• 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

Property Taxes Drop Slightly

Town budget trimmed back By Wiley Wood Norfolk will spend less in the coming year, and the tax rate will be marginally lower. The budget presented by Michael Sconyers, chairman of the Board of Finance, at a special town meeting on June 10 was almost $200,000 lower than last year’s, a drop of 3 percent. […]

Tour of the Litchfield Hills Raises Funds for Cancer Patients

Local nonprofit hopes to reach one million dollar mark this year By Suzanne Hinman Imagine being told that you have cancer and have weeks, months or even years of treatment ahead of you. Coping with the physical and emotional challenges of cancer treatment is daunting enough, but the financial burden is often the most overwhelming […]

Scott Shaw: Running like the Wind

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo Norfolkian Scott Shaw won the town’s annual Five-Mile Road Race in May with an all-time course record of 28 minutes and 23 seconds. The second place finisher, Brandon LeClair, set the course record last year with a time of 29 minutes and 59 seconds. LeClair beat that time by 44 seconds […]

The Gardener Is Moving On, But the Spirit of Her Garden Will Remain

Mary Ann McGourty Heads for Warmer Climes By Ruth Melville After almost four decades in Norfolk, Mary Ann McGourty, expert gardener and avid birder, is packing up her gardening tools and bird books and moving to Athens, Georgia. Mary Ann and her husband, Fred McGourty, were, until 2004, the proprietors of Hillside Gardens, a nationally […]

Mia Weiner Opens Pinacoteca Art Gallery in Bantam

By Ruth Melville Art lovers in northwest Connecticut now have a new and unusual gallery to visit. Norfolk resident Mia Weiner has recently opened Pinacoteca in Bantam, where she will show and sell European paintings and drawings from the 16th to 20th century. Although she has been a gallery owner and dealer for 35 years, […]

Human Remains Found in Norfolk Woods

Missing East Hartford Man Identified By Ruth Melville   The story of the man who left his car in Station Place in March 2014, and then vanished, came to a sad end on April 26, 2015, when human bones were found in the Norfolk woods. Early that Sunday afternoon, a passerby found the bones in […]

New Head Chef at Infinity Bistro

by Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo   John Welch took over as Chef de Cuisine at Infinity Bistro this spring. His brand-new menu hit tables in mid-May. A few of the old favorites are still there–lobster hushpuppies, the edamame burger and lobster roll, but the menu has otherwise been totally re-worked. Welch visited the first outdoor farmers […]

Lime Rock Park Gears Up for Seventh Decade

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo Driving down sleepy Route 112 on a weekday afternoon in May, the average motorist would never know that Lime Rock Park is absolutely humming with activity. I, for one, expected the track office to contain one or two part-time workers and the grounds to be relatively empty. Not exactly–the small track […]

Notables: Hayden Carruth

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo As we begin another summer season in Norfolk, our sleepy town’s pulse begins to quicken. The number of cars and pedestrians multiplies seemingly overnight, forcing us back into the habit of actually looking both ways before turning onto any of our roads—a sure sign that “the summer people” are here. Summer […]

Resident Trooper Funding Cut

At the annual town meeting on May 11, the 75 residents in attendance voted to discontinue funding for the resident state trooper. Sergeant Jenko of the Connecticut State Police, above, presented the case for a town to keep its resident trooper, citing the importance of having an officer who knows the town, is able to determine […]

It Was 40 Years Ago Today, Sergeant Pepper Took the Troops Away

Norfolk Vietnam Vets discuss the way it was By Colleen Gundlach In the 40 years since the fall of Saigon essentially ended the Vietnam War, people who lived through it have strong memories of the tumult, upheaval and ultimate sacrifice of this period of our history. More than 58,000 American military members were killed fighting […]

Back to Back Marathons for Norfolk Sisters

Mary Bazzano-Reeve and Margaret Alexson run for health and fun By Colleen Gundlach Passion and excitement shine from Mary Bazzano-Reeve’s face when she talks about running. It is a sport to which she had never aspired, but one that has led her and her sister, Margaret Alexson, to marathons across the county. During the past […]