'To end all wars'

MOSES LAKE — The Great War and its impact on Grant County is the subject of a new “Be the Curator” exhibit at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center.

“World War I in Grant County” is a traveling exhibit that will be featured at other locations in Grant County. It’s a collaborative effort by museums and volunteers from throughout the county. It will be at the Moses Lake museum in April and May, the Grant County Museum in Ephrata in June and July, and the Grant County Fair in August, with its final stop at the Quincy Valley Historical Society.

The 100th anniversary of World War I’s end is November 11.

The exhibit was spearheaded by the Karneesta regional chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and DAR committee member Stephanie Sherwood. She also is president of the Grant County Historical Society.

Artifacts are still being accepted for display. People who have World War I memorabilia can contact any of the organizations involved in the exhibit.

Sherwood’s grandfather Wesley Robinson served in the medical corps during the war, and brought home a lot of memorabilia, from railroad tickets to uniforms, from the camp newspaper to medical equipment. Many items from Robinson’s collection are included in the exhibit. Other items were loaned by Margaret Schiffner, from a collection assembled by her husband, and the Grant County Historical Society.

World War I, dubbed at the time “the war to end all wars,” lasted from 1914 to 1918; the U.S. entered in the spring of 1917. The two sides were stalemated in northern France in fall 1914, and there they stayed for most of the next four years. Armies assaulted the opposing trenches, losing thousands of men, and gained little or nothing. World War I marked the first use of poison gas, among other weapons. And just as it ended the world was hit by an influenza epidemic that killed more people than the war itself.

The exhibit includes a gas mask and trench knives, helmets and shell casings, photographs that give a glimpse into the lives – and deaths – of front line soldiers. Other artifacts help illuminate the way the war helped revolutionize medicine, the way the soldiers survived and even kept a sense of humor, and the way the war impacted the survivors.

The last U.S. veteran of the war died in 2011. Local historians worked to identify Grant County World War I veterans, and found records for about 300. “The families still live here and their history is well documented. It feels like I know them,” said Harriet Weber, director of operations for the Quincy Valley Historical Society Museum. “It’s important not to forget, even though it was 100 years ago. I’m thankful this is being done, so people don’t forget.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.