Transcript
Krissy: I would move away to Georgia in 2006 with my first husband and there I would give birth to my son. He would be born on my grandfather’s, Andrew Dittmar’s, 100th birthday. And because of that, he shares that namesake. But full circle, he would also be born to my husband’s side of the family. My son is the eighth great grandchild of General John Stark, one of George Washington’s generals during the Revolutionary War. Researching the history of my son’s family and my family, I see a lot of things that overlie. This desire to live freely, this desire to have a life and a home where you feel safe and secure and I feel that those underlying energies are what created this nation and what drew my family and continues to draw people here to this day.
In 2025 though we find ourselves in a very unique situation where we are fighting amongst ourselves again. Over what it truly means to be free and what this country is going to look like going forward. My great grandfather Andrew would say, whenever questioned why he would leave Germany with infant children and a wife at the age of 20 to move here and he would say profoundly that he came here to live free. So, the wandering mystic here on Main Street might look a little unique and different to most people, but this is my expression of living free. I have no resistance to who I am. I am a woman, a mother, a wife, a child, but I’m also a mystic. I understand the power of unconditional love. I understand the teachings of Jesus Christ as a invitation to walk inward towards yourself, giving yourself grace and unconditional love so then you can go outwards and do that amongst the world.
I feel right now that having a storefront on Main Street in Middleburgh that allows people of all ethnic backgrounds, all theological backgrounds and all walks of life to come together and feel unconditional love and unity is more important today than it has ever been. And this is why I proudly fly the Pride Flag on Main Street in Middleburgh, because not only am I a member of that community, but I have the freedom to express openly who I am. And I wanna create this space here that I have experienced, where I could openly and freely express who I am and never be met with resistance or let alone hate. And I want to continue that tradition here in Middleburgh, one that my family came and sought after themselves.