• 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

How to Remove the Congregational Church’s Steeple — Very Carefully

Repairs to the clock tower and belfry can begin Text by Ruth Melville After years of planning, consultation and crossed fingers, the steeple on the top of Norfolk’s Church of Christ Congregational was successfully removed last December, enabling the much-needed repair of the tower and steeple. In 2015, during routine work on the clock tower, […]

Text Amendment Proposed to Planning & Zoning Regulations

by Susan MacEachron Tracy Hayhurst, farm manager for Husky Meadows Farm, appeared before the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) on Jan. 12 to request clarification of the special permit terms regarding who is allowed to participate in the country retreat, farm-to-table program Husky Meadows Farm is planning. All agreed that the current permit allows up […]

Board of Finance Hears Budget Input, Report on Fiber Optics

by Susan MacEachron At the Board of Finance (BoF) meeting on Jan. 12, chairman Michael Sconyers asked First Selectman Matt Riiska to report on the status of the selectmen’s budget. Riiska reported that the town is on target in most areas of the budget. He noted spending has been over budget on some of the […]

Berkshire Country Café is One of Five New Businesses in North Canaan

By Andra MossPhoto by Peter Chaffetz Norfolk’s own Berkshire Country Store is growing. Owner Ryan Craig has expanded his popular Norfolk location with the addition of the Berkshire Country Cafe on Main Street in North Canaan, serving breakfast and lunch Thursday through Sunday. But don’t worry, his four-year-old enterprise in Norfolk isn’t going anywhere. In […]

Annual Bird Event Counts on Norfolk Citizen Scientists

Text by Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto by Savage Frieze Over four days every February, people flock to the Internet to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). The GBBC is one of the most prolific citizen science projects in the world, with 268,674 participants from 194 countries in 2020. Started in 1998 by the Cornell […]

Slip-Sliding into Winter Fun, Norfolk Style

Text by Susannah WoodPhoto by Savage Frieze Over the years, winter in the Icebox of Connecticut has been a glorious season for those of us who love skating, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Although climate change has made winter sport a chancier thing, there are still days when conditions are just right for an afternoon of […]

James Mars, Once Enslaved, to be Honored in Norfolk This Spring

A Witness to History by Rhonan Mokriski On the first day of class this past fall, I bet the juniors and seniors in my American history class that they could not name 10 famous Black Americans who were born before 1950. They quickly and confidently took up the challenge, but after a few painstaking minutes, […]

2021 Brings New Challenge for the Connecticut State Legislature

An interview with State Representative Maria Horn By Jeremy Withnall On Friday, Jan. 15, Norfolk Now interviewed Maria Horn (D), recently re-elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives for District 64, which includes Norfolk as well as much of the far northwestern corner of the state. As she starts her second term in office, we wanted to ask […]

Wiley Wood Steps Down as Editor After 10 Years at Norfolk Now

by Ruth Melville Wiley Wood doesn’t quite remember when he joined the staff at Norfolk Now—turns out it was 2010—but he does remember his first assignment, to write a profile on longtime NN staff photographer Bruce Frisch (who himself retired last year).  “I was furious,” Wood said recently. “I thought it would a stupid be […]

Snowy Norfolk a Popular Destination for Skiers, Ski Jumpers in the 1930s

By Andra Moss In February 1934, millions of moviegoers across the country were transported to Norfolk via a Fox Movietone newsreel featuring a ski-jumping meet at the well-known Norfolk Hill. The Nashville Banner announced, “Ski experts at Norfolk, Conn. stage some new thrills when they leap by twos and threes down the steep slide. The […]

Evan Hughes Charitable Trust: A Norfolk Success Story

by Michael Cummings Kelly When Evan Hughes, a longtime Norfolk resident, passed away in 2016, he left behind specific plans for the disposition of his estate. His deep fondness for the town of Norfolk prompted a generous bequest to the community and its residents, including educational scholarships, village beautification projects, individual financial assistance and quality […]

Group Forms to Study Effects of Climate Change in Norfolk

by Mike Cobb I grew up in Norfolk with clear memories of four distinct seasons: muddy, green springs; pleasant, mild summers; cool, colorful falls; and long, frigid winters. But today we have a crazy mix of unpredictable weather. Snow on Mother’s Day last spring, a hot, dry summer with water levels alarmingly low at Tobey […]