• 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 […]

  • A Look Into Norfolk’s Past

    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 […]

  • Norfolk Past and Present

    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 […]

  • Church Steeple Shines Once Again

    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.

  • Making the Native… Personal

    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 […]

  • This Old Norfolk House

    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 […]

  • Can wildlife safely cross Norfolk’s Roads?

    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 […]

  • Great Mountain Forest’s New Executive Director Returns to His Connecticut Roots

    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 […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    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, […]

Articles

Proposed Firehouse Advances to Planning and Zoning Commission

Public hearing set for Nov. 14 By Joe Kelly Plans for a new Norfolk firehouse have received financial backing from the State of Connecticut and approval from the town’s Inland Wetlands Agency—two milestones for a project that could reshape Norfolk’s emergency response capabilities for years to come. Attention now shifts to Norfolk’s Planning and Zoning […]

Two Wheels Bicycles Gears Up in Sheffield

Route 7 shop offers repair and rentals By Andra Moss Norfolk residents will be able to take on the town’s notorious hills with greater ease thanks to a new electric bicycle rental and repair shop just over the Massachusetts border in Sheffield. Those still clinging to the dream of analog, zero-assist bicycles can also rent […]

Future of Norfolk Farmers Market Uncertain, For Now

Long-time head steps down, replacement sought By Michael Cobb Norfolk Farmers Market Manager Lisa Auclair and Market Master Angie Bollard have resigned, leaving both positions open and plans up in the air for next season’s market. Doug McDevitt, Norfolk Farmers Market co-chair, commends their years of commitment, saying, “These individuals have put their hearts and […]

Norfolk Literary Event Hits Its Stride

Haystack Book Festival explores far-ranging topics By Joe Kelly From a small conversation six years ago with a biographer of the poet John Ashberry, Norfolk’s Haystack Book Festival has evolved into a multi-day exploration that remains true to its roots in literature but now ranges into criticism, religion, history, foreign affairs, journalism, domestic politics and […]

Community in Action

Haystack Woods Development Moves Forward By Avice Meehan Sixteen years after the idea first surfaced, the affordable housing development off Old Colony Road is approaching a major milestone: completion of site prep work and road construction. A first coat of asphalt should be laid down before winter if all goes according to plan. The project […]

View From the Green

How did we shape up? By Colleen Gundlach When something momentous happens in a town, it sometimes begins quietly, without fanfare, and quite innocuously. Then slowly, like a snowball rolling down a hill, it gains girth and strength until it becomes a vital source of information and communication in the lives of the townspeople. Such […]

Coston Recognized at “20 Over 50” Honoree

Editor-in-chief of the Lakeville Journal and Millerton News is honored By Carol Kneeland  John Coston, editor-in-chief of The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News, is one of 20 journalists over the age of 50 to be recognized in the Sept. 1 edition of the trade publication Editor & Publisher (E&P). E&P Editor Robin Blinder wrote […]

Director Brings Film of Overlooked Champion for the Environment to Norfolk

By Andra Moss A documentary highlighting the life and legacy of environmentalist and former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall will be shown on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 3 p.m., at the Norfolk Library. Director John de Graaf will introduce his film, “Stewart Udall and the Politics of Beauty,” and will participate in a discussion and Q&A […]

Norfolk Salutes Its Volunteers: Spotlight on the Norfolk Community Association

Barry Webber & Doreen Kelly Barry Webber Giving back and supporting one’s community has always been a strong calling for me. I’d lived in Norfolk for only two weeks when Sue Dooley hooked me in to help with the Mandy Patinkin concert to benefit Prime Time House—an organization I spent more than 10 years working […]

Up Up and Away

Leaf-Peeping From the Sky By Jude Mead One way to see the fall foliage is hot air ballooning, and Spirit Ballooning LLC is ready to guide you above the colorful display of leaves in Norfolk. The locally owned and operated hot air balloon adventure company (spiritballooning.com) is based in North Canaan. Darrel Long, owner and […]

This Old Norfolk House

The Grant Homestead By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo When we were looking at houses in Norfolk about 20 years ago, there were three homes on the market for under one million dollars: two charming but overpriced Victorians in the center of town and a 244-year-old colonial on the Winchester Center town line that looked like it […]

Out and About: New Yoga Studio in Winsted Welcomes All Levels of Experience

By David Beers It is Friday evening and I am unfolding my tense body on the floor of a storefront in downtown Winsted, which is not the typical thing to be doing on Main Street. At the corner of Elm and Main, two doors down from Rooted Market, is Earthbound Yogi, a new yoga studio […]