History of Cheerleading

!±8± History of Cheerleading

The history of cheerleading originates from the United States in the late 1880's with your average crowd yelling and chanting to encourage their team. No one is quite sure how they documented that it was the first cheer ever but credit is given to Princeton University in 1884 for coming up with a Princeton cheer and marking there place in cheerleading history.

Then a few years later, the Princeton grad Tom Peebles brought cheering to the University of Minnesota. But it wasn't until 1898 that fellow University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell directed what was the very first cheer ever in November of 1898. The story is that Minnesota was having such a terrible football season that people felt the need to come up with positive chants and cheering was born. Minnesota went on to organize a male cheer squad in 1903 and organized the first cheerleading fraternity in the history of cheerleading, Gamma Sigma. Ironically enough cheerleading started out as an all male sport, it was felt there deep loud voices were more projecting than a woman's voice. It wasn't until the 1920's that women became much more involved in cheerleading and began to incorporate gymnastics, pyramids and throws. Today, youth cheerleading is predominantly made up of female cheerleaders however college cheerleading is still about fifty percent male.

Well, the students cheered all they could for Minnesota yet they still got beat. It was a student's scientific thesis that positive fan support would actually help send positive energy toward there team and assist them in winning. Well, the cheer wasn't enough to garner a win but it did create a new sport. University of Minnesota stuck with the idea and eventually began to have an organized group of cheers at every game

The evolution of cheerleading to a sport was again developed by The University of Minnesota as the women became known for there athletic ability by including gymnastics in their routines. Then in the 1930's the sport developed into much more of a display of showmanship as the athletes become much more entertaining and fun to watch. The megaphone would become the next big addition to cheerleading history in the early 1900's and the pom pom which was introduced by Lawrence Herkimer really gave cheerleading a symbol to hang its hat on.

Herkimer has to be seen as the grandfather of cheerleading. He has done so much for the history of cheerleading by founding the National Cheerleading Association at S M U and holding cheerleading schools way back in 1946 and '47. Herkimer's camps have now grown to over twenty thousand attendees.

Today the sport has evolved into a highly athletic and competitive field displaying males and females of incredible talent. Herkimer and University of Minnesota have carved out a unique history of cheerleading.

History of Cheerleading

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Windsor Chairs - A Great Country Kitchen Look

!±8± Windsor Chairs - A Great Country Kitchen Look

Windsor chairs have long been popular as dining furniture. They evoke memories of times past and a simpler life. In the United States, Windsor chairs have been made and handcrafted for hundreds of years, illustrating their popularity and staying power.

Windsor chairs developed in England some time during the late 17th or early 18th century. No one is really sure who created and developed the Windsor chair, but by the 1720s, they had become quite popular in Southern England.

In the United States, the chair became known early as the Philadelphia chair. Over the next several decades, furniture makers across New England made improvements to the chair, including the continuous arm addition. The chairs began to sell in sets and individuals bought up the chairs to seat dinner party guests or large families.

These popular chairs had been designed in the very beginning from inexpensive materials. They were made for daily use as dining chairs and for the family to use at other times of the day. Although some chairs were made of woods like mahogany or walnut, they were more expensive and many people opted for less expensive chairs made of oak, birch, maple, hickory and ash.

Today, you can still find Windsor chairs that have been handcrafted or you can choose those that have been mass produced. The style is instantly familiar and the chairs make for comfortable and relaxed dining furniture. The benefits are much the same as they were several hundred years ago: the chairs are strong, light weight, and have a good proportion to them. They look good in many different spaces, although they make particularly good choices for casual or country dining sets.

Some people like to search for antique examples of these chairs and restore them to their original state. In many cases, those chairs chosen are often ones that were more expensive or had more detail to them. However, other examples of the antique chairs can still be found too and many people like the rough, used look that comes from the normal wear and tear that a chair might experience. A few repairs to the chair if needed make it useable again.

Windsor chairs have been a popular chair in the United States for hundreds of years. If you like the look or the historic aspect to the chairs, consider adding them to your kitchen or dining room. You'll love how comfortable they are and how great they look even with continued use.

Windsor Chairs - A Great Country Kitchen Look

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