by Dorothy Markulis, reporter

Did you see the cows grazing on the Green Aug. 20?

Yep, that's right; an entire herd was reported in the downtown area. So your fearless reporter -- that would be me -- took lasso in hand to round up the ruminants.

Turns out the cows weren't really on the Green, they were actually on the lawn in front of the Town Hall. And they weren't real cows, just "udderly" plastic miniatures.

Jody Roberts, city communications manager, said the bevy of bovines were in honor of Assistant City Manager Paula Ryan's 40th birthday.

"Her husband, Matt Patrick, did it," Jody said. "She is mortified."

Mortified. I loved that description. I asked if I could see Paula.

When she came to the town hall lobby, she was smiling.

"This is a very serious matter," I said. "The Hudson Hub-Times has been fielding complaints from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals."

For good measure, I said the paper also had complaints from the Texas Cattlemen's Association. Paula is an avowed vegetarian and the sign accompanying the cow herd said "She will not eat meat! Paula's 40! Sweet!"

Paula said that although she does not eat any meat, she does prepare it for her husband.

"But not after today," she joked.

Not only did the entire town of Hudson get to hear about Paula's birthday, so did the entire audience of WKDD, where her husband is a radio personality.

"Now everyone knows I'm old," Paula said.

Paula, according to her co-workers, is a very private person, but she agreed to have her picture taken with one of the mini-cows.

"She's a really good sport," Jody said.

When Paula was greeted by the cows, she knew immediately who the culprit was.

Paula said her boss, City Manager Anthony Bales, told him Matt had called him and gave him a heads up about the birthday display.

"Tony said when he was driving to work, he thought about the conversation and hoped the cows weren't real," Paula said.

Paula intends to have the last laugh.

"Matt turns 50 pretty soon," she said. "This has given me some good ideas."

E-mail: dmarkulis@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3143