"Virginia Gazette" 8-31-2022
This story is a wonderful example of what local newspapers can offer their readers. The featured individual, John Robert Thompson, is one of the thousands of African American Marines who served his country during World War II. Mr. Thompson lived in West Point, Virginia – a town located where the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers join to form the York River in eastern Virginia. West Point is about 30 miles northwest of Williamsburg, and events that happen there are considered “local” enough to make the front page of the Williamsburg newspaper.
Mr. Thompson’s story is classic. He was educated in the segregated schools of West Point, graduating at the top of his class and attending “Virginia State College for Negroes (now Virginia State University) in Petersburg, Virginia. He applied to join the Marine Corps and trained as a “Montford Point Marine” at the base of the same name in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in 1942. White Marines trained at Camp Lejeune.
He was stationed in Okinawa during the war, one of 2,000 Black Marines who took part in the seizure of Okinawa. After his discharge in 1945, Mr. Thompson worked at the Chesapeake Paper Corporation in West Point.
Mr. Thompson’s experiences are part of the larger story of African-American men who have served their country over the centuries. He died in 2002 at the age of 78. In November 2011, he became eligible for a Congressional Medal of Honor when President Barack Obama signed a bill to award all Montford Point Marines with the recognition. Mr. Thompson’s granddaughter started the process to get recognition for her grandfather earlier this year. His family will be presented the award at Mt. Nebo Baptist Church in West Point on September 11.
These two stories, which were also on the front page, provide more examples of what a local newspaper can do.
Let’s turn first to the story about Parking Lot P3.
The parking lot story resonates with anyone who has struggled with parking in Williamsburg. Tourists are encouraged to park at the nearby Visitors’ Center and ride shuttle buses into the restored area, but “locals” like to park near the restaurants, coffee shops, or businesses they want to patronize. Until the past few years, people could park for free in most parking lots in and around Merchants Square (the modern commercial area on Duke of Gloucester Street between the College and the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg. However, these lots are now secured by the Passport Parking app, which requires you to create an account, register your vehicles, and link to a credit card in order to park there. This is not difficult, but people have complained bitterly about it anyway, because, well, people.
This parking lot has been closed since February for improvements. Access to the parking lot has been reconfigured, and eight parking spaces were added to the lot. Landscaping, lighting, and drainage were improved.
Visitors, locals, and business owners will be glad to see this lot back in action. Last weekend, Colonial Williamsburg and Merchants held a block party to celebrate the reopening.
Finally, let’s look at the story about the beginning of the school year.
The lead picture for this story shows a teacher in her classroom at Jamestown High school on the first day of school this year, August 29.
The article tells us that although Ms. Will is new to the Williamsburg James City County school system, this is her fourth year as a teacher. Her local ties are featured in the article – she graduated from William and Mary and met her husband there. Her husband now works at Warhill High School, about 10 minutes away.
Note: Jamestown High School is two blocks from my house. Between 6:45 and 7:15 every morning, our access to the outside world is limited because of the bus and car traffic on the only road that lets us get out of our neighborhood. This is not usually a problem for us because we don’t really do early mornings. In the afternoon, however, our way in and out of our neighborhood is impeded by school buses, students in their cars, and parents lined up along adjacent roadways waiting to pick up their kids. I have friends and former teacher colleagues who teach at this school.
This is also Ms. Stallard’s first year with the WJCC schools, although it is her fifth year of teaching. Until this year, she taught in Blacksburg and Christiansburg, Virginia – two communities in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, near Virginia Tech. The article doesn’t say she attended Virginia Tech, but I’m guessing she did. She moved to Williamsburg to be closer to her family.
Note: Clara Byrd Baker Elementary School has been my voting precinct for the past 10 years. I served as an election officer in this school for the past two election cycles.
Note: This school is named after Clara Byrd Baker (1886 – 1979), an African-American educator, civic leader, and suffragist who fought for equal rights in the early 20th century. She was the first woman to vote in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The article features a third teacher, although it doesn’t include her pictures Allison Albert is the newest art teacher at Berkeley Middle School. She is beginning her first year of teaching at the age of 40, leaving behind a career in fashion design in New York City. The article notes that Ms. Albert is teaching in the middle school that she attended in the 1990s. It also notes that Ms. Albert’s mother taught in the WJCC school system, teaching theater at all three high schools in the system – Lafayette, Jamestown, and Warhill – before retiring.
Note: Tim and I knew Ms. Albert’s father, Al Albert. He graduated from William & Mary with us and was the men’s soccer coach at the college for 33 years before retiring in 2004.
This very local article links to a bigger story, noting that the school hired 169 new teachers for this school year. The school system website currently shows fewer than a dozen teacher vacancies for the upcoming year.