04/16/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DTjtwWDC9/
The Mount St. Helens Radio Kid, 1980
On May 18, 1980, 14-year-old amateur radio operator Tim Keller was in his basement in Toledo, Washington, when Mount St. Helens erupted 25 miles away. Power died. Phones died. Ash turned day to night.
Tim’s dad had a battery-powered ham rig. Tim knew Morse code. He became the only link out of Cowlitz County for 6 hours. He relayed locations of trapped logging crews to the National Guard. He sent: “SPIRIT LAKE GONE. SEND CHOPPERS. KIDS AT CAMP BAKER NEED EVAC.”
His hands shook so bad he had to write the dots and dashes first. He saved 17 people. The FCC later sent him a letter. He used it to get into college. He said: “The mountain was louder than anything. But the radio was louder than me being scared.”
#1980
