The story of a small town business owner who isn’t backing down
Stephanie Lightfield, June 19, 2023
It all started with a Father’s Day mug I was selling online through our small business, Seed and Sow Clothing Co., located in downtown Spearfish. You see, I posted a mug for sale on our Instagram page with a dad’s face sporting American flag sunglasses with the words, “Just a regular dad trying not to raise Liberals.”
I was expecting to sell a few mugs, but what I wasn’t expecting was the left’s smear campaign and threats that followed my post. Living in a conservative area, I thought there were many families who would resonate with it, not to mention I found it comical and thought others would too.
My husband and I moved our family to Spearfish two years ago to raise our children in a town that still holds strong conservative values. We have enjoyed our time so much that we decided to open a business that offers children’s clothing and toys in our sweet town we now call “home.”
Following that post, I began receiving nasty messages and comments from leftists in Spearfish who were livid with me. I received threats of a protest in front of my store until I am “forced to shut down,” as well as a “secret shopper” coming in to make sure I’m not “peddling hate” on Main Street. People called me “narrow-minded” and told me they don’t want “malignantly privileged conservatives” being raised in Spearfish. I was told to, “keep your political ideas to yourself if you’re going to be nasty with them” and that “Spearfish is disgusted with you.”
Now, free speech is protected by the First Amendment in our country. I hope that never changes, so I welcome people’s opinions and they can do so freely. But what I won’t tolerate is being bullied into submission by people spewing actual hateful words along with threatening behavior.
I will not be intimidated by a small population of this town. My children and I deserve to feel safe in our store and I should freely sell whatever I like that upholds and supports my morals and values. I won’t back down, and neither should anyone else if confronted with the same nonsense.
The rational thing to do, and exactly what I and many others choose to do when we do not share the same ideology and values as shop owners, is simply not shop at that store. I will not let a narrow-minded group of people intimidate and scare me into not standing for what I believe is right. We as business owners and parents need to stand up for our God-given freedoms and protect these values for our children, grandchildren, and this beautiful community.
From the bottom of my heart, I’m grateful for the overwhelming amount of support and encouragement from like-minded individuals who have rallied around me and supported our family’s boutique shop. The Spearfish community is a treasure to our family, and I’d encourage everyone to fight to keep Spearfish a place where we are free, where we feel safe, and where we treat people with kindness and respect.
Stephanie is a homeschool mom, foster mother, and owner of Seed and Sow Clothing Co., a small children’s boutique in Spearfish where she and her family reside.
Caroline and Asher Woods visited Stephanie’s store to support her and her family and the conservative values they hold dear. Asher is sporting his new “Tiny American” shirt that they bought at Stephanie’s Seed and Sow Clothing Co.
Stephanie and her children in patriotic attire in front of their boutique store front.
