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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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
Bus Tours of Norfolk Show Visitors the Town’s Hidden Treasures
Tiffany Windows Attract Tourists By Ruth Melville Norfolk residents have always been proud of their town, and there is a growing feeling that it would be nice if other people knew more about the town’s rich artistic and architectural history. New efforts like the WIN weekend are designed in part with this in mind, […]
Representative Brian Ohler Looks Back on His First Session in Hartford
Budget woes overshadow other issues By Susannah Wood State Representative Brian Ohler had already arrived at the Berkshire Country Store and was deep in conversation with Ryan Craig when I walked in five minutes ahead of our scheduled appointment Against the background noise of coffee traffic and orders for late breakfasts, we settled into […]
Norfolk Elects Riiska in a Landslide
By Wiley Wood In a municipal election that drew 53 percent of Norfolk’s voters to the polls, Matthew Riiska (D) was elected first selectman over William Reudgen (R) by a commanding lead. At the polling station, where the results were announced shortly after the polls closed at 8 p.m., Reudgen congratulated Riiska in front of […]
Northwest Connect Hopes to Build Regional Fiber-Optic Network by 2021
Dropped cell phone calls and slow downloads would be distant memories By Ruth Melville If the efforts of a local advocacy group called Northwest Connect are successful, we may see a fiber-optic network installed in the Northwest Corner by 2021. Northwest Connect was formed by a group of citizens and elected officials, most notably […]
Great Mountain Forest Makes Long-Term Deal to Sell Carbon Credits
Planning for the Future By Tom Vorenberg Early one morning last month a young man and his girlfriend, visiting Norfolk from a western state, hiked up the logging road from the Great Mountain Forest (GMF) east gate. They wanted to get to the pond known as Old Man Mac to watch the sunrise. It […]
First Selectman Candidates Square Off at Infinity Hall
By Wiley Wood In a conversation that touched on a familiar range of topics—taxes, education, infrastructure—the two candidates for Norfolk first selectman spoke in front of a crowd off about 85 townspeople on a recent Saturday morning at Infinity Hall. Both candidates are longtime residents of Norfolk, and both have run for first selectman […]
Steeple of Congregational Church Needs Urgent Repair
Congregation will look to community for help in restoration By Wiley Wood From the vantage of one of the wooded ridgetops around town, there is often no indication of where Norfolk lies other than the spire of the Congregational Church, a white shaft rising out of the trees to mark the village green. But […]
Retirement Party Honors First Selectman Dyer
Counting the achievements of nearly two decades By Wiley Wood The tables and chairs were pushed back in the dining room at the Wood Creek Bar and Grill on a recent Sunday, and a broad cross-section of Norfolk residents were gathered around a banquet table to honor First Selectman Sue Dyer, who will step […]
Norfolk Food Pantry Is Open to All, All Year Round
By Chris Sinclair As the cornstalks mysteriously migrate from the now flattened fields into people’s front yards, and eggnog begins appearing on the supermarket shelves in a startling array of novelty flavors, it is important to recall that the harvest cornucopia is not overflowing for everyone. While Norfolk is a beautiful and comfortable home […]
Artisans Guild Flourishing in Revived Downtown
By Ruth Melville When the Artisans Guild decided to close its doors in January 2008, after 17 years in operation, it was a sad day for craft lovers and gift buyers in Norfolk. But now, almost 10 years later, the Artisans Guild is not just back in business but thriving, under the ownership of […]
Cooperative Grocery Store Coming to Downtown Winsted
Mad River Market hoping to open by the end of 2018 By Colleen Gundlach Winsted used to have a variety of grocery stores from which to choose: the A&P on Main Street and later Willow Street; Liberty Market and Mencuccini’s on Main Street; Nichols Market on Park Place; Bruno’s and Toto’s up by the […]
