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I love learning something new about our little town—especially when it involves a piece of history I had no idea was connected to Magee.
Thanks to Gaye Magee Sullivan, who shared old articles from the Magee Courier, I discovered that Magee has an unexpected tie to one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions in American history—Mount St. Helens.
Like many of you, I clearly remember when Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. The images were unbelievable. Entire landscapes changed in minutes. Lives were forever altered.
But I never knew one of those lives had a direct connection to Magee.
As Gaye carefully pieced together the old newspaper stories, a heartbreaking story emerged.
It actually began years earlier—in September 1972—with a terrible accident north of Legion Lake near Magee. A gasoline truck collided with a pickup truck, creating a massive explosion. The photographs from the scene tell the story without words. The blast was enormous. One person lost his life, and seven others were injured.
One of those connected to that tragedy was the Conner family.
Years later, in a cruel turn of fate, Ronald Lee Conner Sr. would lose his life in the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State.
And then comes the part that stops you in your tracks.
Following his death, Mr. Conner was brought back to Magee and buried in Magee City Cemetery.
That fact alone makes you pause.
Why Magee?
What connection did this town hold so deeply that his final resting place would be here?
I remember when the 1972 accident happened. I remember our community stepping forward. Magee did what Magee does—we cared, we helped, we rallied around a family in need. A fund was established to assist them.
Maybe that kindness created a lasting bond.
Maybe this town became part of the family’s story in a way many of us never knew.
The old newspaper articles are difficult to read in places, but the history they preserve is priceless.
Stories like this remind me that even in a small town, our connections can stretch farther than we ever imagine—from a quiet cemetery in Magee all the way to the slopes of Mount St. Helens.
History has a funny way of surprising us.
MageeNews.com is the online news source for Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi
