• Sweets on the Green

    A Decade of Decadent Desserts By Andra Moss How is your naughty versus nice rating? Those needing to influence Santa with an especially impressive treat should grab their stockings and head to the Norfolk Historical Society (NHS) for the 10th Annual Cake Auction on Saturday, Dec. 7.     Now a Norfolk holiday tradition, the event was […]

  • Artist Tom Burr Brings His Torrington Project to an End

    Performances celebrate studio closing By Stephen Melville Norfolk resident and artist Tom Burr organized a day of performances and exhibition at his studio in Torrington on Oct. 26, marking an end to what he has called “The Torrington Project.” For the past three and a half years, Burr has rented a vast—15,000 square foot—former industrial […]

  • New Meanings for a Monument

    Light Shines on the Memorial Green By Joe Kelly On Monday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, a crowd of about 100 gathered for the rededication of Norfolk’s World War 1 memorial, artfully restored under the auspices of the Norfolk Community Association. It was sunny. Temperatures in the low ‘60’s. Another day of no rain. Everyone talked […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    This 1920s postcard shows Memorial Green just after the War Memorial, designed by Alfredo Taylor, was built. It was Taylor’s wife Minna who first proposed that a memorial “heroes grove” be planted on the small lot of land known as the Triangle opposite the Catholic Church. The lot had been left empty with the demolition […]

  • Restored war memorial to be celebrated on veterans day

    plaque now honors all who served By Patricia Platt A World War I monument, designed by Alfredo Taylor and erected on Norfolk’s Memorial Green in 1921, bears the inscription, “for those who gave and those who offered their lives for liberty, the people of Norfolk have built this monument and crowned it with the Liberty […]

  • NLT Tail Ablaze with Runners

    More than 120 runners enjoyed perfect fall weather as they wound their way through picturesque Barbour Woods in the 11th Annual Norfolk Land Trust Trail Race. Some chose to add a challenging loop over Haystack Mountain, while the half-marathoners just kept moving on up—topping out at over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. *photo by June […]

  • Can you spot the Real Curler?

    There was movie magic ice to be made, and the pros of the Norfolk Curling Club were the first to get the call. In October, NCC’s Jon Barbagallo, Lou Barbagallo, Rachel Barbagallo, Mark Walsh, Harvey Chalmers and Phill West were hired by a production company to make curling ice at a Rhode Island hockey rink […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    This 1917 photograph is a timely reminder of the long struggle fought by many dedicated women for basic civil liberties, including the right to own property, hold public office, sit on juries, participate in public assemblies and vote. The group of 25 suffragists—20 women and five men—gathered on the porch following their meeting with Congressman […]

  • The chicken who wanted to be a star and other tales from a norfolk movie set

    By Andra Moss Secrets and small towns don’t often pair well, and Norfolk is a small town. Yet, for eight weeks this summer, a crew of nearly 100 people quietly transformed Tim and Paula Webster’s 1908 Norfolk farmhouse into a film set for a feature-length production, all the while staying under the local radar.  It […]

  • great blue heron rookeries

    working together to provide sustainable breeding habitats By Jude Mead Great Blue Herons are a familiar sight in Norfolk and are one of the largest of all North American herons, standing up to four feet tall with a wingspan of close to six feet. They are most noticeable in flight as they soar across the […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    Tennis at Town Hall? The building we know as Town Hall was originally the Eldridge Gymnasium, built in 1892. Located within easy walking distance of hotels and boarding houses in Norfolk at the turn of the last century, the Gymnasium was a popular gathering place for both residents and visitors. People played croquet on the lawn […]

  • Looking Back Over the Years

    The End of an Era for Norfolk Now By Colleen Gundlach After 10 years and over 30 issues, Ruth Melville has put on her Norfolk Now editor’s hat for the last time. In June, the paper marked the end of an era with the publication of Ruth’s final issue as one of the executive editors […]

Articles

Norfolk Early Learning Center Celebrates 10-Year Milestone 

Supporting Norfolk’s Children Text By Jude MeadPhoto By Bailee Robinson When your work brings joy and you share a commitment to children, a decade can pass quickly, as Kailyn Nadeau and Paige Corey have discovered since opening the Norfolk Early Learning Center (NELC) in 2013. Nadeau grew up in Norfolk. She babysat, cared for children […]

Invasives: What To Do When Good Plants Go Bad

By Jill Chase  Here’s a little secret: not all plants are good guys. Some are very bad actors indeed. It’s not their fault; they were good plants minding their own business, growing in their own native habitat, until someone introduced them to our homeland. Here, with a climate that suited them and no native insects […]

Return of the Cranes 

It’s Only Natural Text By Shelley HarmsPhoto By Savage Frieze Some special summer Norfolk residents have returned from their winter sojourns in the south. Sandhill cranes have always migrated through Connecticut, stopping here briefly in spring and fall, but in Norfolk, two pairs have decided to stay for the summers. Last year, both pairs succeeded […]

Litchfield County Choral Union Call for Singers

Text By Jude MeadPhoto Courtesy of Harold Shapiro Local singers take note—the Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU) is seeking voices to join them for the Aug. 19 season finale concert of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, featuring Mendelssohn’s jubilant symphony-cantata “Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise).”  Dr. Jeffrey Douma, professor of choral conducting at Yale’s Institute of […]

The Healing Nest Is Planning a Full Season of New Programs 

Around Station Place Text By Ruth MelvillePhoto Courtesy of The Healing Nest In the two years since Dianna Hofer took a leap and opened the Healing Nest in Station Place, she’s faced several challenges in running her fledgling business. The pandemic was a major one, of course, but also life intervened. She decided to accept […]

Tom Hodgkin and Tom Vorenberg

Saluting Norfolk’s Volunteers Text By Janet Gokay MeadPhoto By Jon Reideman The Norfolk Lions Club Ambulance may be on the small side, but its volunteers are remarkable for their dedication. Many of the ambulance’s 30 active volunteers sign up for a six-hour shift and, off-hours, use a system of two-way radios, pagers and emails to […]

The Buzz of Spring

Beekeeping in the Northwest Corner  By Avice Meehan The moment has come to embrace the dandelions in your lawn and all those early flowering plants and trees that attract some of the 378 species of wild bees that call Connecticut home—in addition to the beloved, nonnative honeybee that brings such golden sweetness into our lives. […]

“My Norfolk” Photo Contest Winner Announced 

Congratulations to Elizabeth Hilpman, winner of the Norfolk Photo Contest!  Her evocative photo of Tobey Pond was selected from over 220 submissions by judges—and distinguished local photographers—Savage Frieze, Katherine Griswold, Christopher Keyes, Christopher Little and Babs Perkins. The images were evaluated on how well they represented the theme of “My Norfolk” and the quality of […]

Seasonal Foraging

In Search of Spring Wild Edibles  By Tracy Hayhurst  While we eagerly await the first lettuces, spinach and arugula from the garden, Mother Nature has provided us with many nutrient-rich wild greens and herbs to sample now.  Stinging nettle, garlic mustard and dandelion, for example, are often maligned as weeds but can be used in […]

New Residence Awaits Arriving Summer Artists

Eldridge Barn renovation nearly complete Text By Andra Moss  Photo By Peter Chaffetz The Yale Norfolk School of Art is set to receive an impressive present for its 75th birthday in May. When the 26 students and seven faculty arrive in Norfolk on May 20, they will find a completely new residence building on the Ellen […]

Spring Snowstorm Surprise

By Russell Russ The first two weeks of March were fairly normal, with normal temperatures and even several days with snowfall. Due to this winter’s prevailing weather patterns, southern New England had not seen any big nor’easter-type storms. That all changed on March 13.  The storm began slowly with light snow showers during the day […]

Gas Spill Repercussions Month Five Months On

Disruptions, disputes and microbes By Joe Kelly Five months after a tanker truck crashed on Route 44, Norfolk continues to grapple with the impact of the 8,200-gallon spill that drenched the center of town. The disruption and dislocation that began in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2022, also continue for residents closest to […]