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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 […]
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Proposed Manor House Expansion Draws Large Crowd
Many differing views on effect of change in town center By Susan MacEachron Norfolk residents filled the Botelle School Hall of Flags on a very cold evening on Tuesday, Jan. 14, to attend the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) public hearing regarding a modification to the special permit granted in 1996 to the property known as […]
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From All Angels
Throughout the month of February, Garet&Co will be returning to Norfolk to present their third annual performance in the Battell Chapel, where each piece will be set in the round. In this presentation, titled “From All Angles”, the audience will witness the translation of three of the works presented at their fall show. “Can’t Keep […]
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Norfolk Then
Pictured here is the house built in 1898 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Spofford as their summer home. The son of Ainsworth Spofford, Librarian of Congress, Charles Spofford was an electrical engineer, who would be hired in 1902 to manage London’s underground railway system, converting it from steam to electricity. The Spoffords engaged the architect […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Proposed Manor House Expansion Draws Large Crowd
Many differing views on effect of change in town center By Susan MacEachron Norfolk residents filled the Botelle School Hall of Flags on a very cold evening on Tuesday, Jan. 14, to attend the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) public hearing regarding a modification to the special permit granted in 1996 to the property known as […]
Articles
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 […]
Veteran Teacher to Offer Afterschool Violin Lessons in Battell Chapel
The Sounds of Music Text By Ruth MelvillePhoto Courtesy of Meg Hill In 2018 the Norfolk Board of Education reluctantly decided, for budgetary reasons, to eliminate the strings part of Botelle School’s music curriculum. But thanks to the talents of Meg Hill, a professional violinist and experienced teacher, children—and adults—will soon be able to again […]
Caught Between Two Worlds: A Neighbor Shares His Immigrant Story
By Kelly Kandra Hughes The Norfolk Library will celebrate National Immigrants Day a little early this year when they welcome Birol Bahadir, Norfolk resident and German immigrant, to the library on Monday, Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m. Bahadir, who recently published his autobiography, “Between 2 Worlds,” will speak about his dream of living in the […]
Exploring the Northwest Corner’s Live Music Scene
Out and About By Michael Cobb With the end of summer, Yale’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival goes dormant until next season. Fortunately for fans of live music, there are plenty of other options—from folk to rock—scattered throughout the northwest corner. In downtown Norfolk, Infinity Hall seems to be picking up programming, although the exact relationship […]
Iron Strong for 175 Years
Text By Andra MossPhoto By Jen Pfaltz The 1840’s in the United States was the decade of the telegraph, the Mexican War and the Gold Rush. America’s rail network began its rapid expansion westwards as technology and investment took off. In 1847, Thomas Alva Edison was born; so was Jesse James. The United States was […]
Norfolk Hub Talk Focuses on Drone Use at the Front Lines of War
By Andra Moss Dozens gathered in the Norfolk Hub, with many more watching via Zoom, on Saturday, Sept. 24 to hear from Ian Miller and Evan Platt of the non-profit organization Zero Line on their view of the war in Ukraine and how Zero Line is supporting the Ukrainian citizens in their battle against the […]
