A newspaper reporter in southwestern Washington state — in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens — overheard this in early 1980: “If the mountain really blows, they’ve decided to name their new baby Helena if it’s a girl and Ashley if it’s a boy.”
The mountain finally blew on May 18th, with a major volcanic eruption that killed over 50 people and caused more than $1 billion in damage.
There’s no way to know what that particular baby was named, but the quote makes me wonder how many babies (if any) born in 1980 were named “Helena” or “Helen” with Mount St. Helens in mind.
What do you think?
Source: “What’s in a name?” Spokesman-Review 1 Apr. 1980: 1.