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DIGEST

TREASURE HUNTING IN LIBERTY HILL

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Liberty Hill Digest is more than a magazine—it’s a connector, storyteller, and champion for our community. Since 2020, we’ve shared 550+ stories and mailed 400,000 free copies to keep Liberty Hill informed and inspired. Each issue highlights local people, nonprofits, students, first responders, and city events that define who we are. Our annual Giving Thanks & Giving Back edition and rotating nonprofit column amplify causes that strengthen our city. At our core, we celebrate what’s good, foster connection, and help Liberty Hill thrive—together.

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Blinded by the Light Deb Lohman

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MooreLibertyBuildings.com 512-548-6474

JULY FEATURES

3 / LITTLE EXPLORERS • Geocaching in Liberty Hill

6 / WHAT MAKES TEXAS 'TEXAS'?: Landscape Diversity

8 / TEXAS SIT-REP • Pathways to Success

11 / WORTH THE DRIVE • Little Longhorn Saloon

13 / BELLE • Squirrels and American Excellence

PUBLISHER

Cathy Payne

WRITERS / COPY

EDITORS

Ann Marie Kennon

Charlotte Kovalchuk

GRAPHICS & DESIGN

Ann Marie Kennon

Sandra Evans

CONTENT

Camy Reynolds

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by Charlotte Kovalchuk

Little Explorers

DISCOVER HIDDEN TREASURE IN LIBERTY HILL

Imagine following clues throughout winding nature trails, peeking inside a hollow log or rock pile as you spot a hidden container tucked just out of sight. Inside, you’ll find a logbook to sign and, if you’re lucky, a few tiny treasures left behind by fellow explorers. That’s the thrill of geocaching, a worldwide adventure that turns ordinary parks and hiking trails into places where every path could lead to hidden treasure.

Instead of growing bored on long nature walks, kids get to be treasure hunters, racing ahead to solve clues and discover hidden caches. With millions of geocaches waiting to be found—including many right here in Liberty Hill—it’s a fun (and completely free!) way to inspire kids to unplug, explore the outdoors, and make family memories together this summer.

REAL-LIFE TREASURE HUNT

Using the free Geocaching app, participants navigate to a specific set of coordinates and search for hidden containers called geocaches. These caches can be found almost anywhere—from neighborhood parks and nature preserves to city streets and scenic hiking trails.

No two geocaches look alike. Some are large plastic containers filled with toys, stickers, and keychains, while others may be disguised as a fake rock or tucked inside a tiny film canister. Every cache contains a logbook where visitors record their discovery, and larger caches often include trinkets for trading. The rule is simple: if you take something, leave behind an item of equal or greater value so the next explorer can enjoy the adventure, too.

ADVENTURE AWAITS

Getting started is easy. Download the Geocaching app, create a free account and search for caches near you. Families with young children should look for caches with one-star difficulty and terrain ratings, as they’re usually the easiest to find. The app will guide you to within about 30 feet of the cache, but the final search is up to your detective skills.

Once you’re close, put the phone away and start looking. Check the cache size listed in the app, use the hint if needed and search patiently for anything that looks slightly out of place. Remember to look before reaching into logs or rock piles, as they may be home to wildlife, and always leave nature just as you found it.

Before heading out, pack a few adventure essentials:

✔ A pen to sign the logbook

✔ A few small trinkets to trade

✔ Water and snacks

✔ Sunscreen and bug spray

✔ Comfortable walking shoes

When you find a cache, sign the logbook, trade treasures if you’d like and carefully return the container to its original hiding place. Geocachers also follow the motto “Cache In, Trash Out,” picking up litter along the trail to help keep parks beautiful.

GEOCACHING HOT SPOTS

Ready to start your family’s next adventure? Check out these geocache locations around Liberty Hill and see how many hidden treasures you can discover!

1. Historical Liberty Hill Cemetery (16272 W State Hwy 29): This geocache takes you through Liberty Hill’s historic cemetery, where you’ll search for clues on a historical marker to help unlock the cache’s location.

2. Over Yonder Pond (Stonewall Pkwy & Marblehead Way): Follow the trail to a peaceful pond where a hidden treasure

Geocache App iPhone

Geocache App Android

awaits. Along the way, you’ll explore beautiful scenery and put your treasure-hunting skills to the test as you search for a cache tucked near the water.

3. Horseshoe Trail/Long Loop Trail (194 Reveille Way): Lace up your hiking shoes and keep your eyes peeled! This geocache is hidden along a scenic trail where you might spot birds, squirrels, rabbits and other wildlife. The container isn’t camouflaged, but it is cleverly placed—look carefully, and you may spot the lid before the rest of the cache.

by Linda A. Thornton

THE DIVERSE LANDSCAPES OF TEXAS: A GEOGRAPHIC PATCHWORK

Texas is a whole continent's worth of landscapes packed into one state.

Where else can you climb to Guadalupe Peak's highest point, surf Padre Island, and hike a scenic trail at Big Bend National Park's South Rim?

Second only to Alaska in land area and covering 266,807 square miles, Texas’s size is unrivaled among states. Its large land area creates variations in climate and environments that greatly influence habitat diversity. The average rainfall can range from eight inches in the western deserts to 56 inches per year in the eastern swamps. Famous for its flat plains, the west side of the state also features 91 mountain peaks that are at least a mile high.

The Lone Star State spans seven distinct regions, each boasting its own entirely unique environment; perfect for wanderlust and staycations:

BIG BEND COUNTRY • FAR WEST

What’s yonder: Rugged Chihuahuan Desert landscapes, towering mountain ranges, and the winding Rio Grande River.

Where to wander: Paddle, river raft, hike, and stargaze in breathtaking scenery in the 800,000 acres of Big Bend National Park or the 275,000 acres of wilderness at Big Bend Ranch State Park.

GULF COAST • SOUTHEAST

What’s yonder: Hundreds of miles of coastal plains, tidal marshes, and barrier island beaches.

Where to wander: Swim in the Gulf of America and watch for sea turtles at Padre Island National Seashore, the world’s lon-

Relax on quiet beaches at Mustang Island State Park.

PANHANDLE PLAINS • NORTHWEST

What’s yonder: Wide-open plains and farmlands, massive red-dirt canyons, 200- foot-deep rugged chasms.

Where to wander: Hike and bike in the second-largest canyon in the U.S., the Palo Duro Canyon State Park, nicknamed the “Grand Canyon of Texas.” Challenge yourself on the rugged trails with red-rock scenery at Caprock Canyons State Park, home of the Texas State Bison Herd.

PINEY WOODS • EAST

What’s yonder: Lush, heavily forested pine forests, cypress-lined swamps and bayous, and quiet lakes.

Where to wander: Canoe and kayak in Caddo Lake, the largest natural lake in Texas, which features a mystical maze of ancient, bald cypress trees covered in Spanish moss. Hike and paddle at Big Thicket National Preserve, known as the “biological crossroads of North America” for its variety of ecosystems including swamps, bayous, and pine trees. Go bass fishing at the nationally recognized Toledo Bend Reservoir.

PRAIRIE AND LAKES • NORTH CENTRAL

What’s yonder: Rolling terrain, forests, and home of the most man-made reservoirs of any region in Texas, due to the area’s significant yearly rainfall and the historic flooding of the Brazos and Trinity rivers.

gest barrier island. Kayak, fish and birdwatch at Sea Rim State Park.

Where to wander: Hike and fish for striped bass at Lake Texoma. Camp and mountain bike at Cedar Hill State Park. Hike spring wildflower trails in Ennis, the “Official Bluebonnet City of Texas.”

SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS AND PRAIRIES

What’s yonder: A combination of semi-arid brush country, sub-tropical coastal prairies, and rich black soil, important for farming.

Where to wander: Go bird watching at The Lower Rio Grande Valley, a globally renowned destination and the Sabal Palm Sanctuary, owned by the Audubon Society. Witness the mi grating bird populations at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Hike, bike and enjoy spring wildflower walks at the Government Canyon State Natural Area, Goose Island State Park, and at Goliad State Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY • CENTRAL

What’s yonder: The geographic heart of the state, known for its rolling limestone hills, clear springs, hidden caverns and spring-fed rivers.

Where to wander: Visit Enchanted Rock State Park and hike up the massive pink granite dome. Swim, kayak or tube down the Frio River, known for its crystal-clear water and limestone

cliffs. Visit the Hamilton Pool Preserve, a collapsed canyon swimming hole featuring a 50-foot waterfall. Try out Blue Hole Regional Park, a natural spring pool surrounded by ancient cypress trees. Drive the Willow City Loop in springtime to see fields of bluebonnets.

Texas Needs More Skilled Workers And More Pathways to Success

Over the course of a three-part series, I examined the role education plays in Texas’ future and the steps your Texas Legislature has taken to strengthen it at every level. In the first article, I discussed our historic investments in public education, efforts to empower parents, and reforms designed to improve accountability and student outcomes.

In the second, I examined how Texas is restoring trust in higher education through greater transparency; stronger governance; protections for free speech; efforts to prevent radical

Eactivists from disrupting classes, occupying campus property, and vandalizing university facilities; and enacting safeguards against foreign influence and research theft.

In the third, I explored how our universities serve as engines of research, innovation, workforce development, and economic growth.

Together, those efforts share a common goal: ensuring that educational institutions remain focused on serving students, taxpayers, and the long-term interests of our state.

That brings us to the final piece of the puzzle: workforce education.

ducation is not merely an end unto itself; it must also prepare Texans for productive, meaningful lives and careers. Whether that means earning a degree, conducting cutting-edge research, serving in the military, starting a business, or mastering a skilled trade, our education system succeeds when it creates opportunities that lead to success.

While universities drive innovation and research, Texas’ continued prosperity also depends on the men and women who build our homes, maintain our infrastructure, manufacture advanced products, care for patients, and repair critical equipment, all to keep our economy moving. As Texas experiences unprecedented population and economic growth, the demand for skilled workers has never been greater.

From electricians and plumbers to welders and HVAC technicians, Texas faces workforce shortages in many of the careers that support economic growth. Every new home, school, hospital, and advanced manufacturing facility depends on highly trained professionals. We need industrial maintenance technicians, construction trade workers, automotive and diesel technicians, advanced manufacturing technicians, health care support professionals, and teachers, along with countless others.

Meeting these workforce needs will require more than simply encouraging every student to pursue the same path after high school. Texas succeeds when students have many pathways to success.

PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS

For generations, higher education has been viewed as the primary route to economic opportunity. While a college degree remains an excellent option for many students, learning a skilled trade is equally valuable and equally important. The men and women who build our homes, maintain our power systems, repair our vehicles, care for patients, and keep our industries operating are indispensable to Texas’ future.

I believe every student deserves the opportunity to discover their talents and pursue a path that matches their goals, abilities, and passions. That belief has driven me to make advancing vocational education in Texas a core focus as your State Representative, working to

achieve historic investments in career and technical education and workforce training.

INVESTING IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION

One of the most significant investments has been the establishment of the Texas State Technical College (TSTC) endowment. Rather than spending these funds once and moving on, Texas invested approximately $850 million into a permanent endowment. The investment earnings support annual distributions of roughly $40 million per year for the construction and capital improvement of new and existing TSTC facilities.

This approach allows TSTC to continuously expand training capacity while preserving the principal investment, providing Texans with workforce training opportunities for generations to come.

At the K-12 level, Texas has also expanded support for Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools, better known as P-TECH programs. As Article III Chairman for Appropriations in 2021, I spearheaded an investment of $100 million per biennium to help school districts build and expand these programs by purchasing equipment, developing facilities, and allowing students to begin participating in these programs as early as seventh grade. Early exposure helps students discover their interests, explore careers, and begin earning valuable credentials long before graduation.

P-TECH programs offer far more than industry certifications. Students can earn associate degrees, Level 1 and Level 2 certificates, workforce experience, college coursework, and direct engagement with employers. They gain access to high-demand career fields including healthcare, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, information technology, and logistics.

Perhaps most importantly, students can access these opportunities at no cost to themselves.

Texas has also strengthened workforce training through the Jobs and Education for Texans, or JET, Grant Program. JET grants support community colleges and schools by funding expensive workforce training equipment such as welding labs, advanced manufacturing machinery, and healthcare simulation equipment. Students train using the same tools

and technology they will encounter in the workforce, helping them transition seamlessly into careers.

Additional workforce investments include the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through Education (TRUE) Grant Program. Established in 2021, TRUE grants support public higher education institutions as they create, redesign, and expand short-term workforce training programs in high-demand occupations. These programs are developed in partnership with employers and other workforce stakeholders and focus on preparing students for careers in less than six months.

Likewise, the Texas Invests in Meaningful Employment, or TIME, Grant Program builds upon successful workforce initiatives by supporting short-duration training programs that lead directly to credentials of value. These programs prioritize occupations with strong workforce demand and earning potential, helping students move quickly into meaningful employment.

What ties these investments together is the idea that education works best when institutions work together.

BREAKING DOWN EDUCATIONAL SILOS

For too long, public education, community colleges, technical colleges, universities, workforce boards, and employers often operated in separate silos. Each plays an important role, but students were frequently left to navigate those systems on their own.

Texas has increasingly moved away from that approach. Today, state policy encourages institutions to think less about where one system ends and another begins, and more about how they can work together to help students succeed. That means introducing students to career opportunities earlier,

expanding access to dual credit and workforce credentials, strengthening partnerships between school districts and colleges, and ensuring educational programs align with real needs.

Employers and community colleges have become especially important partners in this effort. Employers help identify workforce shortages and provide internships, apprenticeships, and work-based learning opportunities. Community colleges serve as regional workforce hubs with established facilities, experienced instructors, strong industry relationships, and grant-writing expertise. Through dual credit programs, workforce certificates, P-TECH partnerships, and industry training initiatives, students can begin earning college credit and workforce credentials while still in high school.

from secondary education into postsecondary education and careers. Rather than asking institutions to operate independently, the bill encourages collaboration among school districts, community colleges, technical colleges, workforce boards, and employers.

Just as importantly, the bill recognizes that students need guidance as they navigate those pathways. By supporting investments not only in facilities and equipment, but also in the faculty, staff, and advising capacity needed to deliver workforce education programs, Texas is creating new opportunities for career counseling and student support. Community colleges and technical colleges increasingly have the authority and incentive to work alongside local school districts, helping students understand available career pathways, earn credentials, and educational choices to workforce opportunities.

Despite this progress, challenges remain, especially for smaller school districts. Many workforce grants require competitive applications and significant administrative expertise. Unfortunately, the schools that often need assistance the most are frequently the least likely to have dedicated grant-writing staff. At the same time, workforce education programs are administered through multiple agencies and funding streams, creating complexity for schools attempting to navigate the system.

PREPARING TEXAS FOR THE FUTURE

Recognizing these challenges, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1786 in 2025, allowing community colleges and independent school districts to partner more effectively.

SB 1786 directed the Texas Education Agency, Texas Workforce Commission, and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to coordinate workforce grant programs, align funding streams, reduce duplication, and support seamless pathways

THE BOTTOM LINE

BUILDING CONNECTED PATHWAYS

In practical terms, that means more opportunities for shared facilities, shared equipment, coordinated workforce programs, stronger regional partnerships, and more intentional career guidance for students. It also means students can move more easily between educational systems while earning credentials that employers value and that Texas’ economy needs.

Texas’ future depends on our ability to develop the workforce that a growing economy requires. That means recognizing that success comes in many forms and ensuring every student has access to opportunities that fit their goals.

But it also means recognizing that no single institution can accomplish that mission alone. Public schools, community colleges, technical colleges, universities, workforce boards, and employers each have a role to play.

The future of workforce education is not about building isolated programs. It is about building connected pathways.

Whether a student chooses a university classroom, a military uniform, a small business venture, or a skilled trade, Texas benefits when they are prepared to succeed. By strengthening partnerships, aligning systems, and expanding pathways, we are building a stronger Texas, one student, one credential, and one skilled worker at a time.

by Linda A. Thornton • photos

Terry Gaona

The Little Longhorn Saloon

Cold Beer, Live Music, and Chickens!

The unassuming Little Longhorn Saloon is a tiny place that looks more like a church with a steeple than a bar. The band is loud, the beer, cold, and the place is usually packed. For more than 60 years, this time-honored institution has not only brought people together from all walks of life, but it has also created a camaraderie among patrons thanks to its music and, yes, its chickens.

STRUT YOUR STUFF: THE TEXAS TWO-STEP

Open the front door and be transported back to the 1960s. Nostalgic photos, neon signs, and posters line the walls. No one seems to mind that there is just enough room for the worn bar stools, scuffed wooden bar, small dance floor, and a stage.

If you head to The Little Longhorn on an evening when dance lessons are held, it’s pretty much guaranteed you will leave two-stepping. The instructors are welcoming and succeed in getting everyone moving, then watch proudly from the sidelines as their new students glide around the dance floor to the live music.

CHICKEN SH*T BINGO

For more than 50 years, Sunday afternoons at The Little Longhorn have been about chickens, chicken feed, and what happens after chickens eat.

You join the online queue to buy a $2, $5, or $10 cash ticket/donation. Each ticket has a number that corresponds to a number on the giant plywood bingo table. Once the chickens are set on the board, the fun begins.

Rumored to have their Screen Actors Guild cards, the chickens are real professionals. They strut around the table,

working the room into a frenzy of cheering and hollering. If the chicken happens to leave her “mark" on your number, the square is verified by the chicken bingo official, the band is notified, and you are invited up on stage and presented your winnings — anywhere from $114 -$570 in cash.

The combination of the “Austin-weird” bingo games with sitting outside before and after the games are The Little Longhorn’s enduring secret to success. A large group of strangers, chatting and laughing, move their chairs closer together. Another crowd bonds over the details of the care and personalities of each chicken with one of the resident chicken whisperers. Some Austinites take foreign tourists under their wing and share other local spots they shouldn’t miss.

WHO RULES THE ROOST?

The old-fashioned watering hole stands proudly, juxtaposed amid its neighbors: sophisticated restaurants and new high-rise condos. It has served as a farmhouse, gas station, and a restaurant, before becoming a bar in the 1940s. The original owner, Dick Setliff, christened his venue The Little Longhorn Saloon in 1963 and decided to leave it to his bartender, Ginny Kalmbach, in his will before passing away in 1982. It is said that Ginny, her husband, Don, and musician, Dale Watson, were the inventive creators of combining chicken droppings and music into a now-famous bingo game.

When Ginny planned to retire, she gave one of her part-time bartenders, Terry Gaona, first dibs on the bar’s purchase. Terry and her husband, David, worked for the state and owning a bar was not on their radar. It didn’t take Terry long to realize how many daydreams she’d had of how she’d put her own stamp on the place if it belonged to her.

In 2013, Terry became the owner and got busy on her to-do list. She began accepting credit cards and obtained a higher-level liquor license that allowed her to serve liquor and wine, in addition to beer. She also expanded chicken bingo to include multiple tiers of prize winnings.

With her goal of creating one big family party, she spent her days smiling, chatting, and hugging her patrons until the feelings were mutual. Soon, hundreds of people - from bikers to seniors to families to sophisticated millennials - were shooting the breeze together as they stood in line, patiently waiting their turn to purchase their chicken bingo ticket. There was not one ruffled feather in the bunch. It was just another Sunday of good clean fun.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

5434 Burnet Road, Austin

Tues-Wed: 5 - 11pm • Thurs-Sat: 5pm - 12am Sun: 2 - 9pm

Two Step Dance Lessons and live music • No cover charge. Check the website calendar:

Chicken Bingo: 4pm - 8pm - arrive early to get a parking spot. Bring the kids, leashed pets, and folding chairs. Outside food is welcome.

Ann Marie Kennon

SQUIRRELS AND AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM

July is a great month for Bellestyle observations and contradictions, so here are a few to go along with the semiquincentennial.

Two hundred and fifty years seems old for a country and young for a civilization. We are a little like a teenager who has accomplished incredible things while still occasionally putting the lawn mower away with no gas in it and leaving the milk on the counter.

At 250, America is old enough to know better and young enough to do it anyway. And we often do it with great flair.

Americans, for our part, are fiercely independent people who somehow all end up at the same Home Depot or Costco on Saturday morning. On the Fourth of July, many of us celebrate freedom by sitting in traffic on the way to crowded fireworks shows. After earlier complaining about the heat while simultaneously cooking meat outdoors. As contradictions go, that's a pretty American one.

Even though Texas in July is basically like being on the sun's front porch, I still spend a lot of time on my own porch watching the backyard wildlife. Yesterday I happened to see a squirrel standing on a tree branch with the morning sun behind it, and for the first time I had to admit that people who call squirrels "tree rats" may have a point.

The lighting was unfortunate for the squirrel. Normally, all you notice is that magnificent fluffy tail. But with the sun shining through it, I could clearly see that underneath all that glamour was a pencil-thin rat tail with an outstanding marketing department.

Thinking about it, rats and squirrels are not all that different. Similar size. Similar teeth. Similar habits of stealing

food that doesn't belong to them. Similar talent for showing up where they aren't invited. But the squirrel's advantage is that tail.

It's the wildlife equivalent of hiring a really good public relations firm. Without it, a squirrel is basically a tree rat with a better hairdo.

As a squirrel enthusiast myself, I realize some squirrel lovers may wish to send strongly worded letters but I stand by my position.

Remove the fluffy tail and ask people which animal they'd rather have living in the oak tree over the driveway. The squirrel suddenly loses a surprising amount of public support.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized the tail isn't just decoration. A squirrel's tail is a blanket, parachute, rudder, communication device, and sunshade all rolled into one.

As an American, I respect that kind of efficiency. Maybe that's one reason America has done pretty well for herself over the last 250 years. We tend to love things that can do more than one job. The Swiss invented the Army knife. Americans looked at it and thought, "That's a good start."

When we improve things, we're not really done until they mow the yard, make coffee, charge a phone, and maybe launch a satellite while they're at it. After all, we're the people who came up with Walmart, Iron Man, and the hat that lets you drink out of two cans without using your hands.

We are also the nation with armed forces so capable that we set aside entire teams of highly trained pilots in spectacular aircraft simply to have them fly around and say, "Check this out!"

And if that sounds a little juvenile, I suspect that's because it is. At some point, somebody looked at one of the most advanced airplanes on Earth and thought, "You know what would make this even better? If six of them flew really close together upside down."

Every country has its own version of a squirrel tail that is there simply to show off for... everybody. But those things matter here because they remind us who we are when we're at our best.

Maybe that's why I connected with the squirrels today. They remind me of America: a little chaotic, surprisingly resourceful, and occasionally found where they shouldn't be. And always carrying around a lot of accessories not merely for survival, but sometimes just for flat-out awesomeness.

For those who may still doubt me, I have one more word: Buc-ee's. Happy birthday, America!