One of my favorite photos in the History Center collection is a panoramic photo, circa 1930, taken by the Grabills, two of Shreveport’s most significant and talented photographers, father and son Burch and William Grabill. The sepia-toned photograph shows a panoramic view of a hundred or more girls of varying ages among the tall timbers surrounding Plain Dealing High School. The school at that time encompassed all grades, from first through high school. The photo shows groups of girls in their regular school clothes of skirts, blouses, tights and lace-up shoes, each posed in a different stretch. In the center of this scene are a group of tall, older girls playing basketball, sporting the classic women’s athletic gear of the early 20th century, bloomers and middy blouses.
Some groups of girls have both arms straight out on either side, and some have their arms at angles above and below their heads. One group is possibly doing push-ups. The exercises are being led by teachers, who are also in their regular workwear of cardigans, blouses, skirts, stockings and high-heeled but sturdy shoes. One can guess these young scholars and their educators are participating in the exercises known as “calisthenics,” loosening their limbs in order to stretch their young minds.
Calisthenics are free body exercises (exercises that use the body’s own weight) that include such motions as bending, stretching, twisting, swinging, kicking, and jumping, as well as such specialized movements as push-ups, sit-ups, and chin-ups. The exercises are designed to promote strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, and improve wellbeing by putting the cardiovascular system to work in a controlled and steady way. Calisthenics arose in the early 19th century from the work of Germans who popularized gymnastics for the “everyday” person. Some physiologists stressed calisthenics’ importance in the development of education for women. In the United States, an early advocate for education for girls, Catherine Beecher (whose family of high-achievers included Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin), was also an early adopter of calisthenics. Beecher wrote Physiology and Calisthenics for Schools and Families (1857), and was among those who promoted calisthenics solely for women.
Despite Beecher’s and others’ emphasis on calisthenics for girls and women, the exercises became an activity for both sexes. In advertisements for private schools in Bossier Parish newspapers in the 1880’s, when public school offerings were still extremely limited in northwest Louisiana, calisthenics were touted in the curricula of schools of both sexes. The “Bossier Banner-Progress” in 1881 ran an advertisement for the Minden Male Academy that emphasized, “In order to promote the health of the students, and to cultivate a graceful movement and carriage, there will be regular exercises in calisthenics.” The Minden Female College Boarding and Day School for Young Ladies and Children ran a longer ad that laid out all their varied academic and musical offerings, while emphasizing that no matter what course (and tuition tier) one chose for their daughter, “Calisthenics, [are] a part of the daily exercises and free of charge.”
At Plain Dealing High School, calisthenics seemed to seamlessly fit among the other activities of the school day. An article from the “Plain Dealing Progress” dated April 9th, 1937, entitled “Art Exhibit Was a Huge Success Here During Last Week” stated that, “A very interesting literary and physical education program was conducted in connection with the art display and Mr. Phillips said the pupils especially enjoyed the exercise outdoors last Thursday afternoon.”
The Bossier Parish Libraries History Center can provide an abundance of interesting facts and photographs about Bossier Parish. We would also love to hear your stories and see your photos. With your permission we could scan them to add to our collection. Currently, the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center section of the Bossier Central Library complex remains closed while our new exhibits are completed. Watch our Facebook page or library website homepage for updates at www.bossierlibrary.org. You can also go the Resources/History and Genealogy page of the website to use our online resources. You may call us at (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. For other intriguing facts, photos, and videos of Bossier Parish history, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/
Images:
- Panoramic photo (scanned in two parts) of female students exercising and playing basketball on the grounds of Plain Dealing High School, 1931. Photo by Grabill, from the Mayme Rae and Hunter Willett collection at the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center
- Advertisement for the Minden Male Academy from the Bossier Banner-Progress, September 15, 1881.
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