What is widely considered the most memorable speech in all American history was given 150 years ago this month when President Abraham Lincoln delivered what we know as “the Gettysburg Address.” The brief speech dedicated 17 acres of the Pennsylvania battlefield as a national cemetery and is recognized as one of the most concise in the English language. Gettysburg National Cemetery continues to draw thousands of visitors each year. The three-day battle in 1863 involved some160,000 Union and Confederate soldiers fighting in and around a town in which the 1860 Census recorded a population of just under 2,400 residents. Today, just over 7,600 people live at a Gettysburg address. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday – We still use the word “dial” to refer to the act of calling someone on the phone — even though several generations have not used a rotary phone — or maybe ever seen one, except in the movies. Push-button, or touch-tone, phones made their debut this month in 1963. At the time, the service was an extra cost option and was available only in two cities in Pennsylvania. It didn’t take long, however, for the speed of placing calls on the new phones to make them popular. In 1963, 81 percent of U.S. homes had telephones. That percentage grew to become almost universal, but the landline percentage is now dropping, as cell phones more and more become the phone of choice. There are more than 300 million cell phone subscribers in the U.S. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday – Even with all of our electronic diversions, many of us listen to radio at some point every day. The wide variety of formats means we can choose our favorite type of music, and radio keeps us up to the minute on news and weather. The presidential election held 93 years ago this month saw the first scheduled, commercial radio broadcast. Station KDKA in Pittsburgh carried the results in which Warren G. Harding defeated the ticket of James Cox and his vice presidential nominee Franklin Roosevelt, whose famous radio days lay ahead. Just two years later, that first station was joined by 400 others as the popularity of radio swept the nation. Today, there are some 7,300 radio broadcast stations, with revenues of close to $19 billion annually. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.