• 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

Norfolk’s April 2018 Weather

Seventh Wettest April on Record  By Russell Russ  April is the transition month between winter and spring. It can have traits of both winter and spring, and that is what Norfolk saw this April. It was warm enough early in the month to end the maple syrup season in the Norfolk area, but the remainder […]

Closely Watched Budget Approved at Town Meeting

Botelle parents protest flatfunding of school By Wiley WoodPhotos by Bruce Frisch A large crowd of about 75 Norfolk residents gathered for the annual town meeting on May 13 in the Hall of Flags at Botelle School. Although normally a humdrum gathering at which the budget is passed with little comment, there has been more […]

Joe Hurst: “We Need to Pull Together”

By Gordon AndersonPhoto by Savage Frieze Joe Hurst lives on Mountain Road, in the last house before the road is absorbed into Great Mountain Forest. He says that every day when he turns the corner heading home, he is overcome with gratitude and delight at the miraculous quality of his life, or as he puts […]

Asphalt Plant in Canaan Raises Concerns

Outcome of lawsuit still uncertain By Colleen Gundlach The prospect of a new asphalt production facility in East Canaan has created controversy, pitting Ben Metcalf, whose colorful ads for driveway repair sprinkle the North Canaan landscape, against a group of concerned citizens and neighbors. Metcalf is currently suing the town of Canaan for turning away […]

Silent No More

Local photographer Christopher Little publishes his first thriller By Courtney Maum Affable, witty and generous with his time, local photographer and EMT volunteer Christopher Little is the last person Norfolkians would call “frightening,” and yet his new book, “Ever So Silent,” is one scary ride. The first in a series, this spiffy murder mystery focuses […]

Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry in Canaan Raising Money to Repair Pilgrim House

By Ruth MelvillePhoto by C. J. Sosna Since 1992, the Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry in Canaan has been abiding by its motto, “Feed the community you want to live in.” The pantry, part of the mission of the North Canaan Congregation Church, serves 70 families a week, mostly from Canaan, but they also welcome […]

African-American Civil War Soldier Remembered in Winsted

Righting a Historical Wrong By Wiley Wood The African-American community in northwestern Connecticut responded strongly to the call for volunteers during the Civil War, according to local historian Virginia Shultz-Charette, and at least seven black men from Winsted served in the Union Army. Until a few days ago, six of them had their names inscribed […]

Electric Bikes Take Off in Norfolk

By David BeersPhoto by David Beers On the evening of May 20 there were a bunch of cyclists going up hills in town while giggling—part of the ebike workshop at the Norfolk Hub, organized by West Lowe and Berkshire Bike and Board. The bicycles looked a bit different and certainly the cyclists were acting strange. […]

The Thin Red Line of Volunteers

Norfolk Lions Club Ambulance By Doug McDevittPhoto by Bruce Frisch The anticipated knock at the door was greeted with a quick step while the guests were greeted with smiles and the aroma of roast turkey, stuffing and fresh baked pies. Mouths were watering on both sides of the door as family and friends were reunited […]

Acupuncture for Horses? Of course!

Results-based alternative therapies for pets By Kelly Kandra Hughes Mexico, a horse with a big personality, wasn’t too sure about Dr. Andrew Flint, DVM, of Litchfield Hills Mobile Veterinary Clinic, the first time they met. Now, he greets Dr. Flint every time by sticking his head out of his stall and making all sorts of […]

Enriching Talent at Botelle

By Virginia Coleman-PriscoPhoto by Kailyn Nadeau          On Friday, May 3, Botelle Elementary School hosted its fourth annual Talent Show to a large and enthusiastic audience. Botelle parent and talent show producer Kailyn Nadeau pointed out how “great it is to see Norfolk residents who are without kids in the school attend the talent show and […]

Norfolk Farmers Market

A Proud History and a Bright Future By Jude MeadPhoto by Bruce Frisch When the farmers market began to make a slow comeback about 13 years ago on the West Coast and in urban areas, Norfolk’s Economic Development Commission took notice of the trend. They also paid attention to the clean food movement and saw […]