Howell Living History Farm is Slowly Reopening

I am most impressed by places which have reinvented themselves in the age of the Corona virus. Whether it is a restaurant now hosting car hops, or graduations turned in photo ops, places that will survive are the ones changing their way of doing business.

Over the years we have enjoyed visiting Howell Living History Farm. Ashley has participated in their hatchery program. Type "Howell" in the search bar on this blog and you'll find articles about their wedding dress exhibit, archaeology camp, tour of the one room schoolhouse and more. Every time we visit we say we should go more often.

Knowing they would not be able to offer the usual calendar filled with activities including maple syrup harvesting, sheep shearing, hatchery camp, and so much more due to being closed for the foreseeable future, someone had the foresight to plant more, and spend their energies on growing more vegetables, which would then be donated to local food banks. After all, they have the space.

Instead of educating the public about 19th century farming techniques, they are educating the public about how we can all help our neighbors in the 21st century.

Their home page says: 

Donating Crops in 2020

This year, Howell Farm is donating eggs, whole wheat flour, oats, seasonal produce, and our entire crop of potatoes (¾ – 1 ton if all goes well!) to food pantries and soup kitchens in the Trenton area.

We will also be increasing production of sweet corn, popcorn, and the field corn that’s used for corn meal – as well as sharing farming and gardening information and resources with anyone interested or in need.

If you'd like to see the crops we've been growing and say hello to the horses, you can register for a free tour on CommunityPass and join us Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoon!

As part of their "Share the Harvest" program, Howell Farm is showing off their work. Following the example of their annual corn maze, the farm guided us to ten stations spread out throughout the farm, each one describing part of their program and including a crossword puzzle answer. Find all ten answers and receive a small bag of their flour as a prize.

The game could take 30 minutes if you didn't get distracted. Or it could take 90 minutes if you spent time catching up with masked workers from a socially acceptable distance in the great outdoors. If you know me, you know into which category I fell.

Yesterday was a beautiful day to be on the farm.

 Each of the ten spots had a description of what they were highlighting. The correct answer was in red to make it easier to find. The first station was about beekeeping.

Purely as a guess, there were about five people making sure we did not get lost, and telling us more about what we were seeing. Their goal this year is to grow hearty foods (potatoes, okra, cucumbers, etc.) that they then donate to local food pantries. The numbers are truly staggaring.

The Disney side of me wants to call the employees cast members. Instead of wearing 19th century attire, each was dressed in a Share the Harvest light green t-shirt, bottoms of their choice, and a mask. That is just the world we live in and they want to keep everyone safe. While walking the grounds we were allowed to take off our masks and raise them when we saw someone else. A reasonable policy on a warm day.

The clockwise path took us along the wagon ride route past sections of the farm we don't normally see. Along the path was Lucy, the two-year old dog who lives at the farm. She was playing catch. It added the idyllic feel of the day.

While not the regular routine, it is a nice step towards being open again.

Visit the Mercer County Community Pass in order to reserve your space on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday to go on a tour. Spaces are limited, but there are plenty.

Don't let the 50 spaces for each time slot scare you off. They are placing a cap for crowd control purposes, but as it is a self-guided tour each group steers clear of the other groups.

If you go, tell Kim I said hi.

UPDATED to ADD: they got some nice press in ALHFAM