PHOTO PROVIDED / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
CIVIL WAR LETTERS …The guest speakers at the Kiwanis Club of Bryan’s weekly meeting were Don Allison (L) and Mike Sutton (R). Mr. Allison and Mr. Sutton recently collaborated on a new book, “A Choice Between Right and Duty: Love and War in the Civil War.” The book chronicles the courtship letters exchanged between Lt. Colonel Luther Strong, of rural Seneca County, Ohio, and Mary Millman Strong, who would eventually become his wife, during the American Civil War. Mr. Allison is well-known to people in Bryan, having served as writer and editor of The Bryan Times for many years. He is currently a guest columnist for The Bryan Times, and is also a published author and historian. Mr. Sutton is retired following a 34-year career as a high school teacher and college professor. He has had a lifelong fascination with the Civil War and has spent years collecting memorabilia. He came upon the letters that form the heart of this book at an online auction. He purchased the auction item, not knowing until it arrived that it contained 44 handwritten letters, and realized what a treasure they were. Mr. Allison and Mr. Sutton have artfully captured this love story against the backdrop of the most horrific war in our country’s history.