Readers Respond to the June 2025 Issue
Your feedback on pioneering pilot Bessie Coleman, the joy of cave exploring and the bittersweet history of vanilla
Following the Leader
I really look forward to reading the Institutional Knowledge column written by Lonnie G. Bunch III. Secretary Bunch writes on a variety of topics; sometimes about the Smithsonian but often back stories or perhaps “side” stories to something of interest. He always provides me with some detail, some different way of viewing an event or some nugget of information I did not know about. Each time I read his column I can truly say, “I learned something.” —John McLeese | Prairie Village, Kansas
A Pilot’s Legacy
Thank you for the article about Bessie Coleman’s life as a pioneering Black woman aviator, her young-adult time in Chicago and her premature death (“Queen of the Air,” June 2025). That explains why O’Hare International Airport has a major public on-airfield road named for her. I had wondered for years. O’Hare displays a model of her 1920s Jenny plane. —John McClelland | Evanston, Illinois
Portal to the Past
As a retired archaeologist, I can appreciate both the hard work these scientists did and their excitement while working this cave (“Passage to the Pleistocene,” June 2025). While in the Army at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, I was put in charge of mapping the caves there in case some of the soldiers got lost in one. I couldn’t put my magazine down until I had read this article twice. —Robert S. Colson Jr. | Franklin, Tennessee
Harmonica Wizard
Lindsay Kusiak’s American Icon article on the Grand Ole Opry (“Country’s Crown Jewel,” June 2025) provided an important reminder of the institution’s cultural importance. Another significant part of the story: During the same show in which announcer George D. Hay ad-libbed the Opry comment, harmonica wizard DeFord Bailey, an African American musician and an unlikely star for his time, performed on WSM’s airwaves. —Rev. Keith A. Gordon | Buffalo, New York
Serving of Nostalgia
There was a Woolworth’s on the square in downtown Ocala, Florida, where I grew up in the 1960s. They had a lunch counter where my dad met some of his contractor buddies for lunch once a week. The article by Katya Cengel (“Counter Culture,” June 2025) brought back great memories for me. —David V. Glorius | Silver Springs, Florida
Origin Story
Thank you for an extraordinary and insightful article (“The Bittersweet Beginnings of Vanilla,” June 2025) on the history of vanilla, its development and its trade. It is regrettable that Edmond did not share in the wealth of his brilliance. While that is an often-told tale of enslaved individuals, it is interesting to note that he still became a local celebrity. His method of hand-pollination is still in use. People the world over have benefited from his genius. —Quincy L. Johnson | Maywood, Illinois
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This article is a selection from the July/August 2025 issue of Smithsonian magazine