• 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

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 […]