Reporting by Emily Lopez from her home in Yorktown, VA.
Yorktown is a small river community in York County off the Chesapeake Bay. Its area is nearly 23 square miles, but a good portion of the land is National Park Service property preserving Revolutionary War sites. Yorktown has turned into a quaint tourist destination related to nearby Colonial Williamsburg. Its Revolutionary War-era houses, original cannon balls, and reconstructed redoubts maintain a colonial feel for locals and tourists alike. Most residents work in neighboring areas like Newport News and Williamsburg. Just outside Yorktown, a very small residential community, Temple Farms, borders the York River and Park Service property. There, people are often seen in their yards or gardens, taking walks or bike rides, and many stay busy with monthly book clubs and small businesses. Since the neighborhood is confined geographically and unable to expand, the community has remained close as neighbors continue to age together. Although COVID-19 has not directly affected anyone within the community, many are all still coping with its effects and finding ways to connect, six feet apart.
By Emily Lopez Many people in my town know the name Carleton Bakkum. A soft-spoken pillar of the community, Bakkum served for 30 years as the Rector at Grace Episcopal Church in Yorktown, Virginia, where he gained a reputation as a kind of spiritual renaissance man who led his congregation into the 21st century Read more about Reverend Folk Art[…]
By: Emily Lopez March 24 Throughout the duration of this pandemic, I’ve had almost too much time to exercise pensive thoughts. However, this period of reflection isn’t necessarily melancholic. There have been moments of solemn contemplation as well as moments of bittersweet reflection. I miss my friends from school but I’m also happy to be Read more about Quarantine Journal[…]
By Emily Lopez Twenty-eight years ago, Sally Hix and her soon-to-be husband, Gerry Lopez, moved into a small, grey townhouse in Newport News, Virginia, their first home. They had a tiny backyard that she filled with flowers. Their second house, however, was where she discovered her love of gardening fully bloomed. Their lackluster small Read more about The Peace Garden[…]
Name of Community: York County, VA Established date: 1634 Land area: 105 mi² Population: 68,280 Population over 65: 16.1% Population per sq. mile: 620 Racial Makeup: White 75.5% Black or African American 13.8% American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6% Asian 5.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.3% Two or More Races 3.9% Hispanic or Read more about Yorktown by the Numbers[…]