• 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

Thoughts Along the Chattleton Road at Great Mountain Forest

  By Hans M. Carlson The road at Great Mountain Forest’s (GMF) west gate is a new spur off an older thoroughfare. Jean’s Trail is the intersection, and from there the old Chattleton Road once ran down behind where Rustling Winds Stables is now. It still goes south to Meekertown in the other direction, but […]

The Challenges and Joys of Owning a Small Farm

  Not for the Faint of Heart   By Ruth Melville People like the idea of local farms. They enjoy seeing cows grazing in a field or the piles of fresh vegetables on the table at the farmers market. But they are less likely to appreciate the amount of work that goes into starting a […]

Memorial Day Parade 2016

Blackberry River Baking Co. Serves New Food in a Familiar Setting

  By Ruth Melville Four years ago, Audrey and Sam Leary were living in Brooklyn and looking for a place to start a new life—they found it in Canaan, Conn. The couple met in New York, where Audrey attended culinary school. After leaving school, she worked briefly at a Michelin-rated restaurant in the city before […]

From Riverbed to Lasting Art

Jim Kochiss leaves no stone unturned   By Colleen Gundlach Most people step over rocks, whether in the river or on the roadside, without a second thought, but not Jim Kochiss. This lifetime Norfolk resident sees the potential for beauty in each stone, and has the ability to bring out the true personality of every […]

A Stint in the Middle East

MacGregor Robinson takes a position at King’s Academy   By Christina Vanderlip When he headed admissions for Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling N.Y., Norfolk native MacGregor (Greg) Robinson traveled the globe recruiting and interviewing potential students and meeting their families. Clearly, he had not seen enough of the world in his estimation, as he recently accepted […]

Rosemary Gill Will Perform One-Woman Show

“When the Theatre Came to Town”   By Jude Mead “There is no business like show business,” according to Rosemary Gill, whose debut performance of “When the Theatre Came to Town” takes place on Sunday, May 29 in the Great Hall of the Norfolk Library with two showings, one at 6 p.m. and another at 8 p.m. This one-person, original […]

The Ultimate Farm-to-Table Experience

Babs Perkins’s new photography on view at the library   By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo Babs Perkins describes a Zen-like element to life in the Balkans, which is certainly reflected in her photographs from the region. Her upcoming show at the Norfolk Library, “Bosnia & Serbia through the Lens” includes a collection of 30 photographs from […]

Local Animal Shelter Offers Free Care

The Little Guild That Could   While Norfolk doesn’t have its own shelter for cats and dogs, The Little Guild of St. Francis in West Cornwall has long filled that void. The fastest-growing animal rescue effort in Connecticut, the Little Guild adopted out 515 animals last year, more than twice its previous record. The shelter […]

Norfolk Bids Farewell to Evan G. Hughes

Evan G. Hughes, who, with Peter Ermacora, his late partner and spouse of 42 years, was a long-time resident of Norfolk, died on March 9, 2016 at Kindred Hospital of the Palm Beaches, after a long illness, surrounded by his loving family and friends. Evan had moved to Jupiter, Florida two years ago. His spiritual […]

Norfolk’s February 2016 Weather

A One Month Winter Season?   By Russell Russ Winter finally arrived this month, bringing with it a near-average amount of snowfall and briefly some very cold temperatures. Unlike last year’s snowy deep freeze of a month, this year gave us just a taste of what normal February weather should be. Even with a brief […]

Save the Date

Weekend in Norfolk On August 5, 6, and 7, come celebrate Norfolk’s many natural and cultural offerings. Events will include a fire department open house, Battell Arts ice cream social and games, Land Trust six-peak climb fora free t-shirt, Artisans Guild demonstrations & discounts, U.S. Coast Guard concert at the Yale Music Shed, After School […]