August 25, 2010

KHS Cheerleaders Keep School Spirit Alive

Back when Klein High School played its games on a field located behind the current KISD administration building, cheerleaders were an important part of Friday night football when the Bearkats played schools such as Magnolia, Willis, Crosby, Tomball, and Barbers Hill.

 

Because of the small size of the Klein community in the 60s, “everybody” was there. Ms. Kay Kaiser Theiss recalls that going to the games was the weekend social life for families. People went to the games because they knew everyone on the team. She recalls pep rallies planned by the cheerleaders as a “big-to-do.”

 

Ms. Anna Mae Schultz Kreger, a cheerleader from the 50s, compared her cheering squad of four with the modern Klein High cheerleaders who have won national championships with high energy, athletic cheers. Her squad, in knee length blue satin skirts and gold satin shirts with puff sleeves, cheered in what now seems to be a low key style. Ms. Kreger recalls her family’s being very strict meaning that she was not allowed to travel to away games.

 

Ms. Erline Schultz Klein who cheered in the 60s was a member of a six person squad. Their uniforms were white skirts made by mothers or the girls and blue sweaters. For homecoming, girls wore large chrysanthemum corsages with flowing streamers. Because her sons played for Klein High School, Ms. Klein continued to faithfully attend Bearkat games through the 80s.

 

Ms. Inez Wunderlich Weindorf remembers attending a cheerleading camp at Sam Houston State University. She and Ms. Klein arrived thinking they were in good shape. After the first day of practice, they realized they were not in such good shape. After the first practice, even climbing the hills as they walked on campus was strenuous.

 

Ms. Barbara Hieden Seber cheered for KHS the year before students moved to the current campus. She and her fellow cheerleaders wore blue and gold pleated skirts that came to the knee and gold sweaters or white blouses with a gold satin vest. A classmate made the skirts. Because of the strength of her voice, Ms. Seber did not use a megaphone when she cheered. With people skills honed at KHS, she went to Blinn College where she learned the name of everyone on campus in six weeks and won freshman favorite recognition.