Truman came to fame as a folk hero in the weeks leading up to the volcano's 1980 eruption after refusing to leave his home despite evacuation orders.

He was commemorated in a book by his niece, and also in various pieces of music, including songs by Headgear, Billy Jonas, and Shawn Wright and the Brothers Band.

[4] In the mid 1920s, Truman leased 50 acres (20 ha) from the Northern Pacific Railway[5] overlooking Spirit Lake in the wilderness near Mount St. Helens,[1] a stratovolcano of the Cascade Range located in Skamania County, Washington.

[15] In the Mount St. Helens area, Truman became notorious for his antics, once getting a forest ranger drunk so that he could burn a pile of brush.

[1] He poached, stole gravel from the U.S. Forest Service, and fished on American Indian land with a fake game warden badge.

[16] After his wife Edna died in September 1975, Truman lost interest in running his lodge which began to fall into disrepair.

[14] Although Truman was already well-known by locals for his various antics, he became an even bigger celebrity during the two months of volcanic activity preceding the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May, 1980.

"[19] Law enforcement and Forest Service officials were frustrated by his refusal to evacuate because the media continued to enter the volcano's restricted zone to interview him and endangered themselves in the process.

[21] One group of school children from Salem, Oregon, sent him banners inscribed "Harry – We Love You", which moved him so much that he took a helicopter trip (arranged and paid for by National Geographic)[22] to visit them on May 14.

[22] Truman caused a media frenzy, appearing on the front page of The New York Times and The San Francisco Examiner and attracting the attention of National Geographic, United Press International, and The Today Show.

A historian named Richard W. Slatta wrote that "his fiery attitude, brash speech, love of the outdoors, and fierce independence… made him a folk hero the media could adore.

"[22] Slatta pointed to Truman's "unbendable character and response to the forces of nature" as a source of his rise to fame, and the interviews with him added "color" to reports about the events at Mount St.

[26] Truman was immortalized, according to Slatta, "with many of the embellished qualities of the western hero", and the media spotlight created a persona that was "in some ways quite different from his true character.

On Saturday, May 17, local law enforcement made one final attempt to persuade Truman to leave his home, to no avail.

"[12] Truman's niece Shirley Rosen added that her uncle thought he could escape the volcano but was not expecting the lateral eruption.

She stated that her sister took him a bottle of bourbon whiskey to persuade him to evacuate, but he was too afraid to drink alcohol at the time because he was unsure whether the shaking was coming from his body or the earthquakes.

[7] Truman owned a second home located between Washougal and Stevenson, Washington and his possessions were auctioned off there as keepsakes to admirers in September, 1980.

[33] Memorabilia were sold in the area surrounding Mount St. Helens, including Harry Truman hats, pictures, posters, and postcards.

[31] Lula Belle Garland wrote "The Legend of Harry And The Mountain," which was recorded in 1980 by Ron Shaw & The Desert Wind Band.

[34] Musicians Ron Allen and Steve Asplund wrote a country rock song in 1980 called "Harry Truman, Your Spirit Still Lives On".