Reprinted from Tiger's Roar Homecoming '69-'67

Cheerleading Then and Now

by Marsha Cannon, Jenny Eden, & Carrie Christenson

Cheering at competitive events was just introduced in the early 1870's. Pep clubs were organized so the cheerleaders would have help in backing the teams. Cheerleading has become a highly popular activity in all schools. Cheerleading camps and clinics help the cheerleaders learn new yells and also teach them how to become better cheerleaders. A girl's pep squad known as the "Tigerettes" was organized for the first time in 1948 at Shidler High School. It had three main objectives 1) to support the athletic teams by conducting pep rallies and assemblies and by providing cheering sections at all times. 2) to develop qualities of dependability and service 3) to act as a general courtesy committee at all times. Any girl, not a member of the band was eligible to join. Their uniforms were blue corduroy skirts and boleros with white shirts and gold ties; the cheerleaders uniforms were made by the same pattern, but the colors were gold with blue ties. Cheerleading and pep club has changed quite a bit since it was first started at SHS. In 1948, Shidler had only three cheerleaders; they were Billie Cullison, Delta Parsley, and Ramona Thurman.