A view of Zimmer Biomet’s world headquarters in Warsaw with the Kosciusko County Courthouse in the background. InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.

Staff Report

WARSAW — If the saying “April Showers bring May flowers” holds true, we should see plenty of flowers blooming this month.

May is the fifth month of the year and one of seven months to have 31 days.

FEDERAL HOLIDAYS

• May 30 — Memorial Day

OBSERVANCES

• May 1 — May Day
• May 5 — Cinco de Mayo
• May 6 — National Nurses Day
• May 8 — Mother’s Day
• May 21 — Armed Forces Day

TRIVIA

• May 2, 2011 — U.S. Special Operations Forces killed Osama bin Laden during a raid on his secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The raid marked the culmination of a decade-long manhunt for the elusive leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization based in the Middle East. Bin Laden had ordered the coordinated aerial attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in which four American passenger jets were hijacked then crashed, killing nearly 3,000 persons. Two jets had struck and subsequently collapsed the 110-story Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, while another struck the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C. A fourth jet also headed toward Washington had crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa.
• May 20, 1932 — Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She departed Newfoundland, Canada, at 7 p.m. and landed near Londonderry, Ireland, completing a 2,026-mile flight in about 13 hours. Five years later, along with her navigator Fred Noonan, she disappeared while trying to fly her twin-engine plane around the equator.
• May 5, 1893 —  The Wall Street Crash of 1893 began as stock prices fell dramatically. By the end of the year, 600 banks closed and several big railroads were in receivership. Another 15,000 businesses went bankrupt amid 20 percent unemployment. It was the worst economic crisis in U.S. history up to that time.
• The birthstone for May is the emerald.
• May birth flowers: Lily-of-the-Valley and Hawthorn.
• Zodiac signs in May are Taurus (April 20-May 20), and Gemini (May 21-June 20). 

THIS MONTH IN SPORTS

• May 1, 1951 – Slugger Mickey Mantle hits his first home run.
• May 2, 1939 – Lou Gehrig plays in his 2,130th game, a baseball record that will last for 57 years until Cal Ripken comes along.
• May 3, 1936 – Joe DiMaggio makes his major-league debut with three hits for the NY Yankees.
• May 17, 1875 — The first Kentucky Derby race takes place. Aristides races 1.5 miles to win, in a field of 15 horses, in front of a crowd of 10,000 spectators.

EVENTS

• May 3 — Primary Election Day
• May 5 — National Day of Prayer for Kosciusko County, Indiana, noon-1 p.m., 901 Park Ave., Winona Lake.
• May 7 — Taste of Nappanee & Spring Artisan Market, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., The Barns at Nappanee.
• May 13-15 — Eighth Annual Rockin’ BBQ, 5 p.m., 1400 E. Smith St., Warsaw.
• May 14 — Silver Lake Fire Department Dinner and Auction, 4-7 p.m., 702 E. Main St., Silver Lake.
• May 20-22 — Fat & Skinny Tire Fest, 6 p.m., Kickoff and Critical Mass ride from Winona Lake to Downtown Warsaw.
• May 29 — 106th running of the Indianapolis 500.