Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to join so many of my colleagues this month in commemorating the 365th anniversary of the arrival of the first Polish immigrants on what is now U.S. soil. On October 1. 160812 years before the Mayflower landedCapt. Christopher Newports ships Mary and Margaret arrived at Jamestown. Va. Among the passengers was a small. but industrious. group of Poles. Although few in number. the Polish settlers proved to be among the most valuable members of the hard pressed colony. They brought with them skills which were in desperate need in the faltering new community. Within 3 weeks of their arrival. the Poles had cleared the forest and begun operating a glass furnace. the very first factory established in the English colonies of the Western Hemisphere.
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