Strongly Scottish
The Observations essay this month, Fortune Knocks, sent us down a rabbit hole about Scots and Scottish traditions, where we learned that Highland games are a hallmark of Scottish gatherings, as are kilts, bagpipes and dancing.
One of the oldest and largest gatherings in Texas takes place every November in Salado, between Waco and Austin. The competitions tend to involve heaving heavy objects, including something called a caber, which looks very much like a power pole. Contestants hold the caber, which can be up to 22 feet long and 200 pounds, upright from the bottom and flip it forward. The goal is for it to land upright then fall forward.
For the record, electric cooperatives prefer their poles remain upright and lodged firmly in the ground.
Layton Shadle on the day during the 2025 Youth Tour that Texas students went to the National Mall, the Bible and Holocaust Memorial museums, and a sunset parade by the Marine Corps band.
Courtesy Layton Shadle
By the Numbers: 120,085
The number of steps logged by Layton Shadle of Victoria, a delegate of Victoria Electric Cooperative, during his eight-day Government-in-Action Youth Tour trip to Washington, D.C., last June. That’s between 50 and 60 miles.
