• Proposed Manor House Expansion Draws Large Crowd

    Many differing views on effect of change in town center By Susan MacEachron Norfolk residents filled the Botelle School Hall of Flags on a very cold evening on Tuesday, Jan. 14, to attend the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) public hearing regarding a modification to the special permit granted in 1996 to the property known as […]

  • From All Angels

    Throughout the month of February, Garet&Co will be returning to Norfolk to present their third annual performance in the Battell Chapel, where each piece will be set in the round.  In this presentation, titled “From All Angles”, the audience will witness the translation of three of the works presented at their fall show.   “Can’t Keep […]

  • Norfolk Then

    Pictured here is the house built in 1898 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Spofford as their summer home. The son of Ainsworth Spofford, Librarian of Congress, Charles Spofford was an electrical engineer, who would be hired in 1902 to manage London’s underground railway system, converting it from steam to electricity. The Spoffords engaged the architect […]

  • Sweets on the Green

    A Decade of Decadent Desserts By Andra Moss How is your naughty versus nice rating? Those needing to influence Santa with an especially impressive treat should grab their stockings and head to the Norfolk Historical Society (NHS) for the 10th Annual Cake Auction on Saturday, Dec. 7.     Now a Norfolk holiday tradition, the event was […]

  • Artist Tom Burr Brings His Torrington Project to an End

    Performances celebrate studio closing By Stephen Melville Norfolk resident and artist Tom Burr organized a day of performances and exhibition at his studio in Torrington on Oct. 26, marking an end to what he has called “The Torrington Project.” For the past three and a half years, Burr has rented a vast—15,000 square foot—former industrial […]

  • New Meanings for a Monument

    Light Shines on the Memorial Green By Joe Kelly On Monday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, a crowd of about 100 gathered for the rededication of Norfolk’s World War 1 memorial, artfully restored under the auspices of the Norfolk Community Association. It was sunny. Temperatures in the low ‘60’s. Another day of no rain. Everyone talked […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    This 1920s postcard shows Memorial Green just after the War Memorial, designed by Alfredo Taylor, was built. It was Taylor’s wife Minna who first proposed that a memorial “heroes grove” be planted on the small lot of land known as the Triangle opposite the Catholic Church. The lot had been left empty with the demolition […]

  • Restored war memorial to be celebrated on veterans day

    plaque now honors all who served By Patricia Platt A World War I monument, designed by Alfredo Taylor and erected on Norfolk’s Memorial Green in 1921, bears the inscription, “for those who gave and those who offered their lives for liberty, the people of Norfolk have built this monument and crowned it with the Liberty […]

  • NLT Tail Ablaze with Runners

    More than 120 runners enjoyed perfect fall weather as they wound their way through picturesque Barbour Woods in the 11th Annual Norfolk Land Trust Trail Race. Some chose to add a challenging loop over Haystack Mountain, while the half-marathoners just kept moving on up—topping out at over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. *photo by June […]

  • Can you spot the Real Curler?

    There was movie magic ice to be made, and the pros of the Norfolk Curling Club were the first to get the call. In October, NCC’s Jon Barbagallo, Lou Barbagallo, Rachel Barbagallo, Mark Walsh, Harvey Chalmers and Phill West were hired by a production company to make curling ice at a Rhode Island hockey rink […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    This 1917 photograph is a timely reminder of the long struggle fought by many dedicated women for basic civil liberties, including the right to own property, hold public office, sit on juries, participate in public assemblies and vote. The group of 25 suffragists—20 women and five men—gathered on the porch following their meeting with Congressman […]

  • The chicken who wanted to be a star and other tales from a norfolk movie set

    By Andra Moss Secrets and small towns don’t often pair well, and Norfolk is a small town. Yet, for eight weeks this summer, a crew of nearly 100 people quietly transformed Tim and Paula Webster’s 1908 Norfolk farmhouse into a film set for a feature-length production, all the while staying under the local radar.  It […]

Articles

Listen Up: Libraries Reveal What’s Going On “Between the Stacks”

By Andra Moss Sometimes the most mundane exercises can lead to innovative outcomes. Take, for instance, the prosaic activity of small-town budgeting. As the board of the Falls Village David M. Hunt Library prepared to approach their town selectmen for additional funding last year, they asked residents for letters of support. The board hoped that […]

It’s Only Natural

Identifying Trees in Winter Can Be a Challenge By Jude Mead Identifying trees in winter can be a challenge, especially in places where snow covers the ground and deciduous trees stand bare. According to Dr. Mike Zarfos, the executive director of Great Mountain Forest (GMF), most people rely on looking at the leaves during the […]

Measles Kills

By Richard Kessin Editor’s Note: Richard Kessin is Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Cell Biology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. This column is adapted from one that appeared in The Lakeville Journal.  In 1962, about 500,000 American kids got measles, with fever and spots made by the immune system reacting with the virus. […]

Learning Together At Botelle

Multi-age Classrooms Spans All Grades By Avice Meehan Picture this: First and second graders clustered in groups of three, working on identifying words to include in a glossary for reports about endangered animals. Their research topics range from bats to elephants, with a few amphibians thrown in for good measure. Primary school teacher Debra Tallon, […]

Norfolk Land Trust Partners to Create Forever-Wild Preserve

South Norfolk land will connect with Dennis Hill By Kelly Kandra Hughes Thanks to a new partnership between the Norfolk Land Trust (NLT) and Northeast Wilderness Trust, more of Norfolk’s woodlands will remain forever wild. Northeast Wilderness Trust, a Vermont-based conservation organization, has established a forever-wild conservation easement on a large block of NLT land […]

New Design Speeds Route 44 Retaining Wall Project

Traffic Signals Updated By Avice Meehan The signals that control access through the retaining wall project on Route 44 now have count-down clocks and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) has also added a temporary light at Blackberry Street for motorists trying to enter the construction zone. Those improvements—all intended to lower the stress levels […]

Appoint or Elect Town Officials?

Change may be ahead for town clerk’s office By Joe Kelly When local elections are held next year in Norfolk, a familiar office may not be on the ballot: Town Clerk. There is a plan afoot, initiated by First Selectman Matt Riiska, to make the town clerk an appointed position. Riiska argues that the skills […]

Fire Risk Remains High Across Region

Rain, now do not dampen drought By Avice Meehan Weather watchers like Russell Russ, property manager for Great Mountain Forest, greeted the late November rain storm with a sigh of relief. Yet like other experts, he warned that fire risk remains high across heavily forested Litchfield County and neighboring Berkshire County, where the Butternut Fire […]

School Honors: Botelle Named School of Distinction

By Avice Meehan Botelle Elementary School has been named a school of distinction for the 2023-24 academic year for showing great improvement across a range of standards measured by Connecticut’s Department of Education (DOE). Principal Lauren Valentino shared the news at the Nov. 12 meeting of the Board of Education and, in a lighthearted moment, […]

Elementary Conversations

Colebrook, Norfolk Selectmen Seek Collaboration By Avice Meehan The Colebrook and Norfolk Boards of Selectmen held a joint meeting on Thursday, Nov. 14, to “restart the conversation” about how the two communities could find ways to collaborate as elementary school enrollments decline. Originally planned for Colebrook Town Hall, the session was moved to the adjacent […]

Fergus Goes for a Ride

By Andra Moss A community dog parade might seem the ideal sniffing ground for a wannabe dog thief, but it is also a setting filled with folks prepared to spring into action to find a furry friend.  Such was the case during the annual Halloween dog parade on Oct. 26. Norfolk resident Phee Rosnick left […]

Holiday Happenings for a Festive December

Norfolk Now’s Patricia Platt has ranged far and wide to find a true cornucopia of holiday related happenings across Litchfield and Berkshire counties. Her discoveries range from performances of the “Nutcracker” by the Nutmeg Ballet in Torrington to Christmas fairs to strolls through the grounds of the Mount in Lenox, Mass. Enjoy! Litchfield CountyThe Colebrook […]