• 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

Botelle School Starts New Year With Pride and Enthusiasm

Prioritizes citizenship as a foundation for academic excellence   By Amy Vorenberg Sixth graders at Botelle School were quick to share their insights into their school community: —It’s a place to feel welcome. —When you walk through the door, you’ll learn new things. —It’s a place where you know you’re safe; a place to be […]

Department of Transportation Proposes New Road Safety Measures

Citizens action group formed to slow traffic through Norfolk   By Wiley Wood Norfolk is a town cut in two by an arterial road. If you walk from the village green to the Norfolk Library or to Station Place—as many residents and Yale Music School students do—you take your life in your hands crossing Route […]

Faces at the Farmers Market

Woven Stars Farm, Food With a Conscience   By Wiley Wood On a typical day, Emerson Martin and Lizzie Galeucia bring pasture-raised eggs, raw honey, oyster mushrooms and heirloom tomatoes to the farmers market in Norfolk. In the fall they will add frozen cuts of lamb and goat. Diversity is part of their plan, and […]

Without a Car in Norfolk? 

Dial-A-Ride is Curb to Curb and Available to Everyone   By David Beers On Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m., a little bus picked me up at my house to take me wherever I wanted to go, whether shopping, dining, medical appointments or any other appointments in northwest Connecticut. The round trip cost was $2.50, regardless […]

Norfolk’s Much-Decorated Fire Engine 90 is Retiring

NVFD to bid farewell to state champion pumper truck   By Sally Quale Engine 90, Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department’s (NVFD) award-winning, 30-year-old pumper truck, is scheduled to be retired and replaced this fall. It has served well as a highly versatile pumper, whose smaller size and four-wheel drive enables it to reach fires at the […]

A Bearded Dragon, a Python and Their Friends Come to Norfolk

The Ted Byers Conservation Lecture Featured Wildlife Rehabilitator   By Jude Mead A rare box turtle, a four-foot long python snake, a colorful painted turtle and a bearded dragon lizard were spotted at Doolittle Lake last month. But not to worry because these reptiles were featured at the annual Ted Byers Conservation Lecture held on […]

Historical Gravestones Offer Hints About Past Lives

Tales from the Old “Buryal Yard”   By Ryan Bachman Walking through an old graveyard can be like stepping back in time. The strange designs and archaic language carved on historic gravestones can tell little known and unusual facts about the history of a community and its residents. Two hundred and sixty years ago this […]

Norfolk NET: A Conversation With the Rev. Erick Olsen

By Kelly Kandra Hughes Norfolk NET (Networking Everyone Together) is a collaborative, grassroots effort to alleviate poverty and strengthen community relationships in Norfolk. One of the lead collaborators, the Rev. Erick Olsen, pastor of the Church of Christ Congregational (UCC), recently agreed to share with Norfolk Now his thoughts on this initiative and his hopes […]

Placing Classical Music Within a Wider Conversation

New Director at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival   By Wiley Wood Melvin Chen, the new director of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, talks about music in a distinctly down-to-earth way. “Just like in a relationship,” he says to the young musicians who have performed a Franck piano quintet for him at a public masterclass, […]

Without a Car in Norfolk? From Feet to Bike to eBike

  By David Beers You have probably noticed a biker plodding his way up the steep hill from Winsted in the rain and snow. If you’re like me, you probably felt a pang of pity because of the difficult terrain and weather. Well, let me assure you, this particular biker does not want your pity, […]

Christodora Program Brings City Youth to Study in Great Mountain Forest

Trading Cell Phones for Compasses   By Susan MacEachron Is there a correlation between the density of hay-scented fern and the tick population? How do soil conditions affect the growth of Late Low blueberries? What is the impact of environmental conditions on the red eft, which is the orange, land-dwelling, juvenile stage of the eastern […]

Multidisciplinary Retreat Brings Creative Artists to Norfolk

Courtney Maum’s The Cabins Project   By Ruth Melville Courtney Maum is a writer married to a filmmaker, so perhaps it’s natural for her to think about how artists from different fields can learn from each other. For years, she would go to writing conferences and meet other writers whose stories seemed perfect for filming. […]