Shasta

Shasta may refer to:

Native American

Geography and locations

California, United States

Iran

Shasta (soft drink)

Shasta Beverages is an American soft drink manufacturer which markets a value-priced soft drink line with a wide variety of soda flavors under the brand name Shasta Soda. The company name is derived from Mount Shasta and an associated spring.

History

Shasta began as The Shasta Mineral Springs Company at the base of Mt. Shasta, California in 1889. In 1928, the name was changed to The Shasta Water Company. It produced bottled mineral water from Shasta Springs in Northern California. The water was poured into glass-lined railroad cars and shipped off for local bottling.

In 1931, Shasta produced its first soft drink, a ginger ale. Until the 1950s, the company's products were mainly mixers for alcoholic drinks: mineral water, club soda, and ginger ale.

Shasta introduced new marketing strategies in the 1950s, which became industry standards: the packaging of soft drinks in cans, the introduction of low calorie soft drinks, and the distribution of cans and bottles directly to grocers through wholesale channels.

Shasta (mascot)

Shasta is the mascot of the University of Houston athletics teams, the Houston Cougars. The name "Shasta" refers to both a live and an anthropomorphic costumed cougar mascot.

History

The origin of Shasta dates back to 1927 when John R. Bender, a former head football coach of the Washington State Cougars came to Houston. Because of his fondness for the animal, Bender decided it would be the name of his new teams. Later that year, the school newspaper actively used the name, and other student organizations followed.

In 1946, the cougar was named the official mascot by the University as Houston as it became involved in intercollegiate sports. The next year, the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity raised funds to purchase a live cougar for the university, and held a contest to name it. Among 225 other entries, student Joe Randol won the contest with the following submission: "Shasta (She has to). Shasta have a cage, Shasta have a keeper, Shasta have a winning ball club, Shasta have the best." The first runner-up was "Raguoc" (cougar spelled backwards).