So, what do you think?
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: Time to read your letters and e-mails. We start with a letter from someone who loves photographs.
Glenn Paul from Trenton, N.J. pointed out an error in our story about Kodak going digital. It seems we gave Kodak’s founder George Eastman a little too much credit.
Glenn Paul: In your article about Kodak, you begin by saying that George Eastman invented rolled film, which is an example of the winners writing history. Actually, a church pastor in Newark, N.J., invented rolled film, patented it, and set up a company to produce it. He died in an accident, and his successors eventually sold the patent to Eastman for $5 million in 1914 — a lot of money at that time.
That pastor, for the record, was Hannibal Goodwin.
Another story hit home with Ashley Cunningham of Kansas City, Mo. We reported on how morale at the Park Service is flagging. They’re relying on volunteers a lot more.
Ashley manages volunteers. She says you can’t put a dollar figure on the work they do.
Ashley Cunningham: If the people at the top understood what fell on the backs of volunteers and managers of volunteers, and where organizations wouldn’t be without these people, maybe they would rethink the value of these highly dedicated, trained and skilled volunteers — and start treating them like Cadillacs instead of Chevys.
Next up, Title IX. Last week, Tess Vigeland was filling in as host. She spoke with our commentator Diana Nyad about the anniversary of Title IX.
Listener Leigh Jones Bamman thought they didn’t quite land in the fairway on that one.
Leigh Jones Bamman: I listened to the piece on Title IX and was very disappointed in both Diana Nyad and Tess Vigeland. Their conclusion that college football programs should spin off on their own, with the rest of male and female sports equally dividing the remainder of the funds, really dropped the ball. College football is part of colleges, which are educational institutions. They’re not profit-making sports ventures.
But Brent Ayer from Frederick, Md., thought Tess and Diana hit a hole in one.
Brent Ayer: Diana Nyad’s comments on Title IX were right on target. I coach both men’s and women’s track and field and cross country at an NCAA Division III-level program. I’ve been thrilled to see the rise in women’s opportunities, and dismayed to see a corresponding drop in men’s track programs, which is almost always associated with a university’s big commitment to football.
Finally, a note on the interview we did about fake wedding cakes with Susan Lobsinger. A lot of people wrote in to tell us about a similar tradition in Japan.
Susan Yachiye McKeen says the idea’s not new — she spotted a fake cake at a wedding near Tokyo. As long as the love’s real, that’s all that matters.
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