• 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 […]

  • 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 […]

Articles

Notables – Professor Pupin

  By Ryan Bachman By the end of the 19th century, the arrival of warm temperatures in Norfolk signaled the coming of “The Summer People”. These part-time residents regularly arrived via train as the mountain laurel bloomed and the days became longer. The majority of Norfolk’s summertime residents came from New York City in search […]

The Berkshire Rambler

Crane Paper Company: Seven Generations of Making Money   By Michael Kelly High quality paper has been an intrinsic part of the lives of the Crane family of Dalton, Mass. for almost 250 years. Stephen Crane started the business, making 100 percent cotton paper at the Liberty Mill in Milton, Mass., which Paul Revere printed […]

Torrington Yarn Bomb Brings Color, Art and Whimsy to the City

  By Julie Scharnberg   I read an article about yarn bombing that appeared in Yankee Magazine about four years ago and passed it around to some knitters, thinking, Who wouldn’t want to do this? How fun! Yarn bombing is a form of temporary street art where brightly colored yarn in any form—knitted, crocheted, woven, […]

New Town of Norfolk Website Goes Online

Community input still needed   By Wiley Wood If you’ve got it, flaunt it. That was the basic idea behind the drive to create a new website for the Town of Norfolk. The old website was handsome but drab, functional in concept, embellished with photos by a local photographer, but its information was often stale […]

Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art Students Hear from Mentors and Peers

Learning by Example     By Ruth Melville Since its inception 67 years ago, the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art has presented a series of artists’ lectures as an integral component of its program. For the past years 17 years, the art school, which is based in the Art Barn on the Ellen Battell […]

Norfolk Summer Style

  Action-Packed Relaxation with Kids in Mind   By Holly Leibrock Summer is finally here and no one understands a “Norfolk Summer” better than the town’s children. Tobey Pond is the town’s centerpiece throughout the dog days of summer. Officially opened on June 6, Tobey Pond provides a great place to swim, fish or picnic. […]

Public Hearing on Convenience Store

At its June 14 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission accepted a revised site plan and special permit applications from Ryan Craig, the operator of a convenience store and deli proposed for 6 Station Place (the old hardware store building). A public hearing has been set for the P&Z’s next regular meeting, on July 12, […]

Land Trust Opens New Trail

Pine Mountain Hike Is Accessible for All Ages   By David Beers In 2013, the Norfolk Land Trust purchased 311 acres of forestland north of the Mad River from the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. Over the past three years, Land Trust volunteers have been developing an extensive trail system on the property that connects with […]

Norfolk Celebrates Norfolk

Weekend in Norfolk will highlight the town’s best   By Colleen Gundlach When everyone involved reaches his or her goal and everyone profits in some way, it is colloquially called a win-win situation. Win is just what Norfolk is poised to do in a few weeks when residents and visitors alike benefit as Weekend in […]

Scandal and Bribery Tainted State Senate Election of 1856

A Look into Norfolk’s Past   By Ryan Bachman With 2016 an election year, news stories alleging shady political deals and corruption abound, but stories such as these are nothing new. In 1856, Norfolk was the scene of a political scandal that shocked citizens all over Litchfield County. That spring, tensions over social issues like […]

Convenience Store and Deli Proposed for 6 Station Place

Neighboring business owners voice opposition   By Wiley Wood Since the Corner Store closed two years ago, Norfolk residents have had to travel 20 minutes to a neighboring town to buy a quart of milk, a bag of charcoal, or a tube of toothpaste. But on Tuesday, May 24, the Planning and Zoning Commission held […]

Stocking Food Banks for the Summer

Local high school student supplies food for local food pantries   By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo While the average high school student may welcome summer because of all the freedoms and personal indulgences it affords, one Norfolk teenager sees summer as an opportunity to be completely selfless. Sophomore Morgan Daley recently started “Full for the Summer,” […]