Aviation Metalsmith 3^rd Class, US Navy, Leah May Waterman Bell Kellogg

Born: May 15, 1920, Trochu, Alberta, Canada
Died: June 9, 2011, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Not every Canadian would choose to enter the US Army Medical Corps, especially with both brothers serving in the Canadian Forces, but that is what Leah May (Minnie Leah) Waterman Bell Kellogg chose to do less than eighteen months after moving to the US.^1,2 Commissioned immediately as a Lieutenant because of her civilian job as a dietician, she was stationed at Bruns Hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she filed her naturalization papers.^3,4 After being at Bruns for some time, she was reassigned to the Los Angeles Good Samaritan Hospital.⁵ Later in 1944, she was assigned to the 189^th General Hospital Unit.⁶ On “September 22, 1944, the 189th General Hospital, consisting of thirty-nine Commissioned Officers, eighty-three Army Nurse Corps Officers, two Physio-Therapy Aides, two Hospital Dietitians, four hundred fifty-four Enlisted Men, and five female American Red Cross personnel” left for Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts to make their way to the European Theater of Operations (ETO).⁷ One of those dietitians was Lt. Waterman.

The 189th landed at Liverpool, Great Britain on October 12, 1944, and by the fifteenth, they were all landed at Omaha Beach and were sent to Lison, Calvados, France. It did not take them long to get set up: the 1000-bed 189th General Hospital began operation on November 17, 1944. The 189^th worked at this location until January of 1945 when they had to pack up everything, the nurses and medical staff being responsible for making sure everything medically important was packed to withstand the journey, and move to ETO Headquarters in Cherbourg, Normandy, France. Unfortunately, they didn’t remain at headquarters long, being reassigned to Mourmelon outside of Reims, France in March. Between March and May, at only a 400-bed capacity, the 189^th treated over 7,000 patients while the enlisted men were still constructing the buildings to house them. The buildings were not complete until the end of May when the 189^th began functioning at a capacity of 1470 beds. There, on October 12, 1945, exactly one year after arriving, the 189^th received orders to move to the Calas Staging Area near Marseille, Southern France to leave Europe. They left Marseille on Halloween and arrived home in the US on November 16, 1945.⁸

First Lieutenant Leah May Waterman Bell Kellogg was honorably discharged sometime in 1945, though the exact date is unknown. Later, she remembered being released after V-E Day, so she may have been one of the members of the 189^th who were released as individuals as early as June rather than as members of the 189^th unit after their return to the US.⁹

Leah May (Minnie Leah) was born on May 15, 1920, as the only daughter of Max and Bessie Waterman in Trochu, Alberta, Canada, where her parents had fled to escape Anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe.^10,11 She grew up with her two brothers in Regina, Saskatchewan, attending the University of Saskatchewan in 1940 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Household Science.¹² She interned as a dietitian at Vancouver General Hospital before working at Port Angeles General Hospital.¹³ Bell Kellogg came to the US officially in April of 1942.¹⁴

While serving in the US Army Medical Corps at Bruns in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she was welcomed into the homes of many local Jewish families, one of which was the Bell family of Bell’s Department Store, catching the eye of their son, Gerald.¹⁵ When the war was over, they were married at her parents’ home in Vancouver in December of 1946, though they planned on making their home in Santa Fe.¹⁶ In 1949, the Bell family, now increased to include one daughter, took a trip from Santa Fe to Vancouver, then onto New York by car before embarking on a tour of Israel.¹⁷ After their return, their family grew with the birth of two sons.¹⁸

Bell Kellogg was a busy mother, raising three children as well as participating in local dramatic productions, being a member of the Girl Scout Council, and giving speeches often as the president of the local Toastmasters Club.^19,20,21 She also participated in her local Jewish Temple, not only in the Sisterhood but also on the Board of Trustees.^22,23 Additionally, she was not only a member of the Santa Fe branch of the League of Women Voters but also a charter member.^24,25 She also was a synchronized swimmer and square danced.²⁶

Tragedy struck in 1965, when her husband, Gerald Bell died of an apparent suicide.²⁷ But due to Bell Kellogg’s active lifestyle, she met Arden Kellogg who had also lost his wife that year, and the two were married.²⁸ In the 1970s, she attended a reunion dinner for Bruns with Kellogg.²⁹ But she never stopped her active lifestyle. In the 1980s she not only became the oldest member of a local women’s softball team, she took her black belt in Tae Kwan Do and participated in the Senior Olympics.³⁰ She also competed in competitive bridge with the Bienvenida Bridge Club.³¹ In 1997, she lost her second husband.³²

But no matter what happened or what fate had in store for Bell Kellogg, she gave back to her community as a whole for the good of the community, not her own entertainment. After moving a hospital around war-torn France for the US Army, organizing was a skill that she paired with her parents’ determination to make a new life for themselves in a new land to become an activist. She felt deeply attached to the Santa Fe Community and had since her forced arrival by the Army in 1943. In 1994, she remembered her nighttime arrival and her first view of Santa Fe the next morning; 

“In the morning I stepped out of my room and looked at the mountains in the northeast. There was a vast emptiness between where I stood and the mountains. I found myself gazing in an almost worshipful silence. I felt the mountains beckoning. […] I learned later that these were the Sangre de Cristos. […] These mountains were gentle, mothering, welcoming. They spoke to me in ancient voices, with dignity and wisdom. I was bonded to this land, this sky, this incredible beauty.”³³

She wrote constantly to the newspaper, with over 300 articles that were published, on a wide variety of topics like the distressing spread of Santa Fe into the surrounding mountains, to the detriment of nature and the view she so cherished.³⁴ Bell Kellogg also helped establish two Jewish Congregations, got involved in fundraising for a new local jail when she was made aware of the terrible conditions of the current one, and worked to create the Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center.³⁵ Her consistent work for the community was recognized in 2011 when she was declared one of the Living Treasures of Santa Fe.³⁶

But fate had other plans; Leah May Waterman Bell Kellogg passed away June 9, 2011, just three days before she was to be honored as a Living Treasure.³⁷

Images & Documents

Notes:

1. 1. “Leah May (Minnie Leah) Waterman.” The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Manifests of Alien and Selected U.S. Citizen Arrivals at Anacortes, Danville, Ferry, Laurier, Lynden, Marcus, Metaline Falls, Northport, Oroville, Port Angeles, and Sumas, Washington, May 1917-November; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 – 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A3403; Roll Number: 012.

   2 & 3. “Miss Leah Waterman.” Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 21 September 1943. p. 6.

   4. “Leah May Waterman (Minnie Leah).” Petitions For Naturalization. National Archives at Denver; Broomfield, CO; ARC Title: Naturalization Records, New Mexico, 1882-1983; NAI Number: 1055070; Record Group Title: New Mexico, Santa Fe County, Naturalization Records; Record Group Number: Rg 21.
   5. Pacheo, Ana. “Working for a Better Community.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 10 May 2010. sec C. p. 7.
   6. “Memories of War: Leah Kellogg.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 12 June 2005. Memories of War p. 15. She remembered it as the 189^th Field Hospital, but there was no such field hospital, only the 189^th General Hospital.
   7. “189^th General Hospital: Unit History.” WW2 US Medical Research Centre. Copyright 2007-2023.
   8. All the information in this paragraph came from the website in note 7 at various locations.
   9. See note 6.
   10. The name Minnie Leah is often listed – as on her request for naturalization – but I cannot find an instance where she is referred to by this name.
   11. “Waterman.” 1921 Census of Canada. Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 3; Census Place: 3, Bow River, Alberta; Page Number: 6. Sub-district: 52; Description: Townships 31 and 32 in ranges 21, 22, and 23, west of the Red Deer River and west of the fourth meridian.
   12. “Many Take Degrees at Saskatoon.” Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 10 May 1940. p. 11.
   13. “Miss Leah Waterman.” Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 21 September 1943. p. 6.
   14. See note 1 for her arrival date.
   15. Pacheo, Ana. “Working for a Better Community.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 10 May 2010. sec C. p. 7.
   16. “Miss Leah Waterman: Santa Fe, New Mexico.” Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 6 December 1946. p. 19.
   17. “Santa Fe Couple Will Visit Israel.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 17 August 1949. p. 12.
   18. See note 15.
   19. “Paso Por Aqui.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 19 July 1955. p. 6.
   20. “Area Jurisdiction Proposal Approved During Meeting of Girl Scout Council.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 9 November 1955. p. 6.
   21. “Mrs. Gerald Bell Chosen President.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 14 June 1953. sec B p. 2.
   22. “Sisterhood to Serve Luncheon.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 4 May 1965. p. 9.
   23. “Temple Installs Officers Tonight.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 5 February 1965. p. 7.
   24. “League to Tour City Hall Here.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 16 February 1965. p. 6.
   25. “Memories of War: Leah Kellogg.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 12 June 2005. Memories of War p. 15.
   26. Pacheo, Ana. “Working for a Better Community.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 10 May 2010. sec C. p. 7.
   27. “Bell’s Services Set Monday. Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 5 November 1965. p. 2.
   28. See note 26.
   29. “Bruns Hospital Staff Gathers for Reunion.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 31 July 1974. p. 6.
   30. See note 26.
   31. “Bridge: Bienvenida Bridge Club.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 28 June 1987. Sec D p. 10.
   32. Quick, Bob. “Santa Fe Roofer Arden Kellogg Dies.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 24 June 1997. sec B p. 2.

   33 & 34. “Challenge of Future is Looking Up at the Mountains. Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 13 March 1994. sec D p. 1.

   35 & 36. “Treasures: Ceremony Sunday.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 8 June 2011. p. 5.

   37. Griswold, Shaun. “Living Treasure Dies Before Being Honored.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 11 June 2011. p. 6.

Compiled by: A. D. McLean, MA, MLIS. Central New Mexico Community College, retired 2022.

Featured Image:

“Miss Leah Waterman: Santa Fe, New Mexico.” Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 6 December 1946. Retrieved: 6 September 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/490640371