• 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

New Owners of Brotherhood Property Sue Norfolk Over Taxes

The Confucian Study Association, owner of the former Deerspring Bruderhof compound on West Side Road, is suing the Town of Norfolk in Litchfield Superior Court for exemption from property taxes. The organization, formed in January of this year, took ownership of the 48-acre parcel in March and applied to the town for tax exemption. Assessor […]

Report From the Real Russia

Former NPR correspondent Anne Garrels publishes book on the Russian heartland By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo “Those were the very best of days,” says Anne Garrels of the early 1990s when her husband, Vint Lawrence, went to Russia to visit her for six weeks every three months. “He couldn’t work on his drawings because there was […]

Lively Line-up at “Weekend In Norfolk” Festival

More Music and Live Performances than Ever Before   By Holly Leibrock Norfolk is a hub of outstanding talent and exceptional performance venues. Weekend in Norfolk (WIN) has capitalized on these talents and venues to offer storytelling, acting and more musical performances in one weekend than ever before at its locally renowned Infinity Hall and […]

Trail Running Club Meets Every Thursday

Heading for the Hills   By Jude Mead If you happen to be wandering in the woods of Norfolk, you may come across a group of runners from the Hill County Trail Runners Club. Nothing stops these outdoor enthusiasts from meeting every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to enjoy the popular sport called trail running. They […]

Church Work Camp Travels to Camden, New York

Serving Those in Need   By David Beers On June 19, an excited group of 28 people ranging in age from 12 to 50-something, headed out for a week of work and camaraderie in Camden, New York. Some had gone on this annual trip (organized and led by Reverend Erick Olsen of Church of Christ […]

“Unbridled” Art Show at the Norfolk Library

Bevan Ramsay’s Recent Sculpture Addresses the Sexualization of Girls’ Toys   By Ruth Melville   “Unbridled,” Bevan Ramsay’s show of recent sculpture at the Norfolk Library, might initially be startling to some viewers. The sculptures are made, not from traditional materials like stone or metal or wood, but out of globs of plaster painted bright […]

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. […]