(As a leader of cheer I relate, my brief stint as a cheerleader taught me a thing or two! wikimedia)
Pom Poms were not a thing in Cheerleading until almost 1950. Beforehand it was a lot of yelling and megaphones. In the way back when time of 1948, Pom Poms became mainstream. Lawrence Herkimer who was a former cheerleader had the novel idea of doing camps for those who wanted to Cheer.
His camp was the first of its kind and was a success. In 1952 he started making and honing the pom pom craft. The first ones were made of just shaky cheap paper and now come in an array of materials. In the early 70's he finally patented Pom Pom's. Say what you want about sparkly balls of glee, but they add a much needed fun factor to many games.
(See, everyone can rock a Pom Pom, lol, this one made me giggle.........giphy)
Thanks to Mr. Herkimer for making the shaking poofs that at times are so glittery you think you're staring into the Sun. Games without beer or hotdogs or Pom Poms would be mighty boring so hats off to those who get the party started!
He even borrowed a couple hundred dollars to even get his venture going so it goes to show that sometimes some tenacity and get-go can make you a legend. (at least in Cheerleading!)
