As National Hispanic Heritage Month winds up, a good deal of attention is being focused on the role members of this growing community play in the country’s business world. There are 2.3 million Hispanic-owned firms in the U.S., an increase of almost 44 percent in a recent five-year period. These companies generated nearly $351 billion in annual revenue — up more than 58 percent in the same period. New Mexico led the rest of the states in its proportion of Hispanic businesses at nearly 24 percent, followed by Florida at 22 percent and Texas at 21 percent. You can find current data on the country’s economy — on the go — by downloading the new “America’s Economy” mobile application at <www.census.gov/mobile>.
Sunday, October 14th. Speed was the name of the game on this date in the past, with the setting of two milestone aviation records. On this date in 1922, Lieutenant Lester Maitland flew a Curtiss Pursuit plane just over 216 miles an hour — the first to fly faster than 200. Exactly 25 years later, Air Force Major Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound for the first time, reaching 700 miles an hour. Today, the X-1 is one of the premier exhibits at the National Air and Space Museum on the mall at Washington, D.C. The museum is visited by many of the nearly 2 million oversees tourists who come to the city annually. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, October 13th. One of America’s first women heroes was born on this date in 1754. Her name was Mary Hays, but she became known as Molly Pitcher during the Revolutionary War. While carrying water to soldiers at the battle of Monmouth in New Jersey, she saw that her husband had collapsed from heatstroke, and took over the loading and firing of his cannon. Her bravery under fire so impressed General George Washington that he issued a warrant for her as a noncommissioned officer. After that, she was affectionately known as “Sergeant Molly.” There are just over 1.4 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces, 205,500 of them women. In addition, nearly 190,000 women are in the ready reserve. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.