• 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

Norfolk Fire Department Gets Updated Rescue Equipment

Generous donations enable purchase By Jon BarbagalloPhoto courtesy of Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department The Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department has received and already put into service our newest extrication tools, thanks to the Auxiliary for Community Health in Winsted and the largest response to date to our annual appeal. After an extensive research, the NVFD chose to purchase battery-operated spreaders and cutters […]

Mary Lou Cobb Retires as Head of The Cobb School Montessori in Simsbury

By Kay Desai Photo courtesy of the Cobb School Montessori On June 1, over 400 students, alumni, parents, grandparents and friends came together in Simsbury, Conn., to celebrate Mary Lou Cobb on her retirement as head of The Cobb School Montessori, which she founded 45 years ago. A number of guests came from California and […]

Jon Riedeman: The Art of Music

Photo by Bruce Frisch Last month the Infinity Gallery was host to a show by one of its own, Jon Riedeman. Riedeman is Infinity Hall’s box office manager, but he is also an award-winning sculptor who has exhibited frequently throughout the area. For the past 10 years he has been able to combine his love […]

Plenty of Activities to Keep Kids Happy All Summer Long

Loving Summer in Norfolk By Virginia Coleman-Prisco Although Norfolk is known as the Ice Box of Connecticut, there are plenty of events and activities for families during the summer months. There is a wide array of physical, artistic and educational opportunities available, depending on your child’s interests.  As always, the Norfolk Library has a jam-packed […]

Anne Frieze Ordained as Chaplain in the United Church of Christ

By Ruth Melville On Sunday, June 2, Anne Frieze was ordained in the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a hospital chaplain and installed at Trinity Health Of New England. For the past three years, Frieze has been providing hospice and spiritual care through Mercy Medical, based in Springfield, Mass., and part of Trinity Health. […]

WIN, WIN for Norfolk

Town festival celebrates its fourth year By Doug McDevitt Most great ideas come when we least expect them. In a dream or a daydream, during a conversation with a better half when we should be listening, or while running simple errands, it sometimes can’t be helped, they just pop in there. Well, one day in […]

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 […]