By Colleen Gundlach

When Erastus Johnson built his stately Gilded Age home on the knoll just south of Norfolk’s Village Green in 1900, he named it Wildwood. This was a name that stayed with the property through its next owner, H.E. Adriance, a wealthy New York City resident who kept Wildwood as his summer residence for several years. It wasn’t until 1951, when the property was purchased by Felix and Clara Klauer, that it was rechristened as Mountain View Inn, a name it maintained until this year.

Wendy Roberts, a New Jersey businesswoman, was looking to find a warehouse for her robotics company and fell in love with Winsted. “It is such a Mayberry kind of place, with its little shops,” she says, “it even has a hardware store that’s not a Lowe’s or Home Depot – two of them in fact.”

She found the warehouse space she was seeking, and temporarily rented an apartment in Winsted while she looked for a long-term place to live. On one of her trips to the area, she stayed at the Mountain View. While talking with then-owner Dean Johnson, Roberts happened to mention that she was looking to buy a house. Johnson asked, “Why don’t you look at this one?” That question prompted the beginning of a whole new venture for Roberts, and the Mountain View Inn soon became the Mountain View Green Retreat.

Roberts and her friends have been doing extensive renovations on the Mountain View since then. New sheet rock, interesting period-true ceilings, new tiles and light fixtures as well as upgraded flooring have brightened up and refreshed the inn while retaining the charm and warmth of the original building.

Each of the seven guest rooms has been refurbished in romantic Victorian style, with canopy beds, lush pillows and peacefully relaxing wallpapers. Each room bears the name of a former owner of property. There is Erastus’ Room, Adrian’s Room and Clara’s Room, to name a few. One room, Mrs. Mead’s room, was named after a guest who lived at the inn for several years. In keeping with the overall romantic feel of the inn, guests can order a box of local chocolates and fresh flowers for their rooms on request.

A talented cook, Roberts plans to serve “really healthy, vibrant food, including fresh-pressed organic juices” at the bed and breakfast. “I envision this to be a place where people can come to get away from the hustle and bustle of life,” she says. “I want the people who come here to have food to help them de-stress and detox their bodies.” She explains that often when people go on a vacation, they allow themselves to eat things they normally wouldn’t eat – and lots of it. Roberts wants her customers to be re-charged by eating locally-grown, healthy and organic foods that help them to feel good.

In addition, services such as Reiki and massage therapy will be available in the near future at the Mountain View, and Roberts is working on plans to have laid-back, de-stressing parlor music as well as integrated activities with local attractions such as Haystack Mountain, Infinity Hall and the many hiking trails in Norfolk. She also plans to participate in Weekend in Norfolk, perhaps with a juice-tasting event as an alternative to wine tasting.

That warehouse space in Winsted that eventually led Roberts to Norfolk now houses some amazing real-life robots. Five Elements Robotics, which Roberts founded in 2001, produces robots that serve as personal assistants, package carriers or even nannies. These intricate and sophisticated robots can talk, remember how to navigate around furniture, and will even allow you to watch your children from another room and to talk to them through the robot. By placing a sensor on the backs of your children, the Nanny Bot will follow them around. In addition, the company has partnered with some large national stores to test Dash Robotic Shopping Carts that can locate what you need in the store, and a shopper can scan at the cart and also pay right there at the cart.

Five Elements Robotics is a futuristic business that was born out of Roberts’ desire not to put people out of work. Prior to starting the robotics company, Roberts founded a business called Future Skies, a military communications firm that produces software for the U.S. Army. When the government eventually enacted sequestration – the practice of imposing automatic government spending reductions by withholding appropriations by a fixed percentage – Roberts felt the need to start another business as well, so that she could keep the people who worked for her at Future Skies employed. Five Elements was born from that need. Roberts is currently the CEO of Five Elements Robotics and the President of Future Skies. She was named one of the Top Five People Paving the Path for Robotics in January 2016, by Mashable.

Right now, though, her immediate sights are set on Mountain View, where, in addition to planning to open the bed and breakfast on May 1, she is working with local artists to provide workshops that will be open to the public. Some events already planned include, on July 29, Lawrence Davis-Hollander and Leslie Watkins will discuss the “The Healthier Kitchen Garden;” on Aug. 11 Mark Mathew Braunstein, author of Radical Vegetarian, will present “Edible Houseplants: Homegrown Microgreens;” and from Sept. 20 through 22 Leslie Watkins will lead a “Watercolor and Papercrafting Retreat.”

“So many people come in here and tell me that they have certain memories of the inn,” says Roberts. “That’s my goal – to make Mountain View Green Resort an integral part of the Norfolk community. I want it to be a place of life events, such as weddings and family gatherings, and of memorable moments.”

To visit Mountain View Green Retreat, go to mountainviewgreenretreat.com, email Wendy Roberts at wendy@mountainviewgreenretreat.com or call 860.542.7941. To learn more about Five Elements Robotics, go to 5elementsrobotics.com.