For the farmers of Pleasant Valley November was marked by the task of husking corn and hauling stalks from the fields. If the weather had not allowed for winter wheat planting in October farmers completed this task in November. Potatoes were also harvested in November and in 1905 it was noted that the Parkhill family “harvested about five hundred bushels of potatoes and have a part of them in the market.” Apples are also frequently mentioned in November. In 1894 it was noted that Charles Miller, at today’s Howell Farm, had “his large apple crop all packed and put in buildings.” In 1899 the apple harvest had been completed by November 1 but they had not been marketed yet. In 1905 the Parkhill family “gathered twelve hundred bushels of apples” during the month of November. At least some of the Valley apple crop was processed locally at Joseph K. Leigh’s cider works.

November was also a time for butchering hogs and poultry. In late November 1907 the paper noted that farmers had been carting their poultry and pork to Trenton market where they were receiving good prices for their meat.

November was also the month when farmers, who were interested, met to learn about modern farming techniques and business practices. There was a Farmers’ Alliance in Pleasant Valley during the 1890s where farmers exchanged ideas and worked together for better prices for their produce and the things they needed to buy. On at least one occasion the sharing of ideas led to a humorous outcome. On November 1, 1894 the Hopewell Herald reported:

“A certain gentleman living near Harbourton belongs to the Farmer’s Alliance of Pleasant Valley, and thinks he is quite an expert in the way of heading up barrels, etc., but got left the worst kind of way last Monday night, when he tried to show the Alliance people how to head up a barrel of fish. It seems that the barrel was only half full of fish and the rest was brine, so the expert started in his usual way, and jumped up on the head of the barrel when the head slipped and in he went up to his neck in fish brine. Whether some one went home for his oxen to pull him out with, or whether he is there yet, we are unable to learn.”

Farmers’ Institutes were also held in Hopewell and Pleasant Valley farmers were urged to attend to hear experts speak on various topics related to farming; including plant feeding, dairy production, the use of forage crops for the dairy, the arrangement of orchards, poultry and egg production, etc. These institutes were arranged by the State agricultural department and often met with some indifference from farmers who were skeptical about learning anything from people they considered academics rather than full-time practical farmers like themselves. Announcements of the Institutes were almost always accompanied by exhortations encouraging farmers to attend. Typical of these statements is one from the November 21, 1906 Hopewell Herald:

“Agriculture is the foundation of a prosperous country. When our farms produce abundantly and good paying markets are afforded, commerce is increased, transportation facilities are multiplied and the factory, loom and workshop brought into requisition, the people employed at paying wages none need suffer longer. Whatever, therefore, contributes to the improvement of this industry is a benefit to all others. To help this industry is the mission of the Farmers Institute.

It is education, more intelligent farming, larger crops, better stock, more high grade cattle, horses, sheep, hogs and poultry, better fruits, a better system of marketing, better homes and better people, better schools and the teaching of the principles and laws of production as well as the rules and methods of business.”

When farmers weren’t engaged with their crops or going to institutes, November was rabbit hunting season. In 1894, Rachel Williamson noted in her column for the Herald, “Oh! The poor rabbits. How they had to suffer Monday. Judging by the reports there has either been a great many rabbits killed or a great deal of ammunition wasted.” In 1899 she noted, “Poor bunny had to suffer last Friday, but I think it was nearly as hard a day for some of the gunners, for after tramping around until a late hour some came in with one rabbit, others with more and some with none.” In 1907 she noted that in addition to hunters “shooting around the fields every day since the season opened,” that Charles Jones killed a fox. Residents of Pleasant Valley today might wonder why deer hunting is never mentioned. This is because there were virtually no deer in the area in the 1890s and early 1900s. In fact, on the very few occasions when a deer was seen in the Valley it was newsworthy in itself – much as a bear sighting would be today.

November marked the end of the Union Sunday School season that had begun the previous spring. The closing exercises of the Sunday School were mentioned almost every year along with an overview of the schedule of events. The announcement in 1898 was typical and promised, “music and recitations by the children and remarks by the Rev. Mr. Lynch, of the Titusville M.E. church.” However, the Sunday afternoon services continued during the winter and the Sunday School often voted to continue holding meetings on Thursday evenings through the winter to continue studies begun in the Sunday School. With the cold weather coming on, these Sunday and evening services suffered some in attendance. In 1888 Rachel Williamson noted, “We are having Thursday evening meetings which are very interesting, but it would be pleasant and I think better for the health of the people if they had a little more tariff on their coal.” This was during the last year of the old Pleasant Valley schoolhouse that would be torn down and replaced in 1889. However, even the new schoolhouse did not completely solve the problem. In 1894 Mrs. Williamson noted, “Rev. Mr. Milliken preached last Sunday afternoon to a very small audience in a very cold school room, both of which I think must be discouraging to a preacher. However, he left an appointment to preach again on the second Sunday in December, at which time I hope he will have a larger audience, also a warm room to receive him.” In other years the audiences were also noted as small, though appreciative, and in extremely bad weather the services were simply postponed or called off for the week.

November was also an important school month for the children of Pleasant Valley and their teacher. Just like the farmers had their institutes to advance their knowledge, the teachers had institutes to attend put on by the Mercer County Superintendent of Schools. While the farmers’ institutes were voluntary, the teachers were required to attend their institutes and the schools were closed for several days in mid-November. The Herald reported on these events as a way of enlisting parental support for their children’s education. In 1899 the Herald’s report noted:

"Dr. Aldrich spoke chiefly on moral training and discipline. Dr. White, the author of White’s series of books on teaching, and also of numerous text-books, and one of the best educators in the country, spoke chiefly on methods of instruction. He severely comdemned the so-called “cramming” methods in vogue in many of our schools. The drill is useful when properly used. Miss Dynes spoke on history and civics. Dr. Schmucker, who is a well-known naturalist, interested the audience very much by his quaint stories of well-known insects and animals, with which all are acquainted, but of which all are ignorant. He described ant hills he had seen 18 feet long and three feet high. Most people are afraid of bugs and worms, yet they are very interesting, and a very small proportion of them can sting so most people suppose they all do. … Teachers should cultivate in pupils a love for the study of nature."

In 1907 the paper reported on a meeting of the Mercer County Teacher’s Club that had been organized for teachers to share ideas and to encourage greater professionalism. This was a more voluntary meeting, held on a Saturday, and did not involve closing the schools. The Herald noted that a talk by a teacher from Hoboken “should have been heard by every teacher of the township. Her subject was ‘Teaching Primary Reading,’ and her talk was along the lines of the practical use of the new educational reader used in all the schools of the township.” Because this meeting was not mandatory the paper included a list of the teachers who attended and Harriet Sears of the Pleasant Valley School was among those listed.

Another school vacation in November was, of course, Thanksgiving. Surprisingly, there is little mention of this holiday in Mrs. Williamson’s columns. In 1892 she did mention that “Thanksgiving day passed very quietly in this vicinity, the people being very thankful for the recent rains as well as the many other blessings received during the past year.” Her only other mention came in 1907 when she noted, “Harry Johnson and family entertained their Thanksgiving company last Saturday, as Harry is obliged to be on duty at the [county] farm on Thanksgiving day. Seventeen friends took supper and enjoyed roast duck with them, from Hopewell, Harbourton and the vicinity.

Another tradition of life in November is elections, and again Mrs. Williamson makes little note of them. Her one mention of them, though, indicates that they were just as full of controversy as today. In 1892 her brief note is that “This has been the most quiet Presidential campaign ever known in the Valley.”

No matter what the activity in the Valley, getting anywhere was always something of a challenge in the days of dirt roads. During the 1890s Andrew B. Hart of Pleasant Valley was the elected road supervisor and from the comments by Mrs. Williamson in the Herald he did a fine job keeping the roads respectable in this month.

November saw one of the important milestones in the history of the farm that is today’s Howell Farm. In November 1901 Mrs. Williamson noted, “A.B. Coleman has purchased the Charles Miller farm, and intends improving it.” In 1898 Charles Miller had died and his son Benjamin had become responsible for the farm. Benjamin got into legal difficulties and was unable to keep the farm going – even with the help of the Williamsons who moved into the farmhouse for awhile to assist him. So, the 41-year ownership of the farm by the Millers came to an end and the farm was purchased by Titusville blacksmith A.B. Coleman. For the first time in the farm’s history it was not a family farm owned and operated by the family. A.B. Coleman had no intention of moving onto the farm – only to improving it and leasing it out to tenant farmers. For the next eight years a different family lived on the farm each year until the Leming family leased it in 1909 and stayed until they purchased the farm from Mr. Coleman several years later and returned it to being a family owned and operated farm.