Inventory of the Mount St. Helens Scrapbooks Collection, 1980 – 1981

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington. The Mount St. Helens eruption of May 18, 1980, remains the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in United States history.

This collection includes scrapbooks of newspaper article clippings, along with other publications, covering the events of Mount St. Helens from March 1980 to May 1981.

Title: Mount St. Helens Scrapbooks Collection, 1980 – 1981

Creator: Murk, Quinn J.

Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives

Call Number: 2023-001

Language of Material: Material in English

Extent: 2.0 linear feet (2 boxes)

Historical Note

Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, 52 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon, and 98 miles south of Seattle. On March 20, 1980, Mount St. Helens experienced a magnitude 4.2 earthquake and a week later a series of initial volcanic explosions began. On May 18, a second earthquake triggered a massive collapse of the north face of the mountain and a volcanic eruption producing an eruption column 15 miles into the atmosphere. The Mount St. Helens eruption of May 18, 1980, remains the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history.

Collection Overview

The collection includes 12 scrapbooks featuring newspaper clippings covering the events of Mount St. Helens from March 1980 to May 1981. This includes articles on the initial seismic activity, the major eruption of May 18, the resulting devastation, immediate aftermath, and recovery and clean-up efforts. The collection also includes loose special edition newspapers covering the eruption, along with 7 other publications from 1980.

Collection Arrangement

1. Scrapbooks, 1980-1981
2. Newspaper Special Editions, 1980
3. Other Items, 1980

Subject Headings

• Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)
• Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)--Eruption, 1980
• Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)--Eruption, 1980--History--Sources
• Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)--Eruption, 1980--Newspapers
• Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)--Eruption, 1980--Periodicals
• Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)--Periodicals
• Scrapbooks--Washington (State)
• Volcanic eruptions--Washington (State)--Saint Helens, Mount
• Volcanoes--Washington (State)--History--Sources

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Scrapbooks, 1980-1981

Box 1

• Scrapbook 1: March 25 to April 8, 1980
  └(view sample pages [pdf])
  
• Scrapbook 2: April 8 to May 19, 1980
  └(view sample pages [pdf])
• Scrapbook 3: May 19 to May 24, 1980
• Scrapbook 4: May 24 to May 29, 1980
  
• Scrapbook 5: May 29 to June 5, 1980
  └(view sample pages [pdf])
• (note: there was no Scrapbook 6 donated with collection)
  
• Scrapbook 7: June 17 to June 26, 1980
  └(view sample pages [pdf])
• Scrapbook 8: June 26 to July 15, 1980
  
• Scrapbook 9: July 16 to August 13, 1980
  
• Scrapbook 10: August 14 to September 16, 1980

Box 2

• Scrapbook 11: September 17 to October 29, 1980
  
• Scrapbook 12: October 30, 1980 to February 3, 1981
  
• Scrapbook 13: February 3 to May 25, 1981

2. Newspaper Special Editions, 1980

Box 2

• Oregon Journal Special section
  Mount St Helens: A Giant Awakens
  April 16, 1980
• The Columbian
  Mount St Helens Diary, March 20 to April 8, 1980
  April 18, 1980
• Capital Journal
  May 19, 1980 front page
• Albany Democrat-Herald
  May '80: The Eruption of Mount St Helens
  May 22, 1980
• Corvallis Gazette-Times
  Mount St Helens Diary - A Sunday Holocaust
  May 28, 1980 special edition [25 copies]
• The Daily Chronicle
  Mount St Helens Diary: A Sunday Holocaust
  1980
• Oregon Journal Special section
  A Mountain's Fury
  June 19, 1980
• Northwest: The Sunday Oregonian Magazine
  Volcanic Aftermath: Getting it Together
  July 13, 1980
• The Oregonian - Mount St Helens Special Report
  October 27, 1980

3. Other Items, 1980

Box 2

• Mount St. Helens: The Volcano
  by the Oregon Publishing Company, 1980
• Mount St. Helens Holocaust: A Diary of Destruction
  by The Columbian, 1980
• Volcano: The Eruption of Mount St. Helens
  by The Daily News (Longview, WA) and The Journal-American (Bellevue, WA), 1980
  [loose in folder]
• Volcano: The Eruption of Mount St. Helens
  by Dell Publishing Company, 1980
• The Volcano Beautiful: Mount St. Helens Souvenir Book
  by Volcanology, Ltd., 1980
• Search on Mount St. Helens
  by Jeffry Doran, 1980
• St. Helens!: The 1980 Eruptions
  by Lanny R. Ream and Bob Jackson, 1980

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the Forest History Society's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Forest History Society claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Quinn J. Murk in 2023.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Mount St. Helens Scrapbooks Collection, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.

Processing Information

Processed by Staff, 2024

Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.