Drea Firewalker: Myte Dyke
Merril Mushroom interviewed Drea Firewalker via Zoom on July 15, 2025. This interview preceded a joint interview with Firewalker’s wife B. Leaf Cronewrite aka Mary Ann Hopper. You may also view this interview on YouTube. Biographical Summary Drea Firewalker (Andrea Nedelsky) was “born lesbian” in 1951, the oldest child in a very poor, violent, abusive family. Her father came from a large, close-knit, male dominated Slavic family, while her mother was a young Southern belle. This was not a good combination. They lived just outside Chicago in a neighborhood of immigrants that was rigidly divided into ethnic groups. Drea’s paternal grandmother, whom she adored, was a psychic who encouraged that spiritual part of Drea to flower. The family moved around, living with different relatives, until they finally settled into a small four-room house with wood heat and no plumbing. The children were rough, dirty, and frequently did not go to school. Drea’s mother managed to manipulate a situation with some relatives which allowed the family to move to a white, suburban neighborhood. There they were considered to be “white trash” since they carried their old behaviors with them – drinking, fighting, trashing …
