[Illustration: MR. AND MRS. PETER McCLUNG]
Fraternally Mr. McClung is an Odd Fellow, and he and his family are connected with the Christian church. In politics he has always maintained an independent course and has the distinction of having published for more than a quarter of a century an absolutely independent paper. His entire life has been passed in the west and with the development and progress of his section of the state he has been helpfully associated.
Characterized by a spirit of undaunted enterprise, George E. Kellough has won a place among the most substantial and progressive business men of Walla Walla, where he now figures in financial circles as the president of the Third National Bank. He was born in Ontario, Canada, on the 9th of May, 1872, a son of William H. and Ann Grace Kellough, both of whom were natives of Canada. The former was of Irish extraction, while the latter was of French lineage. They spent their entire lives in Canada, residing for many years in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where they were among the pioneer settlers.
George E. Kellough, reared in Winnipeg, there pursued his education in the public schools and at the age of nineteen years, attracted by the broader business opportunities which he felt he might find across the border, he came to the United States and made his way to the western part of the country, reaching Walla Walla county, Washington, in July, 1891. He started in business life here as a ranch hand, but ambition actuated him at every point in his career and continually lured him on to better things. Subsequently he took up a homestead and in time acquired other land, for as his financial resources increased he made judicious investment in property and for some six years was actively and successfully engaged in farming. He then turned his attention to business interests of the city and in 1899 took up his abode in Walla Walla, where he established a clothing and furnishing goods store. He was prominently identified with that business for a decade and built up an extensive trade, ever endeavoring to please his patrons, while his honorable business methods constituted one of the strong features of his growing success. Then a still broader field seemed to open before him and in February, 1910, he made his initial step in financial circles, becoming connected with the Third National Bank as president of the institution, over whose financial policy he has since presided. His plans are well formulated. The business under his direction has been carefully systematized and he has ever recognized the fact that the bank is most worthy of support which most carefully safeguards the interests of depositors. While extending every possible courtesy of the bank to patrons, he has never erred on the side of ultra progressiveness, his actions at all times being tempered by a safe conservatism. His name, therefore, has become a synonym for sound judgment and thorough reliability and he today occupies a central place on the stage of banking activity in Walla Walla county.