• 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

Culinary Retreats to Begin at Husky Meadows Farm in June

By David Beers There is a growing air of expectancy at Husky Meadows Farm. As the natural world gradually comes to life, so does the farm. Not only are the crops greening up, but also a new venture, Seed and Spoon Culinary Retreats, is starting in June. Tracy Hayhurst, her crew, and many commissioned Norfolk […]

Norfolk’s Young Entrepreneurs

by Kelly Kandra Hughes Ambition, dreams and parental encouragement have led to a wealth of young entrepreneurs in Norfolk. For seven-year-old Mia Heller, the desire for her own business began with wanting to start a nature club focused on “unpolluting water.” Mia imagined a place where she and her friends could meet, play and think […]

Celebrity Priest Visited Norfolk on Thanksgiving in 1869

A Look Into Norfolk’s Past By Andra Moss In the Spring 1895 issue of Connecticut Quarterly (“Devoted to the Literature, History and Picturesque Features of Connecticut”), there appears a beautifully written essay on Norfolk by Adele Greene. She notes its natural beauties and praises its residents, including the Rev. Dr. Joseph Eldridge, who “was for […]

Exiling Dr. Seuss

Library moves books from children’s room to up section by Kelly Kandra Hughes When the company that controls Dr. Seuss books and characters decided to pull six of the late author’s titles from its publication list, the Norfolk Library had a decision to make. What to do about four of the titles in its collection? […]

Norfolk Resident Produces True Crime Podcasts From His Home Studio

Murder on Maple Avenue by Michael Cobb Bill Thomas’s interest in murder is personal. A true crime podcast producer based in Norfolk, Thomas got started in podcasting after his younger sister, Cathy Thomas, and her girlfriend, Rebecca Dowsky, were killed in Virginia in an unsolved case known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders.” Between 1986 and […]

A Lightning Cure for Rheumatism

People flocked to Norfolk for a shard from a tree Text by Andra MassPhoto by Savage Frieze In July 1902, The Boston Globe and the Minneapolis Journal reported that Jonathan W. James of Queens River, R.I., had found a cure for his rheumatism.  According to reports, “Lightning struck Mr. James last week and the cure […]

Winter Mead Publishes His First Book

Investing in the Future of Technology Text By Colleen GundlachPhoto By Savage Frieze Growing up in Norfolk, Winter Mead was an outdoors person with an interest in running, biking and skiing. Today he teaches entrepreneurs how to build valuable businesses from the ground up. His new book, “How to Raise a Venture Capital Fund: The […]

Community Association Anticipates a Season of Replanting

By Mattie Vandiver The snow and ice have melted, and like everyone else in town, the Community Association (CA) is planning for the warmer weather to come. First off for the CA is its annual cleanup day, held on the Saturday following Earth Day. Last year, because of Covid, there was a cleanup month instead, […]

Cold Nights and Warmer Days Herald a New Maple Syrup Season

Text by Jude MeadPhoto by Danesha Mead Maple syrup season is here again. This year will be a little different, with Covid-19 guidelines that still need to be followed. In years past, visitors were welcomed to the sugar houses. This year there will be more safety measures in place and visitors discouraged from coming. But […]

Experiencing the Many Stories of Village Life in Rwanda

Serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer Text and Photos by Kerong Kelly I received my Peace Corps assignment in the spring of 2018. The application, interviews and security clearances had dragged on for months, but now here it was: I would be a Peace Corps volunteer in Rwanda focusing on child and maternal health. I […]

Norfolk Farmers Market to Return this Summer

Text by Doug McDevittPhoto by Bruce Frisch Imagine a summer morning, leaves on the trees gently rustling as a warm, soft breeze brushes your face and the heat of the sun spreads across your shoulders. The sounds of lively banter and laughter reach your ears, and music lifts your spirit as you find yourself humming […]

Learning in the Time of Covid

Botelle staff and students have successfully readjusted to in-person classes Text by Virginia Coleman-PriscoPhoto by Chris Snyder Covid-19 isn’t the first pandemic to have an impact on public education in the United States. In the 20th century, Spanish flu, tuberculosis and polio outbreaks caused public schools to shift instructional methods to either “open air” or […]