• 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 […]

  • 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 […]

Articles

Curtain Rises on a New Act at Infinity Hall

Dan Hincks sells business to GoodWorks Entertainment By Ruth MelvillePhoto by Bruce Frisch After months of uncertainty and rumors in town, it was announced in early April that owner Dan Hincks had sold Infinity Music Hall and Bistro in Norfolk and Hartford to Goodworks Entertainment, a concert promotion company based in Fairfield, Conn.  After extensive […]

Town Sets Lean Budget for Coming Year

Tax rates will rise By Wiley Wood Spring is when the bean counters at Town Hall reveal the budget for the coming year—and its consequences for taxpayers. This year the news is mixed. Town spending will go down in 2019-20, and the overall taxes the town will collect will drop by almost 3 percent. But […]

What Birds Can Be Found in Norfolk?

Volunteers in Connecticut Bird Atlas Project Collect Evidence By Shelley HarmsPhoto by Bruce Frisch: great blue herons nesting It is spring, and birds are raising their families, but which birds are bringing up babies here in Norfolk? The bird atlas project currently underway will reveal which birds are enjoying Norfolk alongside us.  Connecticut’s first atlas […]

Spring Cleaning for a Summer Garden

Small Seeds Need Volunteers to Help Them Grow By Virginia Coleman-PriscoPhoto by Hilary VanWright  On the afternoons of April 10and 11, The Norfolk After School Program (NASP) hosted a Community Garden Clean Up at the Botelle School Community Garden located in the southwest corner of the building.   Led by Botelle’s school nurse and healthy eating advocate, […]

Zinke’s Homegrown Knows a Thing or Two About Food Trends

Keeping the Family Farm Sustainable By Jeremy Withnell Photo by Bruce Frisch Bruce Zinke, owner of Zinke’s Homegrown, a farm and business just next door in Canaan, puts down his gardening shears and states, “You know, I’ve never had a full-time job in my whole life.” It quickly becomes clear that this doesn’t mean he hasn’t worked […]

New Salvage Shed at Transfer Station

Shed will offer opportunity for sharing By Kelly Kandra Hughes As a town of only 1,600 people, Norfolk has become a throw-away society. In 2018, Norfolk residents generated over 1,000 tons of waste. Included in this number is municipal solid waste (i.e., our garbage) from residential, commercial, and industrial sources, as well as bulky waste […]

When the Heart Speaks, the Lion Roars

Local Lions Club members plan medical mission trip By Doug McDevitt  We are living in a uniquely and distinctly contentious era. One only has to open the pages of the paper, tune into any network news broadcast, peruse your favorite blog or dare to voice an opinion at a favorite watering hole or eatery to […]

New Artisans’ Shop Opens in Canaan

Woodworking, iron works, yard art and more By David BeersPhoto by Bruce Frisch Jesse Morey wanted to experiment in the world of retail after 20 years of self-employment in construction. He opened a pop-up shop across the street from Stop & Shop in Canaan this past December to sell a variety of items made locally […]

The Psychology of Stuff

On April 15, as part of the Mondays at the Hub series, with a record-breaking 22 people in attendance, Dr. Kelly Kandra Hughes gave an engaging presentation on how to simplify one’s life by reducing one’s possessions. Working from the evaluations and feedback, Hughes will be hosting another session on getting rid of stuff later […]

Zoning Approves Agribusiness Proposal

By Wiley Wood Husky Meadows Farm applied for and was granted a special permit to operate a five-bedroom country inn on its Doolittle Drive property. At a public hearing on March 12 before the Planning and Zoning Commission, farm manager Tracy Hayhurst described the proposed inn as a place for weekend-long retreats that would combine […]

Artist and Arborist

By David BeersPhoto by Bruce Frisch Paul-Robert Blackman is very excited about his recent move to Norfolk. Blackman grew up in Torrington with a family that is intimately involved with the arts and the trades. Playing music, acting in community theater and creating art were part of growing up. Also part of growing up was […]

It’s Spring! Animals Awake From Hibernation

By Jude Mead Spring is the time to celebrate more sunshine and warmer days. Spring is also the time when many animals awaken from a long winter’s nap. After spending a season sleeping, they emerge hungry and ready to roam. Making it to spring, however, is not an easy task for some of these animals. […]