Volume 7, No. 5
Business Kelso Longview
May 2015
Connection Chamber of Commerce
May 18 brings annual burst of memories By Brenda Sexton For the Kelso Longview Chamber “Every May 18 is a gentle reminder of how precious life is and how the decisions we make can change your life forever,” Dennis Weber said. It was 35 years ago on that day when the thenteacher Weber was shaken from sleep by the eruption of Mount St. Helens. It was Sunday, around 8:30 a.m., and he was trying to catch a few extra winks after a weekend of hiking with his alternative school students in the Blue Lake Camp area. The day before, Saturday, Weber, a couple colleagues and about a dozen high school students were spending a glorious spring day tramping through the forest in the “safe zone” on the outskirts of the awakening volcano. Like the others before it, it was an overnight backpacking trek to establish a bond between teachers and students. “It was a beautiful day for hiking,” Weber recalled. “Saturday morning of the hike the kids asked if we could stay over one extra night. They were
Please see St. Helens, page 3