• 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

Prime Time House Holds Fundraiser In Norfolk

Helping Adults with Mental Illness By Michael Cobb  A lively crowd gathered at Michael Selleck’s house on Greenwoods Road East on Sept. 16 to raise money for Prime Time House, a mental health organization based in Torrington that helps adults with mental illness find employment, education, housing and support. Guests were greeted by volunteers from […]

Sentencing Scheduled In Norfolk Assault Case

By Avice Meehan The young Winchester resident accused of sexually assaulting a Norfolk woman in 2022 accepted a plea agreement and could be formally sentenced as early as Oct. 13 in Litchfield County Court in Torrington. Jason Tyrone Heath, 21, entered a guilty plea on Aug. 4 to two felony charges, attempted sexual assault and […]

Owl Sculpture to Be Unveiled on Robertson Plaza

First installation in a planned sculpture trail By Patricia Platt The Norfolk Community Association (NCA) will unveil Jon Riedeman’s sculpture, the Owl of Good Fortune, at Robertson Plaza on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 2 p.m. The public is invited to the event, which will include an introduction by the NCA, comments by Jon Riedeman, and […]

View From The Green

Do We Need A Land Ethic? By Kathy Robb The people of Norfolk have long known the importance of good land stewardship, as evidenced by the environmental work of Great Mountain Forest, Aton Forest, the Conservation Commission, the Norfolk Land Trust and many other organizations in town. The demands of global human justice—and humanity’s health—require […]

The Old Newgate Coon Club

A Long History of Preserving Tradition, Community and Nature By Jude Mead Sitting atop a hill on Colebrook Road (Route 182) in Norfolk, the Old Newgate Coon Club stands as a testament to the preservation of tradition, community, and nature and is among one of the oldest sporting clubs in Connecticut. It was first established […]

Setting History in Stone

Norfolk Sculptor Participates in Project Honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg By Andra Moss In late May, stone carver Adam Paul Heller of Norfolk received an unexpected phone call from the chief architect responsible for the New York State Capitol building. Would he be interested in joining a project underway at the capitol? It was extremely short […]

Rains Delay Spill Cleanup as More Gas Is Found

Cleanup shifts to Maple Avenue Words and photo by Joseph Kelly This summer’s rainy weather, including the severe storms in July that wiped out several bridges in town, has also delayed the ongoing cleanup of last year’s gas spill. As a result, through traffic on Maple Avenue is likely to remain disrupted well into September. […]

Norfolk Salutes Its Volunteers Spotlight on the Library

Galene Kessin My involvement with the Norfolk Library was almost accidental.  I went into the library one day because Comcast had interrupted our phone and internet service and I urgently needed to call my husband Rich, who was in New York.  While I was seated in a comfortable chair in what I now know is […]

Proposed Firehouse Plan Comes Before Wetlands Agency

By Susan MacEachron A full contingent of the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) attended the Inland Wetlands Agency (Wetlands) meeting on Aug. 7.  NVFD members came to hear the proposed application for the construction of a new firehouse.  Emily Bousaada, a civil engineer from Benesch, outlined the proposal.  Benesch, a professional services firm, was hired […]

EDC and Board of Education Discuss Ways to Support Botelle

By Ruth Melville The Economic Development Commission (EDC) invited members of the Board of Education (BoE), along with Superintendent Mary Beth Iacobelli and Principal Lauren Valentino, to attend an in-person meeting on Aug. 10 meeting to have a conversation about ways the EDC might be able to assist Botelle School. EDC co-chair Libby Borden started […]

A Haystack Book Festival Discussion of One Poet’s Insights into Music and Poetry

By Leila Javitch In early July, the Haystack Book Festival hosted a talk on the musical interests of the distinguished American poet John Ashbery. Karin Roffman, author of “The Songs We Know Best: John Ashbery’s Early Life” and currently completing a full biography of Ashbery, was accompanied by Melvin Chen, director of the Norfolk Chamber […]

Training Shelter Dogs to Become Stage Stars

By Patricia Platt If your idea of a celebrity sighting is petting Toto (The Wiz), Sandy (Annie) or Bruiser (Legally Blonde)—or if you’re simply interested in how dogs are trained to act in Broadway shows—head to the Norfolk Music Festival’s open house at the Art Barn on Sunday, Aug. 6, at 3 p.m., for “Broadway […]