It is always Thanksgiving at New Freedom Farm with Lois Dawn Fritz and veterans

This time of year lots of women are planning intricate details for a Thanksgiving feast. So is Lois Dawn Fritz. Hers will be for more than 100, with everyone with no place else to go in the Buchanan area heartily invited. An yes she knows what she’s doing – this will be her third year opening the New Freedom Farm to one and all.

You probably have heard about this place – a spread of acres just outside Buchanan, holding about 18 horses dedicated to helping humans with many afflictions such as PTSD. A lot of these humans are veterans, and so it makes sense that Lois, also a veteran, leads this organization.

She came out of a highly dysfunctional New Jersey home, joining the US Navy as soon as she finished high school. Then with the help of the GI bill she attended nursing school while raising her son. As a forensic nurse for twenty years she worked at identifying corpses and collecting evidence for criminal prosecution of sex crimes. In 2016, after the death of her brother and a close friend, she aimed for a new direction. She based it on the help working with a horse gave her for a new and different life for herself.

Fast forward to the purchase of the New Freedom land and setting up this organization. She recently has added another volunteer as co-director, making it now a staff of two, both unpaid. Jason has a background in horses in every way – he knows how to research bloodlines, train the animals and act as a horse broker.

Suffering after his Marine service from a form of PTSD that led him to want to commit suicide, he met another man who inspired him to use working with horses to open up his emotions to healing. “I couldn’t even cry,” he said. “Watching men die was bad, but not being able to help them was even worse.” So his own life change led him to wanting to help other vets too. And one of the ways he does this? Using natural horseman ship to train a horse with love and kisses, and no restraints or pain. And to then to share his knowledge with any vet who needs it. Right now he’s training a wild Mustang named General MacArthur for a vet, Lois, to have as her own.

People doing such remarkable things has of course led to outside interest. A national Woman’s World magazine has featured Lois and her work in a recent issue. And Lois herself has spoken to huge gatherings of Rolling Thunder meetings, one being at the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. But she would rather not travel and sends Jason to give the speeches.

New Freedom has no paid staff, gets no government funds. The farm is alcohol and drug free. Funds for expenses come from donations. So if you need a place to go for Thanksgiving, make plans to come by at 2 PM for a feast. (Call ro let them know you’re coming, 855-1158.) Or let others know about it, so no vet who could use these services misses out. Using horses to heal humans is what they do.