
The government people were doing and saying what government people say and do; trying not to cause undo panic and flex the necessary muscle to get their points across in the name of public safety because they always know what is best for everyone. The news media people were doing and saying what news media people say and do, which seemed to be not much because no one knew about what was to happen. The rest of us were just living day to day going about our own business. The farmers in this Colombia River drainage area and especially around the towns of Quincy, George and Yakima were busy planting their corps and trimming their fruit trees and tending their livestock hoping for a decent price to make their efforts pay off at harvest time.
The winter had been a normal one that year and the spring was a bit wetter than usaile causing some to get into the fields a little later in the season. All eyes were on the hard red winter wheat coming on strong and which the outlook was promising for a high yield. All in all it was looking like any other past year; that was until later that day.
A slight tremor was felt by a few but most were to busy to notice anything. More folks noticed a darkening of the western sky. This grew in intensity over a span of a few short hours. Then this mysterious light grey volcanic ash started to coat everything. Its appearance was as a super fine abrasive dust. Those that were driving started to notice it was unlike anything they had experienced before. It scratched the windshields, it scratched the paint. It chocked the air filters and fuel intake filters. It stalled cars on freeways and roadways. This was no sand storm. This was no dust storm. This was worst in many ways.
Everyone exposed couldn’t help but cough it was dry and hurt ones throat and nose. It seemed to rub your skin raw if one tried to wipe it off instead of washing it off. It struck everywhere it touched that was moist. It got in your eyes and nose and there was no relief. Dust masks helped a little but very little, because this dust found its way around and into every thing and seemed to be every where. A breeze didn’t help to clear the air in fact it made it worse. Soon it started to coat the insides of homes and businesses.
The Government people were doing what government people do in times such as these. They were telling people what they were already doing, and that was get inside and stay there, don’t drive, keep the kids inside, cancel work and social events.
The news media people were doing what news media people always do. They were out in it and filming and talking to everyone who had some option about this or that, trying to overstate the obvious and understate the lack of knowledge of what really was happening.
The farmers and orchard men and livestock people did what they always have done since the beginning of time; they sat and waited, thinking at times “this to will past”. Unbeknown to them at the time it will be these folks that will benefited the most
for what was later called a “blessing”.
It was said by some expert that it didn’t take long for the ash to hitch a ride in the jet stream and be carried around the world. It didn’t take long for the same ash to rain down and spot and ruin a large number of vehicle paint jobs as far east as New York. Greenland saw it, as did England and France. Some say Japan noticed it. But it was the Columbia River area framer that felt its impact the most.On the Robert Hammond Farm as well as the Bushman Farm and the Child Farm work soon begun to remove from the fields the large amounts of this material for it was inches thick, to thick to just plow into the soil. The crops that had been planted earlier had died, so replanting was the only option. Large tractors and land scrapers, front end loader were used, any thing and everything was used to remove as much as possible of this material. It filled ditches, borrow pits, anyplace that needed filling up was filled. It was everywhere and lots of it. This Volcanic ash had its toll on the equipment filters had to be replace continuously the abrasive nature wore out bearings and seals. Many machines died never to be used again. Time was running out and the fields had to be replanted. What remained on the fields had to be worked into the soil, in the hopes that the plants would survive this “contamination”.
What grew out of that soil that first year was what surprised everyone. Who knew then that this Volcanic ash was natures way of remineralizing and revitalizing the soil. More to come
