A Little Bit of Scotland in Portland...

Ah, the wonder of our shrinking world! Ever since I lost my mom, I have been touched by the spirit of "family", and her family springs from the Clan Campbell heritage of northwestern Scotland. I have walked on the very soil that our ancestors walked on so many generations ago when, in 2003, my wonderful husband took me and my failing eyesight to see where this amazing Campbell Clan came from. We have an extensive history dating as far back as the mind can imagine. Not all of it can be documented, as there were no records kept past the 1400's or so, but most of it is authentic.

This past weekend, my hustand treated me to a little glimpse of what it might be like to attend a Highland Games in old Scotland. This one was held in Gresham, OR (a suburb of Portland) on the campus of Mt. Hood Community College. It was a full day of competition and entertainment. I was particularly mesmorized by the Pipe and Drum band competition. Every band, from the youth bands to the seasoned ones was supurb. I love the bag pipes.

We ate Scottish food and visited a little bit of Scotland in the many booths that came to show their wares. Dean was tempted to buy a "Utilikilt" (a kilt that one could actually dress up in and wear to work!) but he resisted! I thought he would be pretty cute wearing it to walk on the beach -- and it would be really cool! I didn't resist temptation, and bought a cute little Scottish jumper and blouse. It has a peasant look to it and will be great fun to wear the next time we attend a Scottish Rite "Robby" Burns dinner in Portland (to be held in January.)

I think the highlight of the games for both of us was watching the big, burly men lift a 120 lb. pole nearly as long as half a telephone pole, but not quite as big around, and throw it, trying to stand it on end at the 12 o'clock point on it's opposite end. The winner actually did it and went over a bit. We couldn't believe anyone could pick up that size of a pole on it's end and run with it and then throw it to get it to turn over! It was amazing to watch. This event is called "the caber toss."

We definitely plan on attending next year, because there is no way you can see everything in just one day. I got to visit with the Clan Campbell representative and we talked about the various areas in Scotland where the Clan settled. I also talked to a Clan Henderson representative, and his information was quite interesting. Gerry's clan came from a little village called Kirkaldy in about the middle of the country, in Fife County, on the eastern coast on the "Firth of Forth" (that is the name of the river.) When we were in Scotland, I visited that area, too.

All in all, it was a fun day and we came home with many memories.