• 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

Better Early Than never

Norfolk preps for early voting for general election By Andra Moss Early voting will be an option for Norfolk residents for the first time in this year’s general election. Living up to its nickname as the “Land of Steady Habits,” Connecticut had been one of only four states that did not allow early voting until […]

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 […]

Prospect of Proposed Tower Alarms South Norfolk

Residents search for answers and alternatives By Avice Meehan The letters arrived in March and residents of Old Goshen Road, Smith Road and the surrounding area thought nothing would happen. A representative of Smartlink, a company working on behalf of Verizon, was looking for a location for a new cell tower. Surely, they thought, no […]

The Body Scientific

Beech Leaf Disease and Nematodes By Richard Kessin I am used to studying diseases of animals. Like humans, vertebrates have immune systems and cells like macrophages that roam through the body to eat invaders. Trees are a whole other category: They do not make antibodies to protect themselves and they certainly cannot run away from a […]

Personal Products Program to Launch at Norfolk Food Pantry

Initiative fills a gap for women and girls By Andra Moss An increasing number of families in the Northwest Corner are turning to local food pantries to help fill the gap for basic necessities as rising prices stretch many budgets to the breaking point. The variety of offerings can be limited, though. Clients visiting the […]

A Summer Outdoors Begins with Tick Prevention

By Kelly Kandra Hughes The Norfolk Land Trust (NLT) wants everyone to be extra aware of ticks this summer. “It’s already a heavy tick season,” says NLT board member Bill Couch. “Everyone needs to take extra precautions this year.”  One of the primary concerns with tick bites is Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia bacteria spread […]

Lakeville Journal Expands Coverage of Norfolk

Meet and Greet held at Norfolk Hub By Patricia Platt Norfolk residents braved a late-July rainstorm for a conversation at the Hub with representatives of The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News to learn about the Journal’s plans to expand coverage of Norfolk.  “The idea of this meeting is to connect with you, let you […]

Why Such a big Firehouse?

Plans call for a near tripling of space By Joe Kelly As plans for a new Norfolk firehouse advance through the design and budgeting phases—and ultimately a town vote—one question comes up repeatedly: Why is the proposed firehouse, at 10,700 square feet, so much larger than the current one, which is just 3,800 square feet? […]

From the Bookshelf

A Very Local Sacrifice: Litchfield County and the Civil War By Joe Kelly In the middle of Norfolk’s village green stands the Soldiers’ Monument, a tall, tapered tribute in stone to 35 soldiers from Norfolk who lost their lives in the Civil War. It’s a monument to the sacrifices made to end slavery and preserve […]

Jumping Worms, Part 2: What to do?

By Susannah Wood Last month Norfolk Now published a short piece (“Jumping Worms: Fast-Moving Agents of Destruction”) on the breaking story that Asian jumping worms had arrived on the grounds of the Norfolk Library, adjacent to the new native plant bed. Readers may be wondering what steps can be taken to, at the very least, […]

New Growth, New Services

A Norfolk Tradition Looks to the Future By Colleen Gundlach  The company now known as A.B. Bazzano Fuels has been a part of Norfolk history since 1937, when John C. Bazzano, Sr. opened John C. Bazzano & Son, a business that sold ice and coal. As coal gave way to oil, the business evolved and […]

Keeping up with Mama T

Freund’s Market Continues to Expand By Colleen Gundlach Anyone who hasn’t paid a recent visit to Freund’s Farm Market in East Canaan is in for a surprise. First came additional parking around the back of the property and the installation of a second driveway, creating a one-way traffic flow. Now, displays of perennials for sale […]