But this year, as 4-H celebrates its centennial, just 8 percent of the thousands of Washington State teenagers involved in 4-H live on farms. So while probably only a minority knows how to milk a cow, practically all have computers. In the contemporary scene, photographed recently on the fairgrounds, laptop-wielding club members stand in front of the same oversized exhibit sheds used in 1946.

Cows are still very much part of 4-H, but so are cultural exchanges, "know your government" conferences, "science camp-ins" and technologies that can search world-wide for milking machines. This year, 4-H in Washington has pledged to spend 2.6 million hours in volunteer public service — in part to set up and run computer labs for under-connected communities in six counties.

This September, 4-H will again have its own "fair within a fair" at the Puyallup exposition of chickens, scones, hot tubs, tractors and, naturally, cows. While the adjudicated Jersey of 1946 was surely cherished by its keeper, probably the taller lad standing beside it, I have not been able to determine either of their names. However, I did discover that Midge Endowment Madge was named Washington State Jersey Queen for the year 1946. Midge's 10-year record of 85,743 pounds of milk was certainly something for this cow to shoot for.