Norfolk Then . . .

Imagine photographer Marie Kendall in a long skirt climbing Canaan Mountain with all her gear—view camera, lenses, tripod, dark cloth, glass plate negatives—and you’ll have some idea of the difficulties she faced to get this shot of West Norfolk about 1890. Ashpohtag Road stretches into the distance through hills that have been stripped bare, the […]

Local Bocce Team Looks Toward Fall Tournament

The bocce court in the fenced paddock behind 10 Station Place is usually quiet, the tables empty and the umbrellas folded. But on a recent September evening, a group of colleagues from the Norfolk Hub were enjoying a friendly game. “I’m of Italian extraction,” said Dawn Whalen, third from left above, “so I’ve played before, […]

Maria Horn Discusses Education at Norfolk Forum

A statewide cooperative to stabilize special education costs is being considered By Wiley Wood State Representative Maria Horn recently addressed a group of Norfolk residents about education and education funding. The meeting was held at Botelle School on Aug. 1, with about 45 people in attendance. Horn reported that a task force delegated by the […]

Michele Sloane Retiring as Tax Assessor

By Colleen GundlachPhoto by Bruce Frisch An era will come to an end when Norfolk’s long-term and well-respected tax assessor retires next month. Michele Sloane, who also serves as chairman of the town’s Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z), recently took some time from organizing her move to Florida to reminisce about her years in Norfolk […]

Eliza Little Lays Out Latest Findings About Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases

By Susannah WoodPhotos by Bruce Frisch On Saturday, Aug. 10, Eliza Little gave the annual Ted Byers lecture at the Doolittle Club in front of a standing-room-only audience. The lectures are free and open to the public. Little, a postdoctoral researcher at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven for the past two years, […]

The Haystack Book Talks Festival Returns for a Second Year

A new lineup of writers in conversation By Marie-Christine Perry This summer saw Haystack Book Talks bring three stand-alone talks to the Norfolk Library: Byron Kim and Lisa Sigal, the new directors of the Yale Summer School of Art, talked with Nell Painter, the distinguished American historian and author of “Old in Art School: A […]

September, Planting a Seed

Through the Garden Gate By Leslie Watkins Baby boomers will represent nearly 25 percent of the American population in 2020, and that number includes a lot of grandparents. Many grand-boomers love passing on knowledge and skills to their grandchildren. One of the best memories and activities one can share with a child is the cultivation […]

Little Red Barn Brewers Is Part of the Renaissance of Winsted

By Jeremy WithnellPhoto by Bruce Frisch  Nils Johnson, co-owner of Little Red Barn Brewers in Winsted, speaks of his brewery in much the same way a parent does of their infant child, with pride and mild exhaustion. “Might be nice to get some more sleep one of these days,” he confides. Still, through the entire […]

Great Mountain Forest Hires New Executive Director

The Board of Trustees of Great Mountain Forest has announced that the trustees have selected Tamara Muruetagoiena as the a new executive director of GMF. Muruetagoiena first became acquainted with GMF as a student in the Yale School of Forestry, where she got a master’s degree in forest science. She also earned a master’s degree […]

Letters to the Editor

Connecticut Coverts Cooperators In the United States, 36 percent of forestland is privately owned by families or individuals. In southern New England this percentage rises to 74 percent—the majority of which is in parcels under 50 acres. Most woodland owners own their land because they value it as forest and aim to be good stewards. […]