Phyllis Byrne Passes Away at 95
Affectionately known as “Gran” to Norfolkians By David Byrne Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1914, Phyllis Curtiss Torrance, the last surviving of 11 children of Scottish missionary David Watt Torrance, died on September 14. Her mother, Elizabeth Welch Curtiss, was a descendant of the Curtiss settlers who have resided in Norfolk since 1762. As a […]
Burglars Strike Route 272; Homeowners in Norfolk and Beyond
Items stolen during the day while homeowners are at work By Bridgette L. Rallo The burglary of a North Street home last week is the latest in a string of break-ins that have taken place all along the meandering, semi-rural Rte. 272 corridor over the past few years. From North Torrington to the Massachusetts state […]
Out and About
One of the Last of a Dying Breed By Rosanna Trestman “Heels Fixed While You Wait,” promises a sign affixed to Al’s Shoe Repair, located on Migeon Ave. in Torrington. After hours? Drop your shoe through a slot cut into the red clapboard building and, despite the landslide of shoes and handbags behind the counter, […]
Norfolk Then…
Before centralizations, the Norfolk district school system included 11 grammar schools, each managed by a local school committee. Schoolhouses were simple one-room structures with a wood stove provoking heat. The North Middle School still stands at the corner of Ashpohtag and Bald Mountain Roads. The district schools served a varying number of children, and teachers were usually […]
All In A Day’s Work
State Trooper Greg Naylor gives a status report By Bob Bumcrot Resident State Trooper Greg Naylor spends little time in his cramped office in the ambulance building. He much prefers to circulate around town, on foot, in the patrol car and, soon to be seen, on a mountain bike. The bike will be purchased, along […]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
A decision on a Norfolk quarry may be imminent By Bob Bumcrot For many years there has been a rock quarry on land owned at times by different members of the Pilbin family, on Norfolk’s scenic Winchester Road. While any property owner is allowed to mine stone in limited quantities, the old quarry at 119 […]
Norfolk’s Weather for June and July
A Combined Record Rainfall By Russell Russ June was a cloudy, cool and wet month with temperatures below average and rainfall amounts at near-record levels. There were 22 days with measurable rainfall and only two that were classified as mostly clear. It definitely was not a typical summer month for Norfolk. The month’s low temperature […]
View From the Green
A Not-So-Wicked Web We Weave By Veronica Burns Many articles have been written about the demise of the printed word. Is there irony in this? Here you are reading the printed word. At Norfolk Now the editors believe the printed word is alive and well, as this little paper moves into its seventh year of […]
40 Years On the Northwest Corner Of the Village Green
A familiar sign will soon be reinstated By Ruthann Olsson One can’t help but smile at the sight of the running dog, the two hares and the stag, as they lead travelers north, south, east and west. The turnpike sign, so much a part of Norfolk’s history, located on the northwest corner of the Green […]
Coming Together
Norfolk Artists & Friends exhibit at Yale Sponsored by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, some 32 artists recently held a very r successful weekend exhibit at the At Barn on the Battell Stoeckel Estate. The work displayed ranged from furniture makers to painters and photographers to jewelry makers. “Everyone stepped up to the plate,” says […]
