Women to the Rescue at the George Spangler Farm
Noted author Ron Kirkwood is returning to the LACWRT for our November meeting. He is the acknowledged expert on the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital, with two award-winning books on the subject. This presentation will narrow the focus, telling the compelling story of the women who toiled in the worst of conditions at the makeshift field hospital on George Spangler’s Farm. It takes deliberate effort to capture the experiences of all caught up in this battle and its aftermath. Ron's presentation reflects that effort.

Ronald D. Kirkwood is retired after a 40-year career as an editor and writer in newspapers and magazines, including USA TODAY, the Baltimore Sun, Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News, York (PA) Daily Record, and Midland (MI) Daily News. Ron edited national magazines for USA TODAY Sports and was NFL editor for USA TODAY Sports Weekly. He won state, regional, and national awards and managed the copy desk in Harrisburg when the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012. Ron has been a Gettysburg Foundation docent at the George Spangler Farm Civil War Field Hospital Site since it opened in 2013. He is a native of Dowagiac/Sister Lakes, MI, and a graduate of Central Michigan University, where he has returned as a guest speaker for journalism classes as part of the school’s Hearst Visiting Professionals series. Ron and his wife of almost 50 years, Barbara, live in the deer-filled countryside near Murrysville, PA, just outside of Pittsburgh.