100 years ago in Spokane: For one family, war touches a generation

The J.A. McCullough family, on West Sinto Avenue, exemplified the dramatic effect that the European war was having on Spokane residents.

All three of the McCullough sons were headed off to war.

“After raising a family of boys the house seems pretty empty to have them all gone,” said Mrs. McCullough. “We want them to go if they are needed, and we are trying to be cheerful about it.”

The youngest son, 20, enlisted in the national guard and served on the Mexican border and was now on the way to the European war. Another son, 22, “enlisted with the band that recently left Spokane to join the army service.”

The oldest son, an usher at the Pantages Theater, was called in the draft and was about to leave for training camp.

The other member of the family, daughter Carrie, was also profoundly affected by the war. She was engaged to Kenneth K. Kellems, a bookkeeper at a Spokane brokerage office.

“He (Kellems) heeded his country’s call and enlisted in the quartermaster’s corps on March 1,” said the paper. “When the ‘Saratoga’ was sunk on July 30, his was the only life to be lost.”