• 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

Articles

Botelle Beat

Student build on Strong Traditions By Lauren Valentino, Principal November is a month rich with tradition at Botelle School. For over two decades, Botelle students, staff and PTO have welcomed local veterans and their families to the annual Veterans Day Assembly, celebrated with song and ceremony. This tradition started in 2003 thanks to music teacher […]

Music in the Stacks

The Norfolk Library celebrates a 30-year legacy of Irish Music By Bina Thomson Norfolk residents can always rely on the library’s annual St. Patrick’s Day concert to meet their need for Irish music. They’ll be given another such chance when famed Irish fiddler Gerry O’Connor performs in the Great Hall at the end of November. […]

The haystack book festival at six: intimate and quirky

By Joe Kelly While Norfolk has long been a well-known destination for art and music, in recent years it’s also become a place to celebrate writing and literature—with much credit for that going to the annual Haystack Book Festival, which celebrated its sixth year this October. For the festival weekend, Haystack pairs writers with other […]

Behind the numbers

Botelle Test Scores slow to recover after the pandemic By Avice Meehan When the Norfolk Board of Education meets in mid-November, Botelle Elementary School Principal Lauren Valentino will provide an update about student progress and the start of the new academic year. One metric that will be discussed is something called the Smarter Balanced Assessment. […]

Town and Gown, Norfolk Style

By Avice Meehan It takes less than five minutes to travel the distance between Town Hall on Maple Avenue and Botelle Elementary School on Route 44, yet the gulf between these two pillars of Norfolk life is substantial. First Selectman Matt Riiska has become a vocal proponent of restarting conversations with the Town of Colebrook […]

SMooth transition at Town Clerk’s office

Nelson steps in as Perkins retires By Avice Meehan After serving as a quiet understudy to Linda Perkins, Norfolk’s long-time town clerk, Deborah Nelson officially stepped into the role on Oct. 8 when she was sworn in to succeed Perkins. It is yet another chapter in a life that has encompassed careers as a paralegal, […]

SHELTER Art Show

By Bina Thomson Shelter is a concept on which Jennifer Almquist meditates often. She asks questions like “What does true shelter look like?” and “What is it like to not have it?” Her attempts to answer these questions have led her to curate an art show in the Royal Arcanum Building in Norfolk, titled SHELTER.  […]

city meadow progress

Invasives removed as town considers a new planting plan By Avice Meehan Sometimes a “closed” sign can be good news. That is certainly the case for City Meadow, where staff from Native Habitat Restoration are now treating invasive plants like phragmites and non-native cattails with a selective herbicide. Their broad-brimmed hats are barely visible above […]

Wangum on the Market

Norfolk’s Water Supply to Get New Owner By Joe Kelly Wangum Lake, the pristine, 177-acre reservoir that sits atop Canaan Mountain and supplies Norfolk with thousands of gallons of water every day, will come under new ownership thanks to the pending sale of Aquarion Water Company. Eversource Energy, better known to most people in Norfolk […]

Déjà Vu All Over Again

Selectmen Seek Conversation About Collaboration By Avice Meehan Nearly a decade after Norfolk and Colebrook failed to reach agreement on creating a new regional school district that would combine their elementary schools, the issue is back on the front burner thanks to a column from Matt Riiska, Norfolk’s first selectman. Riiska, a veteran of a […]

Haystack is Back

sixth annual festival convenes in October By Patricia Platt The chance to see and experience the world around us more deeply—whether that means understanding the stories of the trees, how the horse shaped empires or insights from wartime poets—will all been on offer during this year’s Haystack Book Festival. “We bring together in unmoderated conversation […]

Exploring natural History

C.H. Pease Museum Shines a light on Canaan’s past By Colleen Gundlach Where in North Canaan can one find a moose, a fox, an eagle, a turtle and various types of winged creatures in one place? If you know, you know. It’s the C.H. Pease Museum of Natural History right in the center of Canaan […]