In 1937, an unusual battle was fought—with potatoes—between Maine and Idaho, at the House Restaurant. The two states competed to determine which produced the best tubers. The luncheon competition was attended by House leaders, Senators, and the Secretary of Agriculture, and Resident Commissioners and Territorial Delegates served as baked potato judges. Seen wolfing down an Idaho spud in this image, House Majority Leader Sam Rayburn exclaimed that he preferred the “yellow rose of Texas.”
