Two Gloucester residents were able to take their oath of loyalty to the United States at naturalization ceremonies recently, just in time for their first Independence Day as U.S. citizens.

Bo Rong "Ivy" Davis, a native of the province of Heilongjiang in northernmost China, took her oath at a ceremony at the Colonial capital in Williamsburg on June 14, Flag Day. Venera Schafer, who hails from Tashkent, the national capital of Uzbekistan, took her oath in a state courtroom in Richmond the next day. They spoke with the Gazette-Journal afterward about what brought them to the U.S. and their hopes for the future.

Bo Rong "Ivy" Davis

Ivy said she grew up in Harbin, a city of four million people that’s the capital of Heilongjiang. Located near the Russian border, the climate there was very cold, she said. Her mother, WenYan Davis, had a job painting the interiors of engines to keep them from overheating. While they were members of the poor class, she said,...