Images of Local Wilderness at the Norfolk Library

Strangely Familiar By Wiley Wood   In talking about his photographs, Jim Jasper mentions the importance of learning a place, becoming part of it. His images—of rocks by the water’s edge, of barns, beaver ponds, white church fronts—are unmistakably local. The camera stares hard at familiar subjects and records a moment of recognition, as though […]

It’s Only Natural

Lessons in a Hemlock Wood by Hans M. Carlson   There is a palpable quietness to a grove of very old hemlock, a sense of grandeur that settles on you if you spend a little time beneath them. These stands are special places in Norfolk, and we have several on Great Mountain Forest (GMF). Some […]

Norfolk’s Weather—April 2015

From Deep Snow to Black Flies By Russell Russ   Spring finally arrived in April. It’s amazing to think that in just this one month we went from maple syrup season, 16-inches of snow on the ground and all ponds fully iced over to springtime warmth with peepers and black flies. Syrup season was over […]

New Cupola Tops Music Shed

The first phase of restoration of Norfolk’s historic Music Shed is finished. The new cupola, an exact copy of the original copper-domed cupola that has been missing for so long that no one remembers when it fell down, was installed in time for Memorial Day weekend, and restores the natural ventilation system of the original […]

Community News—June 2015

Curriculum Night There will be a curriculum celebration at Botelle School on Tuesday, June 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The evening will feature displays throughout the school of student work, and some demonstrations of how students have used technology to advance their learning.   Freedom of Information Workshop Tom Hennick, of Connecticut’s Freedom of Information […]

Norfolk Then

A peddler is selling his wares on Greenwoods Road just past the entrance to Westside in this 1896 postcard photograph taken by Marie Kendall. He must have been well-known to townsfolk for on the back of the photograph he is referred to as ìLouie, the Grand Army man.î Look closely and you will see that […]

Norfolk Then…

Norfolk boy scouts stand with their leader Carroll Estes on the steps of the Church of Christ Congregational about 1960. Scouting came to Norfolk fifty years earlier in 1911 when architect Alfredo Taylor formed the first troop, named for Norfolk benefactor Frederick M. Shepard, and served as scoutmaster.  After a hiatus during World War II, […]

Community News

Quilt-in at Church of Christ May 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Quilt-in in the chapel dining room, to make log cabin quilts for the Susan B. Anthony Project. No experience necessary. Pot luck lunch will be served. For more information, contact Shirley Metcalf at shirleymetcalf@comcast.net. Rabies Clinic May 2, 10 a.m.-noon. Norfolk’s Animal Control Officer Glen […]

Ellen Griesedieck’s Mural Project Celebrates the American Worker

By Ruth Melville Ellen Griesedieck thinks big. Her latest project has been 15 years in the making and is five stories tall. Griesedieck is the artist and driving force behind the American Mural Project. The three-dimensional mural, designed as a tribute to the working people of the United States, will eventually be 120 feet long, […]

Just Kidding Around at Lost Ruby Farm

  It’s Kidding Time Text: Baby goats have arrived at Lost Ruby Farm. Ten nannies gave birth, and their milk is now being used to make the farm’s cheeses. Most of the adorable babies are to be sold, available via Craigslist or contact the farm.