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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
By Ann DeCerbo Three new faces greeted Botelle’s elementary school students this year—fourth grade teacher Nichole Pitruzello, music teacher Sandra Kleisner, and school nurse Donna Pequignot. These women bring a wide range of experiences and perspectives to the school. A recent UConn graduate, Nichole Pitruzello is a bubbly, enthusiastic new teacher certified in elementary […]
Local group explores the possibility on a field trip to New Haven By Karen Rossi In New Haven there is a special scent to the air in early fall. It’s born from the rustling leaves of the tree-lined streets, the cool nights and hot days mixed with a bit of salt air rolling in […]
By David Beers If you head past the Norfolk landfill toward Winsted on Route 44, you may have noticed a few red buildings, a gated gravel road and some archery targets in the woods across from the Rock Pile Driving Range. What you are seeing as you whiz by is just the tip of […]
How Modern Age Books changed the way Americans read By Lucy Mookerjee Modern Age Books, Inc., founded by Norfolk’s Richard S. Childs in 1936, was the first large-scale publisher to produce paperback books in the United States. Modern Age released progressive paperbacks that were inexpensive and accessible to the general public. On display at the […]
The Norfolk area offers a wide array of choices By Ruth Melville Although I love the many advantages of living in such a beautiful place as Norfolk, one thing I miss about city life is the wide choice of foreign cuisines on offer. So I was delighted to discover that there are several new […]
By Jude Mead Witnessing firsthand the sight of hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of hawks flying overhead during their fall migration to South America is an extraordinary experience. Those that have seen this spectacle say it is the event of a lifetime, and Ayrslea Denny can attest to that. Denny has been […]
Artist and children together make a winning combination By Clinton J. Sosna Botelle School’s littlest academic achievers were often denied the pleasures of artistic appreciation while navigating the halls of the school, simply because the display cases holding the artistic works of the school’s students were set too high for even the most excellently […]
Flu clinic to be held Oct. 17 By Ruth Melville In addition to the regular items in the town budget—road repair, school funding, the fire department, pensions—the Town of Norfolk also provides funds to outside organizations that provide services to the town. One of these organizations is Foothills Visiting Nurse & Home Care (commonly […]
Local opposition forms “Save Sharon Hospital” group By Stephen Melville In July of 2017 the state of Connecticut officially approved the sale of Sharon Hospital to Health Quest Systems, returning the hospital to nonprofit status after 15 years as part of the for-profit Essent Healthcare of Connecticut. The purchase was supported by a $3 […]
A New Unified 21-Town Resource By Billy Gridley As Robert Frost said, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” A new mapping resource in the Northwest Corner has the potential to make all the difference. It already provides basic information […]
By Jude Mead A memorable part of my childhood was spotting a monarch butterfly in late summer. The monarch is one of nature’s most spectacular species with its large size and recognizable bright orange and black markings. Though once common in most gardens, today the monarch has become a rare sighting. According to Jane […]
By Charlotte McDevitt Moving can be hard, especially for kids moving to a different school, with new peers and teachers. Last year, Northwestern Regional 7 started a program to make the incoming seventh graders’ transitions a little easier. The program is called WEB, which stands for Where Everybody Belongs. WEB leaders are chosen from […]