Potato Showdown in Thurston County
A father and son compete at the county potato show, highlighting the success of youth agricultural clubs.
The story, cleaned up
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“Now, young fellow, we will see what club work has done for you,” said Guy Taylor of the South Bay community, Olympia, Wash., as he and his son, Roy, entered the Thurston County potato show in competition with each other. And see they did, for Roy won from his father in four out of six classes. He won the chamber of commerce potato digger offered for the best 100 pounds of table stock; first prize for certified Burbank seed, sweepstake and potato competition, second on uncertified White Star seed, and second for best 32 tubers of Burbank table stock.
“Now, young fellow, we will see what club work has done for you.”
4-H and similar agricultural extension programs were a pillar of civic life for rural Washington youth, fostering both local pride and professional skill. This rivalry demonstrates the transfer of expertise between generations that sustained the state's agricultural economy.
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