On February 25, 1890 Rachel Williamson reported that, “The new bridge above the school house is now completed and ready for use by the public since last Thursday.” This is the old iron bridge, now not in use, on Hunter Road crossing Moore’s Creek.

On February 3, 1892 there was a notice to farmers about the possible creation of a canning factory in Titusville that would provide a market for Pleasant Valley farmers. The notice made it clear that farmers needed to show interest in the project if it was going to get off the ground. The notice read,

On Monday evening, Feb 8, at 7:30 o’clock, a meeting will be held in Cray’s Hall, which will be addressed by Mr. William Fleming, of Titusville, N.J., on the subject of raising and canning tomatoes. Mr. Fleming has had years of experience in the business and thinks the plan of starting a factory here entirely feasible

This meeting means business if the farmers show sufficient interest, so make an effort to come out.

If the farmers, who would be more benefited by this enterprise than any one else, want the factory, now is the time to show their hand.

The meeting was successful and a canning factory became a reality and operated for a decade or so. A number of Pleasant Valley farmers raised and took tomatoes to the factory and members of their families sometimes worked at the cannery.

The next week, on February 10, 1892, Rachel Williamson reported on a nearly tragic accident involving one of the hired men of a local farmer, perhaps associated in some way with the stone quarry. She wrote, “Friday morning, his man Moses thought he would try some damp powder and see if it was good. So he filled a bottle half full of powder, dropped a lighted match in it and tried to turn if bottom up, but did not succeed, for with a loud report the bottle was shattered. The other hired man hearing the report thought some one was blasting rocks back of the house, and went out to investigate, where he found Moses gazing heavenward, evidently glad he had not taken an upward flight. Moses is convinced that the powder was good but will never experiment with a bottle again as the glass is too sharp and brittle.”

The next week, February 17, a notice appeared from the Mercer County Freeholders related to the purchase of the farm where the county workhouse is located. The notice read, “The county workhouse committee reported in favor of purchasing the farm and quarry of Levi B. Stout, at Moore’s Station, on the Belvidere Railroad and feeder of the Delaware and Raritan canal. The price is $9,000. Mr. Roach of Ewing, was opposed to the whole business, but the resolution to purchase was passed, after considerable discussion.”

The same issue of the paper carried the notice from Rachel Williamson that, “Charles Miller [living at today’s Howell Farm] lost a valuable cow last week.”

On February 9, 1893 Rachel Williamson gave some advice to the young men of Pleasant Valley stemming from a recent embarrassing occurrence. “Advice to young men of a nervous temperament: Don’t get in a hurry, it might have a tendency to produce heart trouble; take things cool, especially when circumstances over which you have no control have kept you from taking your best girl out until a late hour, and when at last you have overcome the obstacles so far as to go to your room to array yourself in a boiled shirt and other fixins’, calling down stairs to mother asking where your shirt is, and she replies that “it is on the top of the basket with the other ironing,” be careful, be very careful, that you don’t get hers instead of your own, and make your appearance a few minutes later in the presence of company in that plight, as a young man in this vicinity did recently.”

Butchering cattle was still going on in February 1898 and the paper reported on an incident at a Pleasant Valley farm.

There was some excitement at J. Hart Larowe’s, in Pleasant Valley, one evening last week. Mr. Larowe had been butchering and in the evening a bull belonging to him got out of the yard, and in wandering around came across the blood and at once got on the rampage. About this time John A., son of Mr. Larowe, and a man names Lutes, came home from Lambertville, when the excited animal at once made a bee line for them, chasing them out into a peach orchard, where they each mounted a peach tree. The bull attacked the tree in which Lutes had taken refuge with so much violence that it was with difficulty that he could retain his perch. Both men called loudly for help and soon Jim, another son of Mr. Larowe, and George Lewis, came to the rescue armed with a shot gun and pitchfork, and after giving the gentleman cow a couple of broadsides from the breechloader they got him on the run, and following up their advantage by jabbing him in the rear with the pitchfork they succeeded in getting him where he belonged again.

During the 1890s an African American retired farmer and his wife lived on the small, two acre farm that was the home of Pleasant Valley’s blacksmith earlier in the century. This farm was cut out of the Henry Phillips farm that is now Howell Farm and the property is again part of Howell Farm. On February 8, 1899 Rachel Williamson reported, “Benjamin Wilson, living about a mile above the river, on or near the bank of what is known as Smith creek, keeps a few ducks. On Monday, Jan. 23, one of said ducks strayed away from home, and notwithstanding the faithful searching of Mr. W., the duck could not be located until the following Saturday, when it was found frozen in the ice in the creek near the river, about a mile from home, still alive.”

That February of 1899 was a severe weather month and later in the month Mrs. Williamson reported on it with the following items in the February 22 issue of the Herald.

There was no school in the Valley last week until Thursday, owning to the storm, and the condition of the roads, which were drifted so that they had to be shoveled out before travel was possible.

We have just passed through the most severe cold weather and the worst storm that has ever been know, or at least for a great many years, the mercury ranging from about zero to twelve below for almost a week or ten days.

Neighbor Parkhill and son, Hugh, started out on Monday morning, the 18th, in the storm, with the horse and sleigh, and also with a shovel, to deliver the daily supply of milk to the county farm, a distance of about one mile. They went over right side up with care, but on the return trip they upset the sleigh two or three times and had a very unpleasant trip, and on Tuesday they thought they would carry the mile over across the fields, so they took their friend of the morning before, the shovel, and started. They were obliged to shovel themselves out of the snow drifts several times before reaching their destination. They reached home almost noon very tired, but after partaking of some dinner they were able to commence opening the roads, which was successfully accomplished in about four days, by all the farmers, their sons and hired help turning out to shovel snow.

In 1905 there was another severe winter that brought the report:

On last Tuesday and Wednesday we experienced the worst storm of the winter, which amounted to a blizzard, piling the snow into immense heaps in some places and other places the ground is bare. For several days the men have been busy shoveling snow on the back road. They say it is eight or nine feet deep in places, and the call for help has come over the hill to get them dug out.

Just as at Howell Farm today, early February was a time for ice harvest about the turn of the century. On February 4, 1903 Mrs. Williamson reported that, “A.B. Hunt has filled the ice house on A.B. Coleman’s farm, where he expects to move in the spring.” The A.B. Coleman farm is today’s Howell Farm. Coleman was a blacksmith from Titusville who purchased the farm after the death of Charles Miller and rented it out to tenants during the first decade of the twentieth century. Mr. Hunt, who filled the icehouse, was slated to be the next tenant.

The current tenant in February 1903 was the Alfred Rogers family and Rachel had a notice about them also.

A few days ago Mrs. Alfred Rogers, accompanied by her two little daughters, went to Lambertville to do some shopping, her husband having preceded her with a load of hay. On arriving at the quarry at Goat Hill the horse became frightened at the crusher, jumped to the side of the road, and striking a rock broke the wheel of the buggy. By careful and slow driving they managed to reach the rubber mill, where Mr. Rogers was unloading his hay. There they got another wheel in place of the broken one and proceeded on their way. After the shopping had been done, and the goods stored in the wagon, and Mrs. R. and children gotten in, before the man could untie the horse a boy came along on roller skates which again frightened the animal. He reared back and broke the halter, and most likely would have run away had he not been instantly surrounded. Mrs. R. and children were grabbed from the wagon before they had time to become alarmed and the horse quieted down. Things were again righted and they started out for home, where they arrived in due time not the worse for their adventures. Mrs. R. has a cool head, a strong nerve and good judgment in the management of horses.

Later in the month sale notice appeared in the Herald concerning this family. It read, “Feb. 23 – Alfred Rogers will sell stock, machinery, household goods, etc. at public sale, at his residence, on the Chas. Miller farm, near Pleasant Valley schoolhouse, one mile from Moore’s station. H.L. Sked, Auct.” In her column, Mrs. Williamson noted that the Rogers family was going to be moving to Montana. They did move, but returned to the Valley in a year or so when things didn’t work out as they expected in Montana.

Winter was always a time for eating well from the produce grown on the area farms. In February 1903 Mrs. Williamson reported on a very welcome gift.

A few days ago we were favored with a call from T.O. Brady and wife, who perhaps thought we were getting hungry for pumpkin pie (and they were right) brought us a half [a pumpkin]. It was so fine and heavy that we took a little note of it. We put it on the scales and it weighed 16 ½ pounds, and measured 20 inches around it. From stem to blossom the measurement was 21 inches. In the thickest part the flesh measured 2 ¼ inches. It will make pies enough to last us for some time. Mrs. B. said they had six like it put up for their winter use. That would be a good place to go for pumpkin pies.