• 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 […]

  • A Look Into Norfolk’s Past

    Exhibit Explores Pupin’s Haven of Happiness on Westside Road By Patricia Platt The Norfolk Historical Museum graces Norfolk’s village green with the reserve and understated elegance of a New Englander well worth getting to know. Visitors who step inside will find exhibits that tell the stories of the town’s past, often with intriguing ties to […]

  • Norfolk Past and Present

    The Summer Chapel Eases Gracefully Into Its 130 Years By Elizabeth Bailey Ayreslea Rowland Denny began attending services at The Church of the Transfiguration in Norfolk in 1939 on the eve of World War II. A New Yorker, she was a student at the Chapin School in New York City, but her family had been […]

  • Church Steeple Shines Once Again

    Local dignitaries and friends of Norfolk’s Church of Christ Congregational gathered on Saturday, May 25, to formally celebrate the completion of the steeple restoration project. The Rev. Erick Olsen thanked the community for supporting the years-long effort and welcomed everyone to enjoy a splendid cake featuring an image of the steeple.

  • Making the Native… Personal

    Cheryl Heller Builds a Wild Garden in Norfolk By Joe Kelly Gardens are best when they’re personal, argued the late Fred McGourty, who remains Norfolk’s best- known plantsmen. McGourty’s 1989 book, “The Perennial Gardener,” recounts the gardens he and his wife, Mary Ann, created at Hillside, their home near Dennis Hill State Park. Were he […]

  • This Old Norfolk House

    Stevens House By Joe KellyWhen our Puritan forebears arrived on these shores in the early 1600s, they were no doubt surprised todiscover how the traditional thatched roof cottages they knew from back home were no match for thewind and cold of a typical New England winter. But it would have likely surprised them even more […]

  • Can wildlife safely cross Norfolk’s Roads?

    By Shelley Harms Where are animals crossing Norfolk’s roads? Are they making it across? Is it possible to make theircrossings safer? Julia Rogers, Senior Land Protection Manager at the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), helped agroup of interested Norfolk residents explore these questions at a training session sponsored by theNorfolk Land Trust on March 22 at […]

  • Great Mountain Forest’s New Executive Director Returns to His Connecticut Roots

    By David Beers Mike Zarfos started his new position as executive director of Great Mountain Forest (GMF) at the end ofFebruary. It has been a lively time for Zarfos and his family; in addition to moving from Washington,D.C., to Connecticut, they are expecting a baby in April. Zarfos grew up in Deep River, Conn., where […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    In the late 19th century, the arrival of every train at the depot on Station Place was widely anticipated.There were freight trains, milk trains and passenger trains unloading throngs of summer visitors. Theattractive station pictured here was built in 1898, replacing an earlier modest structure. Constructed ofnative granite, it was designed by Hill & Turner, […]

Articles

Smoke and Water Arch Above Royal Arcanum Building

Norfolk’s firefighters train for the unthinkable Text By Brian HutchinsPhotos By David Beers On the morning of Sunday, Oct. 16, downtown Norfolk became the scene of an elaborate firefighting drill. To onlookers, it appeared that the Royal Arcanum Building was on fire—smoke poured out of an upper window as first responders wrangled multiple hoses into […]

The Mountain Road Bridge Project Is Finally Complete

In-depth negotiations maintain the beauty of the landscape By Leila Javitch At long last, the Mountain Road bridge is finished and motorists, bikers and walkers can enjoy the extraordinary views along the road, such as the hay field with the Virginia split rail fence and the Perkins house with its long driveway lined with glorious […]

Wild Turkey Restoration Has Been Successful in Norfolk

It’s Only Natural By Jude Mead Travel any road in Norfolk and you are certain to see a flock of turkeys. The eastern wild turkey is a large, majestic bird with adult males weighing anywhere between 15 and 25 pounds, and adult females weighing between eight and 12 pounds. They look similar in their appearance, […]

The Norfolk Transfer Station Is a Very Busy Place

Keeping everything flowing smoothly at the transfer station By David Beers Who is someone you see about once a week? He is reliably available for your weekly visit. While somewhat unassuming, he is quite approachable and eager to help. Your spouse, your mom, your dad, your kids – perhaps. Another possible answer is Jim Powelzyk […]

Cyclists Get a Big Assist From New North Canaan E-Bike Shop

Out and About By Andra Moss For most bicyclists in Norfolk, starting a ride from home involves hitting a sizeable hill sooner or later—or sooner and later, given the daunting topography of the Northwest Corner. How is it then, that so many riders of the non-millennial vintage have recently been spotted happily climbing Lovers Lane […]

The Future of Healthcare in the Northwest Corner

Rural providers struggle with staffing and competition By Avice Meehan Healthcare in Connecticut continues to evolve – too quickly for some, too slowly for others – as providers consolidate or programs are eliminated. Statewide, the story is about the ongoing consolidation of hospitals and medical practices into three big networks: Hartford Healthcare, Yale-New Haven Health, […]

Rural Poverty Is Alive and Well in the Northwest Corner

In Our Own Back Yard By Elizabeth Bailey “The number of people who are clearly in distress as the result of the pandemic, and now rising inflation, is the most I have seen in my nineteen years in Norfolk,” says Erick Olsen, pastor of the Church of Christ Congregational.  “It is easy for those of […]

Battell Arts Foundation Publishes First Journal

It happened to me when I was in first grade. I was 6 years old. Now I’m 8. It has been two terrible years. – Lexi LaForge, grade 3 As we all know, in 2020 the coronavirus Covid-19 made its appearance on the world stage. Within weeks, it had profoundly changed the course of human […]

Correction to Print Article: Constitutional: Amendment Question is Two-Pronged

Norfolk Now regrets that its fron-tpage article on the proposed amendment to permit early voting suggested that a yes vote would allow new procedures that would diminish the security of the voting process.  There is only one question at issue: whether or not Connecticut should permit in-person voting prior to the actual election day.  Authorization […]

Art Meets Nature In New Commission for City Meadow

By Patricia Platt “There is an ability for sculpture to move people in a unique way when they’re engrossed in looking at it and everything else falls away. It’s called the silence of sculpture,” commented Norfolk’s Jon Riedeman when he unveiled his sculpture of a Great Horned Owl on Sept. 17 at an event for […]

Board of Ed Examines Turnover at Botelle

By Colleen Gundlach At a Board of Education (BOE) meeting held in August, a delegation of parents and other concerned citizens urged board members to address several issues that had been raised in light of the departure at the end of the 2021-22 school year of four of the five Botelle classroom teachers, as well […]

Woodland Stewardship Training Helps Them See the Forest and the Trees

Program creates a state network of land stewards Text By David BeersPhotos by William Carter   For many years, the third weekend of September at Great Mountain Forest (GMF) has been devoted to an intensive training for Connecticut woodland owners and land trust stewards. This year, 26 students from across the state were ensconced at Yale […]