Maple syrup, bottled March 2, 2010, for sale in Howell Farm's gift shop.

The making of maple syrup at Howell Farm is unique in itself. Classes of school children led by farm staff, participate in tapping sugar maple trees in the sugar bush. Howell Farm horses, Jack & Chester pull bobsled loaded with sap.Sap is then gathered by these visiting children and deposited in large milk cans carried by a horse-drawn bobsled. The sap is transported directly to the sugar shack, where rests the evaporator. There the sap is cooked down into almost finished maple syrup, it is finished and bottled in one of Howell Farm's kitchens and then brought to the visitor center for sale. So this product does not leave the farm until you take it home with you!

One of Howell Farm's newest volunteer has wrought wonderful advances behind the scenes. Bob Walker is a dedicated volunteer who has lent his proficient carpentry & mechanical skills to bring about some amazing restoration on farm equipment and furniture. From chairs to hand-tools, disc harrows to sleighs, Mr. Walker has spent many hours in Howell Farm's workshop repairing the numerous broken items that Howell Farm has in their collection of antiques. The disc harrow that Bob is "modeling" above took weeks of intense labor to bring it to its present, almost new, condition.

So far the only damage known is a fallen osage orange tree branch. The lower ford bridge is blocked off as a result.

With the promise of snow this Saturday, Howell Farm will offer horse drawn sleigh rides in addition to the regularly scheduled program, Sugar Tree Tapping.

Visitors can enjoy food and a children's craft program in the warmth of the visitor center and                                               adjoining program barn.

For more details on the Sugar Tree Tapping program visit Howell Farm's website @ www.howellfarm.com

Despite Bill's lack of participation, staff enjoyed groundhog shaped cakes and cookies in his honor.

A stuffed imitation groundhog sat on a fence while an amateur roper practiced lassoing on his lunch break.

(No groundhogs were hurt or disturbed during this practice)

Carpenter Ian Ferry continues work on the box stalls for the farm's one cow, Molly, and retired horse, Blaze. The partitions have been constructed and all the floor boards have been laid.

Yesterday, Wednesday, January 13, 2010, a track hoe began excavating from the hill on the east side of the barnyard along Hunter Rd. for a septic drainage field. The loader dug out an 11 ft. deep pit in one days time; today the pit is being filled with sand and rocks. This is a big step in the "rehabilitation" of the John Phillips house.

Besides the obvious excavation work being done, more restoration is happening in the dim and cool horse barn. In the autumn of 2009 concrete was laid in the newly restored threshing floor of the barn. Today Howell Farm's carpenter Ian Ferry continues the work, building two new box stalls off to the east side of the threshing floor for our beloved seniors, Molly the cow & Blaze the horse. Oak floor boards were laid yesterday and today partitions are going up.

Last--but not least:  several Howell Farm staff put out life, limb, and clothing to mend the bridge that crosses Moores Creek, which leads to the farm's precious sugar bush (maple sugar forest). A new deck of stout boards are being laid and the metal girders repainted. Pictured are Matt Schofield, Jonathan Houghton, & Peter Gray painting the girders and getting some paint on themselves as well.

His reindeer are in training for a journey later this month, so Santa arrived at Howell Farm today atop a 1907 Case steam engine. Santa said children have been unusually good this year, so a surplus supply of coal is readily available to power the engine's boiler.

Santa handed out cookies and listened to children's holiday wishes, while his elves helped keep the crowds in line.

Holiday activities began in the morning, when children rode on a horse-drawn wagon out to the farm's woodlot, and then helped saw down a cedar tree. Everyone then helped decorate the tree in front of the farmhouse.

Popcorn made over an open fire, music by the Jugtown Mountain String Band and steam-powered hay rides were among the other activities through the day.

To see a photo slideshow of today's holiday celebration, click here.

Christmas on the Farm marked the last event of the 2009 Howell Living History Farm year. Happy holidays! We look forward to seeing you in 2010.

For young scholars of the Pleasant Valley, circa 1900, a typical school day began with early morning chores on the family farm, followed by a ride to the schoolhouse in a horse-drawn buggy. Then it was time to hit the books.

Students from the Cambridge School in Pennington visited Howell Farm today to relive the academic experience of their great-great-grandparents.

In the old days, morning chores might include feeding the animals or splitting firewood for the stove, all which had to be done before the school bus arrived. The bus, of course, wasn't a bus at all, but a buggy pulled by two 1,800-pound draft horses, driven by a friendly but punctual teamster. If it were winter, the students would try to stay warm by holding the hot potatoes their mothers had sent with them for lunch.

Upon arriving at school, the schoolmarm would greet students at the schoolhouse door. Present day students were reminded that teachers were much stricter 100 years ago. "Students will not speak unless spoken to,” they were told, "No giggling, whispering, or squirming at your desk," and "Have good posture at all times."

After the Pledge of Allegiance and a few songs -- led by the teacher on the classroom piano -- it would be time for the three R's: reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic. A typical day's lesson might include calculating how much wheat needs to be planted in a 20-acre field, reading aloud from the classroom workbook, and a competitive spelling bee.

After recess and lunch, it would be back to the classroom for some final lessons, and then home again. Most likely, there are evening farm chores waiting for the students.

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In 1900, there were 15 million school children in the United States. Today, including college students, there are about 75 million students.

Many children of the era would have been reading "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," which was published by Frank Baum in 1900. A discussion of current events would have included the devastating hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, in September 1900, killing an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people.

The Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse, located on Mercer County-owned land adjacent to Howell Living History Farm, was built in 1889 to replace an earlier school located nearby. It was used as a school until 1936. The building provided a place of instruction for area children, and also served as a community center for neighborhood meetings, speakers delivering lectures, neighborhood sings, and other social activities.

Howell Farm's three acres of dent field corn has dried out and turned to a light brown color- and that's good!  Although sweet corn is enjoyed in the summer when the leaves are green and lush, field corn (which generally includes the corn we see drying out in fields) is harvested when it has been left to stand during the colder autumn months and until it has dried to perfection. This drying out means that our corn can last for a very long time, years in fact; and we are still relying on last year's harvest at this time. Besides the dent maize Howell Farm also planted one & a half acres of popcorn and Indian corn that has cured in the field for storage in the corn crib. Corn is one of the most important cereal grains grown on our farm as it accounts for a large quantity of food for animals and human consumption. By far the hogs eat the most corn on the farm, corn making up three-fifths of their daily feed diet. The farmers and their helpers also enjoy tasty treats made out of field corn. During the week Howell Farm hosts hundreds of school kids as they help bring in the harvest and they are rewarded with fresh baked corn bread from our turn of the century kitchen.                                                           

On the south side of the corn field, the winter wheat crop has come up. Three acres of beautifully green shoots contrast the mature brown stalks of the nearby maize. Our two primary cereal grains will be neighbors until the aged corn is completely harvested and removed. The corn stalks will also find use however. Corn fodder shocks are being made so they can then be collected and used in the horse barn for bedding.