Mount. St. Helens, known as Lawetlat’la to the Cowlitz and Loowit or Louwala-Clough to the Klickitat, erupted on May 18, 1980. It was the most destructive volcanic event in US history, killing 57 people and destroying 200 homes. The eruption reduced the mountain’s elevation from 9,677 to 8,363 feet. Ash blanketed most of Washington state and reached as far as Minnesota and Oklahoma. Much of the ash remained on the ground for months afterward. Steve Mauser, a teenager at the time, scooped up the ash in this jar from the parking lot of the Perkin’s Restaurant in Moses Lake, Washington, in August of 1980 when he and his family were traveling to the eastern part of the state.