NEW MEXICO

State Information

Nickname(s): Land of Enchantment

Motto(s): Crescit eundo It grows as it goes

State song(s): O’Fair New Mexico

Capital Santa Fe

Largest City Albuquerque

Admitted to US 1/6/1912 47^th State

Brief History of New Mexico

Here are a few interesting facts about New Mexico:

Native Americans have been living here for twenty thousand years.
The capital of Santa Fe is the oldest (1610) and highest (7000 ft) capital city in the US.
The Rio Grande River runs the entire length of New Mexico’s southern border.
New Mexico has the largest uranium supply in the Nation.
The Navajo is the largest Native American tribe, with a reservation of 14 million acres.
The world’s largest hot air balloon festival is in Albuquerque every October.
New Mexico has the largest Hispanic population in the Nation, at 49 percent.
The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness area (aka the Bisti Badlands) is northwest of Albuquerque.

Interesting Stories

Hiroshi “Hersey” Miyamura was born in Gallup, New Mexico, to Japanese immigrant parents. He joined the Army and was assigned to the Korean War front. During a night attack by thousands of Chinese, his squad could not hold their ground, forcing his comrades to retreat. However, Hersey remained behind in provider cover. He emptied his ammunition, killing an estimated 50 enemies. Then took out his bayonet and began swinging. He heard a grenade go off and felt a searing pain in his leg. When he woke up, he was a prisoner. After the war ended, he was one of those released at Panmunjom. His selfless heroism earned him a Medal of Honor, which was presented to him personally by President Eisenhower at the White House.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed a company known as Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975. Paul was a programmer who talked Bill into moving to Albuquerque to distribute the Altair Basic microcomputer. IBM needed an operating system to compete with another upcoming company named Apple. Bill told IBM that they had a ready design. Bill was a keen negotiator and wisely reserved the right to license their product to other companies. IBM agreed. Big mistake. Microsoft is now valued at $1 trillion and is a much larger company than IBM. It just goes to show that you should never underestimate the underdog. Good negotiating skills can be the catalyst for great success.

Conrad Hilton was born in San Antonio, New Mexico. He developed his sales skills working in a converted 10-room hotel. After a few years, he went to Texas and bought a 40-room hotel. Many rooms were changing hands, and he saw the need for lodging. He bought several more hotels throughout Texas. During the Great Depression, he lost most of them, but he negotiated with the banks to retain the management. Eventually, he regained ownership rights in those hotels, illustrating that even debt is a negotiable commodity. He became the founder of the Hilton Hotels chain, one of the most recognized hotel chains in America.