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DOWAGIAC — A Dowagiac native is returning home to discuss their book on a key aspect of the Civil War.

The Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church Book Discussion Group is hosting author Ron Kirkwood for a book discussion on his book “Too Much for Human Endurance: The George Spangler Farm Hospitals and the Battle of Gettysburg” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11 in the church’s parish hall, 51841 Leach Rd., Dowagiac. The book discussion is open to the public.

The Spangler Farms farmhouse in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania served as the hospital where both Union and Confederate soldiers received care during the Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War. Kirkwood’s book discusses the impact the farm-turned-field hospital had on the famed battle.

A 1973 Dowagiac Union High School graduate and Sister Lakes native, Kirkwood is retired after a 40-year career as an editor and writer in newspapers and magazines, including USA Today, the Baltimore Sun, the Harrisburg Patriot-News and the York (PA) Daily Record.

He edited national magazines for USA Today Sports and was National Football League editor for USA Today Sports Weekly and has won numerous state, regional and national writing and editing awards during his career and managed the copy desk in Harrisburg when the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012.