Who’s Up for a Game of Peggy
Botelle Beat Text by Andra MossPhoto by Chris Snyder Botelle 5th and 6th graders spent May 14 in the one-room schoolhouse on Ashpohtag Road as part of the annual—and much anticipated—History Day. After several weeks deep-diving into Colonial American history as part of their social studies class with 5th grade teacher Chris Snyder, the students […]
NVFD Planning to Build New, Bigger Firehouse
Current building too small for safety and efficiency By Doug McDevitt From a cat in a tree to a perilous rescue in a burning building, our first responders are always on call and ready to respond. It’s common knowledge that when others are running away from danger, there are those who run to it, and […]
Whatever Happened to Mad River Market?
by Colleen Gundlach A year ago, the Mad River Market project was in full swing, growing its membership by 50 percent in 2019. In 2020, they recruited only 28 new owner/members and have had little or no social media contact. It was a difficult year for most small businesses, and especially for struggling start-up companies. […]
Discovering the Short-Lived Beauty of Wildflowers
by Mattie Vandiver As spring enters her prime, the ephemerals begin to bloom in Barbour Woods, Great Mountain Forest and many other places around Norfolk and throughout New England. Spring ephemerals are wild flowers that grow, as the name implies, for a short period of time, mostly during the month of May in Connecticut. In […]
Culinary Retreats to Begin at Husky Meadows Farm in June
By David Beers There is a growing air of expectancy at Husky Meadows Farm. As the natural world gradually comes to life, so does the farm. Not only are the crops greening up, but also a new venture, Seed and Spoon Culinary Retreats, is starting in June. Tracy Hayhurst, her crew, and many commissioned Norfolk […]
Norfolk’s Young Entrepreneurs
by Kelly Kandra Hughes Ambition, dreams and parental encouragement have led to a wealth of young entrepreneurs in Norfolk. For seven-year-old Mia Heller, the desire for her own business began with wanting to start a nature club focused on “unpolluting water.” Mia imagined a place where she and her friends could meet, play and think […]
Celebrity Priest Visited Norfolk on Thanksgiving in 1869
A Look Into Norfolk’s Past By Andra Moss In the Spring 1895 issue of Connecticut Quarterly (“Devoted to the Literature, History and Picturesque Features of Connecticut”), there appears a beautifully written essay on Norfolk by Adele Greene. She notes its natural beauties and praises its residents, including the Rev. Dr. Joseph Eldridge, who “was for […]
Exiling Dr. Seuss
Library moves books from children’s room to up section by Kelly Kandra Hughes When the company that controls Dr. Seuss books and characters decided to pull six of the late author’s titles from its publication list, the Norfolk Library had a decision to make. What to do about four of the titles in its collection? […]
Norfolk Resident Produces True Crime Podcasts From His Home Studio
Murder on Maple Avenue by Michael Cobb Bill Thomas’s interest in murder is personal. A true crime podcast producer based in Norfolk, Thomas got started in podcasting after his younger sister, Cathy Thomas, and her girlfriend, Rebecca Dowsky, were killed in Virginia in an unsolved case known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders.” Between 1986 and […]
A Lightning Cure for Rheumatism
People flocked to Norfolk for a shard from a tree Text by Andra MassPhoto by Savage Frieze In July 1902, The Boston Globe and the Minneapolis Journal reported that Jonathan W. James of Queens River, R.I., had found a cure for his rheumatism. According to reports, “Lightning struck Mr. James last week and the cure […]
