I knew Harry as a young kid in the late 60's, early 70's. He was a character. My mom knew him from her days at Y-Camp across the lake. We'd rent rowboats from him.
We have stayed at Harrys and fished the lake for many years. We talked to Harry a few days before he lost his life, he talked a big game but was honestly scared of some of those bigger quakes, but he truly thought nothing was going to happen to him. None of us thought it was going to be as big and violent as it was, had Harry actually known what was about to happen he would have stayed with family. I was only about 20 to 25 miles away when it erupted, it was so loud, its hard to compare it to anything. The ground shook and the sky turned black so quickly. Its a shame so man people had to die, some were completely avoidable, unfortunately some were arrogant. It was ridiculous that so many people gave geologists and government officials such a hard time for closing down the mountain, then when it erupted and destroyed everything in its path, those same people blamed the same officals for not doing more or making the safe area bigger. Its frightening to think that was a small volcano compared to the super ones, it was a once in a lifetime experience that i don't want to repeat.
He was old and spent most of his adult life on that mountain. I think he went out the way he wanted, considering the circumstances. If he’d have left, he would’ve died in a week.
Johnston was the only person with business to be there… I don’t blame Harry though, I would’ve probably did the same thing! It should be noted that the loggers mostly had a day off, otherwise the death toll would have been way worse!
I don't think Harry would have coped well with the devastation of his lodge and the entire area. Im glad he never had to see the effects of it beyond the few seconds in which the eruption overtook him.
The aerial footage at 1:52 I believe was filmed by geologist Dorothy Stoffel, literally a few minutes before the eruption. She and her husband chartered a small plane to view the mountain, and they were right over it when it blew. The pilot nose dived to gain speed and turned due south to avoid the eruption. If you haven't seen her interview about this, you really should look it up. Incredible story
He ate up the attention. We all wanted him to save his 16 cats! There was groups that tried..he was a ahole about it.. Even asca 19 yr old boy I wanted to help save them...
Lots of things have been said about Harry R. Truman. Me, I reckon he was a very determined fellow who departed from this world exactly on his terms. I do wonder if he was outside at 8.32am on that fateful day and saw that pyroclastic flow hurtling towards him and his lodge and if so what thoughts went through his mind.
He might have given in and said "Okay!" in a somber voice and closed his eyes into the next world. His cabin faced the lake so, he might have been in his house looking at the mountain. If he wasn't a sleep from all the excitement and interviews leading up to then. There also was no loud boom either so, he might have been completely caught off guard when it happened.
Harry must of accepted when the wind was 300 mph and the wall was 200ft hi ready to hit him. Guys like this come along only once in a lifetime. What a piece of work i hope he rested and in peace.
At that age, with that life, I think most of us would go out like Truman. Especially after considering what the end result of the lodge and spirit lake was. He would have been absolutely devastated.
You know I just used to think he was a crazy old man, but I understand now. When you lose a mate from so many years it must be just absolute hell. That place he lived in was his fortress, his last stand.
Same exact feeling. I love it when my worldview on a subject completely changes. Instead of “he got what he deserved” it is now “he got what he wanted.”
@@Yojimbonh. He might have made a different decision if she had still been living. But she wasn’t, and I believed him when he said that he wouldn’t live long had he moved away from his home. I think that is especially the case had he seen the massive destruction caused by the eruption.
good thing we got to get all these interviews on film, so we all got to know Harry, so apart of him will live for on in our memories. world could sure use some more Harry Trumans right now
My mom and dad grew up in Longview and Kelso. They knew Harry and his wife. I am looking at a picture of my mom at Spirit Lake Lodge from about 1944-45. I spent a few weeks there myself back in the 1970's.
Couldn't imagine that slept moment when he saw the mountain blow. When it blew I was 4 years old. I asked my dad later the next day what is this sand in our yard living in Texas. He said a mountain threw it out to us
Being buried in scalding hot mud that you desperately try to claw your way out of until either you suffocate or bake to death is 'better' than peacefully slipping away on a comfortable bed, maybe with loved ones around you? What's wrong with you?
2:19 "There's no god-d*mn way that that mountain has got enough stuff to come my way, I've got (something) trees between me and that, no way in the world to do it!" Nature finds a way
As the final evacuations happened, he felt fear. To the point he said he didn't know whether his shaking were the earthquakes or his anxiety. He wasn't brave - he was in denial and almost suicidal. He told himself scientists were hippy liars. He must've felt great shock and fear if he saw the flow come to bury and burn him to death.
God Love Ya, Harry Truman! May you and your wife be in heaven together right now, looking down on your mountain, enjoying a good glass of hooch! Rest in peace, Sir! xo
I was there in the fall of 1979. Beautiful! I was going to paddle out on the lake and take photographs ofb5ge beautiful alpenglow. But I was too lazy. I planned to come back and do it in summer 1980. Never figured the lake and most ofb6he mountain will be gone.
Today was the first day I heard of him, a lady who was stationed in Washington back then to help people evacuate was telling me about him and how everyone tried to convince him to leave and he didn’t want to and it was traumatizing finding the people that didn’t survive. They said one of the reasons he didn’t wanna leave was because he said that they kept saying it was gonna blow every year for 30 years and evacuate and it never did and he thought it was gonna be fluke . Pretty scary had to look it up to find out about his story was wild.
Ironically, with the exception of a handful of people, most of the 57 people who died were in areas that were thought to be safe. Officials didn’t even try to find Truman’s remains, as he is likely buried under 150 feet of earth. They never found the remains, truck, and camper being used by geologist David Johnston, who was stationed five miles north of Mount St. Helens, on a ridge that now bears his name. He only got time to radio the USGS office in Vancouver, Washington, saying, “Vancouver, Vancouver this is it!” There was not just the eruption itself, but the largest landslide ever recorded in human history, as the entire north face slumped off the mountain. And almost everyone underestimated the power of that eruption. It was fortunate that it occurred on a Sunday early morning. Any other weekday, and there would have been hundreds of loggers in the forest surrounding the mountain. Huge trees were knocked over like matchsticks up to 20 miles north of the volcano. Chances of survival were much higher on the southern side, unless one got caught in the mudslides caused by the instantaneous melting of all the snow on the mountain. Had it happened later in the day, many property owners, who were being permitted to retrieve their belongings would have been in the path of the eruption, or would have been swept by the mudflows, with most of the bridges swept away.
I can respect it. His wife had passed, he was very elderly and while not needing nursing care yet he soon probably would have and this kind of character would die quickly in a nursing home. I remember when my great grandfather died at age 90 and my mother was comforted by the fact he died in his bed asleep. Peaceful they call it. Well Harry drank a lot, he probably drunk himself to sleep and he died asleep never knowing was happened. Not a bad way to go.
I find it hilarious they talked him into leaving… only to thank the school kiddos that tried to talk him out of staying and head right back home! True legend
If Harry had spent five minutes looking at the geological records from the area he would have realized that the volcano could, indeed, reach Spirit Lake.
Seems like a good guy to sit around and listen tell stories. He underestimated the power of what was coming. Yet, he went out the way he wanted. RIP old fella! He's back with his wife now.
I think he was doing a fair amount of blustering for the cameras, since that kind of talk kept people coming by to interview him. But if you look at 6:50, underneath all that I believe he understood the risks in staying, but also that once he left he probably wasn't going to be able to return, even if there wasn't an eruption - someone was going to declare him unable to live by himself out in the woods, etc. I think that's what he was more afraid of, not that he wasn't afraid of the mountain and the quakes.
So were a lot of others. Just days before, local and state officials were besieged by angry property owners, who wanted to get back to their land. Even geologists underestimated the extent of the lateral blast. But a lot was learned by the eruption, and that knowledge and research has saved many lives in subsequent eruptions in the decades since.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking too. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I read somewhere that Spirit Lake is now around 200 ft higher after the eruption 🌋 so there’s no way any remains of this guy’s house/lodge is only under 50 ft.
Yes, so when the 300-400ft wall of mud, volcanic matter etc came barreling down that mountain at 150-200mph it pushed everything in that lake up thousands of feet into the hills. The mud settled quickly and the water rushed back in on top of the 100ft of mud raising the lake. Such a crazy situation, I’m a bit obsessed with the details on what happens here
@@svnsetsomnia8280 it's under about 150 of dirt and another 150ft of water. So it's now about 300ft down. All that's probably left are cement foundations and steps. While it's possible some of his stuff survived, it's incredibly unlikely most of it did. And what little did is likely now buried too. It's wild just to think about it all honestly.
I bet it’s extremely well persevered of what’s left, but who’s gonna ever dig that deep under a deep lake? Him and his wife are apart of that mountain for eternity! To be honest, spirit lake is the perfect name for it… in hindsight.
Im thinkin the Big Quake, along with the wind, shook the lodge so much, it caved in on him. He prolly felt nothing. No way of knowing..I waz 13 at the time, I lived in NYS..We watched it on the news..A year later u could send away for a small packet of ash from the eruption..I still have it today..RIP Harry and the rest who were ld to rest somewhere on the mountain..
What people are forgetting is that just about everyone underestimated the power of the volcano. The vast majority of the fatalities occurred in areas that were not in the “red zone”. What also came as a surprise to everyone (except perhaps some of the geologists) was the extent of the lateral blast to the north. Trees were knocked over up to twenty miles north of the mountain. But a lot was learned from that eruption, and government officials have learned to listen to geologists in evacuating people away from danger, saving many lives in later eruptions.
"There's no goddam way that mountain has got enough stuff to come my way. Ive gotta hell of a lotta trees between me and that. No way in the world it could do it" - man obliterated by volcano. Yep totally sane and a great role model. Lol
He's a fantastic character with a great spirit, but on the other hand, yeah... That's what we need. More men with more bravado than sense who don't know what they're talking about.
I don't feel bad for him; he lived the life he wanted and chose his fate. But I've seen a few pictures of him with several cats, and I *do* feel sorry for them. They didn't get to chose *their* fate.
zero respect. he refused to believe science. geologist david johnston died ten seconds after the eruption started, but he tried his best to keep people out of the red zone. truman was an idiot for not believe johston.
A tangible link to the twilight of the wild west, in a way. The 1920s were wild here, and it took a good while for us to be proper "civilized." To think a man could just toss up some timbers and open a lodge without any paperwork lol. Leased from the owners of the West, the railroad barons. Truman was a real fella, no doubt. He's missed, but it came swift for him and would have been but a moment or two of horror, if any, and he wanted to go deep down inside himself. Yeah he'd have fought if he could, maybe a thief or a robber, but the mountain? Yeah, he fought it by bunkering down, trying to outwit nature. But he was okay with going, he knew it was coming, or he suspected it despite his hilarious descriptions of the mountain erupting and "not having enough stuff" in it. Funny. He went with his boots on to be with his Edie, and their romance was one for the history books.
It’s difficult to grasp this in hindsight, but most people, including high-ranking state and local officials underestimated the power of the eruption. Mount St. Helens became active at the very end of March with a few minor eruptions. So six weeks passed between the first awakening and the major eruption. Geologists were alarmed by the bulging north side of the volcano, but not many were paying attention to this. And just days before, property owners who had been evacuated were pretty angry with officials about not being allowed access to their property. So much so that officials allowed two convoys, during limited hours, to allow those owners access to their property. The owners pretty much thought, after six weeks, that the danger was over. The first convoy happened on Saturday May 17. The second was scheduled on Sunday May 18, but the volcano had other plans, because early that morning (about 8:30), the landslide and eruption occurred. Had it happened later that day… many of those owners would have died, either in the eruption, or in the mudslides that took out most of the bridges on the road going in. Also, the logging companies pretty much ignored the warnings, and had that eruption happened any other day but Sunday, hundreds of loggers would have died. So Harry Truman wasn’t the only one who underestimated the power of an erupting volcano. And very few foresaw the extent of the lateral blast, which knocked over trees up to twenty miles to the north. That even surprised many geologists, or they never would have set up an observing site five miles north of the mountain. That landslide (and blast of heat and ash) swept up and over the ridge that now bears the name of David Johnston, the geologist there when the volcano erupted. They never found him, his truck, camper, or equipment.
He got lucky believe it or not. He would have died before he even realized it. It has been determined that he died from heat shock within one second of the eruption which is less time than for him to comprehend. He doesn't even know he's dead to this day. It's like he never existed.
Or like he's still living on to this day considering he died almost 20 years before I was born and I'm hearing him speak rn... to say he never existed is so deeply untrue I'd argue his existence is more set-in-stone than your own (literally he's part of the local geology now)
He was brave and a hell of a man, but I'm willing to bet when, and if he seen that blast, he was shaking like an epileptic at a laser light show. I bet that scalding hot mud turned old Truman into jerky real quick.
He was heavy drinker and already had a bit of a death wish. It was probably scary af to witness but his death was likely mercifully quick and he didn't get to process much.
I knew Harry as a young kid in the late 60's, early 70's. He was a character. My mom knew him from her days at Y-Camp across the lake. We'd rent rowboats from him.
wow it must be an honor for you to know him
@@jupitersaturn8661 He was a unique guy.
I wish I could go back in time and stay at his lodge, and listen to him tell stories all night and day long. Rest easy Truman!
Screw the old cogger..lol There was a group that wanted to save his 16 cats. He refused.. Even as a 19 yr old boy, I cared!!
Those cats were part of the area ! Chill out ya clown
@@veekatore8983 Oh no! That's very sad about the cats😥
This guy was what I can only call a genuine character.
I could listen to him all day.
Great descriptive. He was definitely a character.
Is this Harry R
@@anabella2014 Yes. Harry R. Truman.
Truman always has a glass of coke with him ( even walking in 2ft snow) and didn't stop talking so you'd have to
Genuine moron of a character
I remember as a kid seeing the ash plume when the volcano erupted. I remember thinking poor Harry.
He said he wanted to meet the man who could take him off the mountain
RIP
Harry R. Truman
(1896-1980)
We have stayed at Harrys and fished the lake for many years. We talked to Harry a few days before he lost his life, he talked a big game but was honestly scared of some of those bigger quakes, but he truly thought nothing was going to happen to him. None of us thought it was going to be as big and violent as it was, had Harry actually known what was about to happen he would have stayed with family. I was only about 20 to 25 miles away when it erupted, it was so loud, its hard to compare it to anything. The ground shook and the sky turned black so quickly. Its a shame so man people had to die, some were completely avoidable, unfortunately some were arrogant. It was ridiculous that so many people gave geologists and government officials such a hard time for closing down the mountain, then when it erupted and destroyed everything in its path, those same people blamed the same officals for not doing more or making the safe area bigger. Its frightening to think that was a small volcano compared to the super ones, it was a once in a lifetime experience that i don't want to repeat.
He was old and spent most of his adult life on that mountain. I think he went out the way he wanted, considering the circumstances. If he’d have left, he would’ve died in a week.
You are not Harry. So do nit put your cowardly words in his mouth.
Johnston was the only person with business to be there… I don’t blame Harry though, I would’ve probably did the same thing! It should be noted that the loggers mostly had a day off, otherwise the death toll would have been way worse!
@@DSToNe19and83 Very true! The guy was a fool for staying there though.
@@karenharris722 well, look at it this way, his next stop was probably a old folks home… I don’t know if I would call him foolish.
🍻
Saying it would never take him and the lodge out...reminds me of the unsinkable titanic..
It’s serious business taking God’s name in vain and telling God what He can and can’t do.
It never took him alive.
@@tommymyers3183 the heart and brain function probably lasted a minute or 2.
@@suzannelallenthere is no god. Get used to that
@josephmarzullo edgy virtue signal received, UA-cam citizen
I don't think Harry would have coped well with the devastation of his lodge and the entire area. Im glad he never had to see the effects of it beyond the few seconds in which the eruption overtook him.
He had already had to rebuild everything after a fire years before so I agree with ya
It was really Harry Truman vs Mt St Helens. We all know Harry lost the fight, but he won the war
He got nuked
The aerial footage at 1:52 I believe was filmed by geologist Dorothy Stoffel, literally a few minutes before the eruption. She and her husband chartered a small plane to view the mountain, and they were right over it when it blew. The pilot nose dived to gain speed and turned due south to avoid the eruption. If you haven't seen her interview about this, you really should look it up. Incredible story
That wasn't footage from their plane. This footage was taken from a news helicopter, not a plane.
At least Harry Truman got to die where he wanted to be. Not all get what they want.
He probably wouldnt have wanted to be cooked alive, inside and out, by a thousand degree avalance of ash.
He ate up the attention. We all wanted him to save his 16 cats! There was groups that tried..he was a ahole about it.. Even asca 19 yr old boy I wanted to help save them...
He seemed like a really cool old dude. RIP.
Sank by a uboat in ww1, survived that only to get involved with prohibition and the mob. His story honestly could be made into a movie.
I like his cursing. He just need a cigarette. Rip Harry. I like old dudes like this
Lots of things have been said about Harry R. Truman. Me, I reckon he was a very determined fellow who departed from this world exactly on his terms.
I do wonder if he was outside at 8.32am on that fateful day and saw that pyroclastic flow hurtling towards him and his lodge and if so what thoughts went through his mind.
He might have given in and said "Okay!" in a somber voice and closed his eyes into the next world. His cabin faced the lake so, he might have been in his house looking at the mountain. If he wasn't a sleep from all the excitement and interviews leading up to then. There also was no loud boom either so, he might have been completely caught off guard when it happened.
@@coreym162there is no “next world”
He would have poured him another drink...
Harry must of accepted when the wind was 300 mph and the wall was 200ft hi ready to hit him. Guys like this come along only once in a lifetime. What a piece of work i hope he rested and in peace.
Or he was whimpering and emptying his bowels in sheet terror. We’ll never know
At that age, with that life, I think most of us would go out like Truman. Especially after considering what the end result of the lodge and spirit lake was. He would have been absolutely devastated.
Brave man. I do respect people of his generation.
He said there was no way the mountain could send 'stuff' his way, and it did. He's a complete idiot.
You know I just used to think he was a crazy old man, but I understand now. When you lose a mate from so many years it must be just absolute hell. That place he lived in was his fortress, his last stand.
Amazing what living does to your perspectives. Younger me was not the same person that I am today, that's for sure.
Yeah, as if his wife would have wanted him to stay there and die horribly in a volcanic eruption.
Same exact feeling. I love it when my worldview on a subject completely changes. Instead of “he got what he deserved” it is now “he got what he wanted.”
@@Yojimbonh. He might have made a different decision if she had still been living. But she wasn’t, and I believed him when he said that he wouldn’t live long had he moved away from his home. I think that is especially the case had he seen the massive destruction caused by the eruption.
It was almost poetic that it erupted the way it did and the mountain literally fell on top of him.
I remember camping up at Spirit Lake when I was a kid with my grandparents in the summer of 79. I remember it being a beautiful lake and campground.
Harry once said that Mt. Saint Helens was a part of him and he a part of it. God Bless him , he was right.
good thing we got to get all these interviews on film, so we all got to know Harry, so apart of him will live for on in our memories. world could sure use some more Harry Trumans right now
Damn right!
There are a lot of old drunks now.
@@greasesicle Not many drunks with fight like him though. That's too rare.
@@coreym162he was dumb
My mom and dad grew up in Longview and Kelso. They knew Harry and his wife. I am looking at a picture of my mom at Spirit Lake Lodge from about 1944-45. I spent a few weeks there myself back in the 1970's.
Couldn't imagine that slept moment when he saw the mountain blow. When it blew I was 4 years old. I asked my dad later the next day what is this sand in our yard living in Texas. He said a mountain threw it out to us
It had to be cold in his house... you could see his breath.
Place was totally buried in snow.
Better than dying in a hospital bed.
Being buried in scalding hot mud that you desperately try to claw your way out of until either you suffocate or bake to death is 'better' than peacefully slipping away on a comfortable bed, maybe with loved ones around you? What's wrong with you?
@@somethingtojenga the pyroclastic blast that hit killed him in less than one tenth of one second.
@@somethingtojenga. His death would have been extremely rapid, and his wife was already gone.
@somethingtojenga I'm gonna be honest I've worked in a home for a long time and very rarely are deaths, peaceful, or surrounded by family.
@@MollyLucyMaryJI wouldn’t want people to watch me die
He had no idea how bad it was gonna be. That mountain defiantly came for him. Like. Bye Harry. Wow.
I remember they made a song about him too
God Bless Harry he stood his ground!
"I might be old but im kind of cute about it"
Beautiful
RIP Harry
Good way to die. And it would have been quick.
It's a good thing he didn't know how fast pyroclastic flows are.
That sure was a beautiful lake, and area! That volcano changed the landscape forever. What a dynamic world!
He didn’t expect the entire north side of the mountain to collapse…
I guess he couldnt understand that the side was bulging out right in his direction.
No one else did either...
2:19 "There's no god-d*mn way that that mountain has got enough stuff to come my way, I've got (something) trees between me and that, no way in the world to do it!"
Nature finds a way
I’ll always wonder what Harry’s last thoughts were as it blew , if he regretted not leaving or at peace with it ?
As the final evacuations happened, he felt fear.
To the point he said he didn't know whether his shaking were the earthquakes or his anxiety.
He wasn't brave - he was in denial and almost suicidal. He told himself scientists were hippy liars. He must've felt great shock and fear if he saw the flow come to bury and burn him to death.
how would ya know that
@@OzzyOscy. I doubt he had time to articulate all that. It all happened very fast. That hot, ash-filled blast was moving at hundreds of miles an hour.
@@johncronin9540 The evacuations happened over a number of days. He articulated it fine.
“I’m a religious buzzard too. I don’t know what anybodys gonna do to get in that GODDAMN tunnel too.”
Repent don't say God name in vain
The eruption happened at 08:32. Can't help but wonder if he was still sleeping when it hit.
God Love Ya, Harry Truman! May you and your wife be in heaven together right now, looking down on your mountain, enjoying a good glass of hooch! Rest in peace, Sir! xo
I was there in the fall of 1979. Beautiful! I was going to paddle out on the lake and take photographs ofb5ge beautiful alpenglow. But I was too lazy. I planned to come back and do it in summer 1980. Never figured the lake and most ofb6he mountain will be gone.
I remember this guy. God love him. I was in Vancouver Canada & we heard or sensed it with Helen's went. He was the first thing i Thought of.
There is no god
“They know if They took me outta here I’d ruin em, if I ever got to town I’d ruin them just sure as hell, I’d break em’ up”
Tell me you're an alcoholic without telling me 😂
"It can't get across that damn lake" So much for that 🤣
Never tell an active volcano that it can’t do something.
Today was the first day I heard of him, a lady who was stationed in Washington back then to help people evacuate was telling me about him and how everyone tried to convince him to leave and he didn’t want to and it was traumatizing finding the people that didn’t survive. They said one of the reasons he didn’t wanna leave was because he said that they kept saying it was gonna blow every year for 30 years and evacuate and it never did and he thought it was gonna be fluke . Pretty scary had to look it up to find out about his story was wild.
Ironically, with the exception of a handful of people, most of the 57 people who died were in areas that were thought to be safe. Officials didn’t even try to find Truman’s remains, as he is likely buried under 150 feet of earth. They never found the remains, truck, and camper being used by geologist David Johnston, who was stationed five miles north of Mount St. Helens, on a ridge that now bears his name. He only got time to radio the USGS office in Vancouver, Washington, saying, “Vancouver, Vancouver this is it!”
There was not just the eruption itself, but the largest landslide ever recorded in human history, as the entire north face slumped off the mountain.
And almost everyone underestimated the power of that eruption. It was fortunate that it occurred on a Sunday early morning. Any other weekday, and there would have been hundreds of loggers in the forest surrounding the mountain. Huge trees were knocked over like matchsticks up to 20 miles north of the volcano. Chances of survival were much higher on the southern side, unless one got caught in the mudslides caused by the instantaneous melting of all the snow on the mountain.
Had it happened later in the day, many property owners, who were being permitted to retrieve their belongings would have been in the path of the eruption, or would have been swept by the mudflows, with most of the bridges swept away.
I can respect it. His wife had passed, he was very elderly and while not needing nursing care yet he soon probably would have and this kind of character would die quickly in a nursing home.
I remember when my great grandfather died at age 90 and my mother was comforted by the fact he died in his bed asleep. Peaceful they call it. Well Harry drank a lot, he probably drunk himself to sleep and he died asleep never knowing was happened. Not a bad way to go.
I find it hilarious they talked him into leaving… only to thank the school kiddos that tried to talk him out of staying and head right back home!
True legend
If Harry had spent five minutes looking at the geological records from the area he would have realized that the volcano could, indeed, reach Spirit Lake.
He's the direct grandfather of modern anti science and anti truth morons.
I respect his choice.
THE MAN, THE LAKE, & HIS MOUNTAIN! THE MOUNTAIN & LEGEND STILL STAND!
So does the man, spirit lake will be forever his legacy and his name is brought up everytime Mt. St Helen’s is.
He is gone, and taught many people what "going out in vain" looks like
He definitely went out in a blast.
With hair like that, you’re either crazy or genius… or most likely, both!
When you’re a male at that age and you still have hair on your head….do whatever you want with it 😅👍
A TOAST TO HARRY! GOD BLESS! GODSPEED!
Seems like a good guy to sit around and listen tell stories. He underestimated the power of what was coming. Yet, he went out the way he wanted. RIP old fella! He's back with his wife now.
I think he was doing a fair amount of blustering for the cameras, since that kind of talk kept people coming by to interview him. But if you look at 6:50, underneath all that I believe he understood the risks in staying, but also that once he left he probably wasn't going to be able to return, even if there wasn't an eruption - someone was going to declare him unable to live by himself out in the woods, etc. I think that's what he was more afraid of, not that he wasn't afraid of the mountain and the quakes.
Long rest Mr. Truman. A true character.
God Bless America!
What? God bless the planet.
Boy was he completely wrong about that mountain...
So were a lot of others. Just days before, local and state officials were besieged by angry property owners, who wanted to get back to their land. Even geologists underestimated the extent of the lateral blast.
But a lot was learned by the eruption, and that knowledge and research has saved many lives in subsequent eruptions in the decades since.
It's an honor to even listen to him speak these old men our tuff something different
Takes me back.
I was in that area of the country just a few weeks ago,,,, And I saw a piece of him,,, He’s all over if you Look for him….
God, he was cool. A different generation.
“Spirit Lodge buried under 30 feet of mud”. It’s more lime 150 feet of mud.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking too. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I read somewhere that Spirit Lake is now around 200 ft higher after the eruption 🌋 so there’s no way any remains of this guy’s house/lodge is only under 50 ft.
Yes, so when the 300-400ft wall of mud, volcanic matter etc came barreling down that mountain at 150-200mph it pushed everything in that lake up thousands of feet into the hills. The mud settled quickly and the water rushed back in on top of the 100ft of mud raising the lake. Such a crazy situation, I’m a bit obsessed with the details on what happens here
@@jllafoy8605 so the site where his lodge was is underwater now?
@@svnsetsomnia8280 it's under about 150 of dirt and another 150ft of water. So it's now about 300ft down.
All that's probably left are cement foundations and steps.
While it's possible some of his stuff survived, it's incredibly unlikely most of it did. And what little did is likely now buried too.
It's wild just to think about it all honestly.
I bet it’s extremely well persevered of what’s left, but who’s gonna ever dig that deep under a deep lake? Him and his wife are apart of that mountain for eternity!
To be honest, spirit lake is the perfect name for it… in hindsight.
We each have the right to make our own choices, even the bad ones, but damn foolhardy to think the mountain couldn't or wouldn't hurt you.
Im thinkin the Big Quake, along with the wind, shook the lodge so much, it caved in on him. He prolly felt nothing. No way of knowing..I waz 13 at the time, I lived in NYS..We watched it on the news..A year later u could send away for a small packet of ash from the eruption..I still have it today..RIP Harry and the rest who were ld to rest somewhere on the mountain..
The slide buried the lodge.
He so underestimated the power of the volcano. I remember his interviews in the news in the days before. Quite a guy.
What people are forgetting is that just about everyone underestimated the power of the volcano. The vast majority of the fatalities occurred in areas that were not in the “red zone”. What also came as a surprise to everyone (except perhaps some of the geologists) was the extent of the lateral blast to the north. Trees were knocked over up to twenty miles north of the mountain.
But a lot was learned from that eruption, and government officials have learned to listen to geologists in evacuating people away from danger, saving many lives in later eruptions.
Rest well, ol Truman.
A veritable fountain of geological wisdom.
Nothing crazy about ya buddy. We need more men like you, especially in todays world.
There are lots of old drunks around.
"There's no goddam way that mountain has got enough stuff to come my way. Ive gotta hell of a lotta trees between me and that. No way in the world it could do it" - man obliterated by volcano. Yep totally sane and a great role model. Lol
He's a fantastic character with a great spirit, but on the other hand, yeah... That's what we need. More men with more bravado than sense who don't know what they're talking about.
You mean a man who thinks he knows nature when he really doesn't?
good lord that mountain came DIRECTLY down on him.. yall should go look at satellite imagery from nasa before n after :p
Yes, the landslide obliterated the lodge and surroundings.
That’s determination.
I don't feel bad for him; he lived the life he wanted and chose his fate. But I've seen a few pictures of him with several cats, and I *do* feel sorry for them. They didn't get to chose *their* fate.
Just read that he had 16 cats, all presumably killed of course. Like you said, he made his choice but they weren't afforded the same opportunity.
if someone could of told him, all that stuff moves at i think 400 MPH...oh yes it can get you on the lake and it did. sad
Nothing but respect for him.
Do you respect that he threw his wife into the lake knowing she couldn't swim when they fought
@@RT-qd8yl When you're married forever, that's not a big deal...
Same haircut I got
He could have went to his cave and got trapped in there, we will never know.
Unlikely. He wouldn’t have had time to get to it. The blast reached him in under 30 seconds.
Apparently harry died within seconds He felt no pain it was that quick
Respect, Mr. Truman.
zero respect. he refused to believe science. geologist david johnston died ten seconds after the eruption started, but he tried his best to keep people out of the red zone. truman was an idiot for not believe johston.
They don’t make men like him anymore. Real American.
Going out suffocating, burning, and crushed by a mountain because he cant cope is a really American? Interesting
@@Susanoo449”We are dressed in our best and prepared to go down as gentleman. But we would like a brandy.”🍷🧐
A tangible link to the twilight of the wild west, in a way. The 1920s were wild here, and it took a good while for us to be proper "civilized." To think a man could just toss up some timbers and open a lodge without any paperwork lol. Leased from the owners of the West, the railroad barons. Truman was a real fella, no doubt. He's missed, but it came swift for him and would have been but a moment or two of horror, if any, and he wanted to go deep down inside himself. Yeah he'd have fought if he could, maybe a thief or a robber, but the mountain? Yeah, he fought it by bunkering down, trying to outwit nature. But he was okay with going, he knew it was coming, or he suspected it despite his hilarious descriptions of the mountain erupting and "not having enough stuff" in it. Funny. He went with his boots on to be with his Edie, and their romance was one for the history books.
I like to think Harry is with his wife and their cats and they're all relaxing by a gorgeous lake with a beautiful mountain behind it.
He was the northwest’s version of Jack Wingate
The John Deere got free advertisement.
It's still your mountain Truman! 😊🎉 🌄
I feel like he can be a great teacher rest in peace and he's wife'❤❤🕊🕊
Rest in peace and he's wife ❤❤🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊
YA! NEVER KNOW HARRY MAY HAVE MADE IT TO HIS CAVE! AND STILL LIVIN' IN THERE EAT'IN THOSE RATIONS!
I can’t remember what this anchor’s name was?
Robin Anderson?
I respect this guy for some reason. He just seemed like he was a stand up guy. R.I.P Harry
I cried watching this video. I hope he got to see his wife again in heaven.
There is no heaven
@@josephmarzullo There isn't for yoy
"I got a hill with trees between me and that"
Here's to you Harry Truman
His assessment of the geographic situation…… The man did not understand the force he was up against.
It’s difficult to grasp this in hindsight, but most people, including high-ranking state and local officials underestimated the power of the eruption. Mount St. Helens became active at the very end of March with a few minor eruptions. So six weeks passed between the first awakening and the major eruption. Geologists were alarmed by the bulging north side of the volcano, but not many were paying attention to this.
And just days before, property owners who had been evacuated were pretty angry with officials about not being allowed access to their property. So much so that officials allowed two convoys, during limited hours, to allow those owners access to their property. The owners pretty much thought, after six weeks, that the danger was over. The first convoy happened on Saturday May 17. The second was scheduled on Sunday May 18, but the volcano had other plans, because early that morning (about 8:30), the landslide and eruption occurred. Had it happened later that day… many of those owners would have died, either in the eruption, or in the mudslides that took out most of the bridges on the road going in.
Also, the logging companies pretty much ignored the warnings, and had that eruption happened any other day but Sunday, hundreds of loggers would have died.
So Harry Truman wasn’t the only one who underestimated the power of an erupting volcano. And very few foresaw the extent of the lateral blast, which knocked over trees up to twenty miles to the north. That even surprised many geologists, or they never would have set up an observing site five miles north of the mountain. That landslide (and blast of heat and ash) swept up and over the ridge that now bears the name of David Johnston, the geologist there when the volcano erupted. They never found him, his truck, camper, or equipment.
It's ma property keep off 🌋
He got lucky believe it or not. He would have died before he even realized it. It has been determined that he died from heat shock within one second of the eruption which is less time than for him to comprehend. He doesn't even know he's dead to this day. It's like he never existed.
Or like he's still living on to this day considering he died almost 20 years before I was born and I'm hearing him speak rn... to say he never existed is so deeply untrue I'd argue his existence is more set-in-stone than your own (literally he's part of the local geology now)
I respect the captain!
He was brave and a hell of a man, but I'm willing to bet when, and if he seen that blast, he was shaking like an epileptic at a laser light show. I bet that scalding hot mud turned old Truman into jerky real quick.
He was heavy drinker and already had a bit of a death wish. It was probably scary af to witness but his death was likely mercifully quick and he didn't get to process much.
Yeah, you're probably right. Still it would have had to suck if he seen it coming right at him, even if for a split second.
Im starting to see where Dantes Peak got its inspiration from
Ol Truman. They don't make em like that anymore. R.I.P .
84 and sharp as a tack 📌
He makes me think of my father when him and I talk about Yellowstone.
Harry was the first sociopath i never met
Harry looked like Brzezinsky