• 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

Emerald Ash Borer Reaches Litchfield County

Insect Likely to be Present in Norfolk Already Loss of All Local Ash Trees Expected By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station issued a press release last month that the emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle population is rapidly expanding throughout the state. The original Connecticut infestation of the invasive Chinese beetle began in […]

HamletHub Comes to Norfolk and Canaan

A new resource for sharing local stories By Ruth Melville HamletHub is a network of “hyperlocal” websites whose driving mission is to help local people share local stories with their communities. The project is the brainchild of Kerry Anne Ducey. About two and a half years ago, Ducey was working as a writer for a […]

Local Input Requested on Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan

The Northwest Hills Council of Governments is preparing an update to the “Litchfield Hills Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan” prepared in 2006. A draft of the updated section prepared for our town is available for review by clicking here. The NHCOG is accepting public comments on the draft report through the end of July. The purpose […]

Gift of Rental Properties Extends Family’s Legacy

By Wiley Wood The Foundation for Norfolk Living (FNL), a housing nonprofit, has announced the pending gift to the foundation of a sizable property belonging to Ralph Burr. The parcel, on Greenwoods Road East, numbers 29-32, has three houses on it, divided into six rental units and has been in the Burr family since 1913. […]

Lloyd Garrison, Founding Editor of Norfolk Now, Dies at 83

By Wiley Wood Lloyd Garrison, a journalist, editor and Norfolk presence for the past 18 years, who covered Europe and Africa for The New York Times in the 1960’s and in retirement founded this newspaper, died at his home in Norfolk on June 21. He was 83 years old. The cause was complications of prostate […]

Local Man Triggers AIRCON RED Alert Over D.C.

By Susannah Wood Around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 7th, a small plane entered restricted airspace over Washington, D.C. leading to an AIRCON RED alert and the evacuation of the U.S. Capitol building, the Supreme Court building, the Library of Congress and other office buildings in the vicinity, according to the Associated Press and CNN. […]

Solar Generation On The Rise

Area Residents Find Solar Affordable By Bob Bumcrot Driving along Route 44 through East Canaan, it’s hard not to notice the large set of solar panels across the road from Freund’s farm: eight big arrays totaling 576 panels on the site of the old Couch farmhouse and barn. The 130-kilowatt installation by PurePoint Energy of […]

Question: What Makes Tuesdays at the Wood Creek Bar & Grill Consequential?

Local Event Gains Regional Following By Barbara Perkins What is a female rabbit called? St. Patrick is said to have cast what out of Ireland? What is the name of the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean? Krusty the Clown is featured on what TV show? Brotherhood, Revelations, Black Flag […]

New Botelle Superintendent Named

Dr. Mary Beth Iacobelli has been appointed to replace Superintendent of School George Counter, who retired at the end of June, according to an announcement by the Norfolk Board of Education. Dr. Iacobelli, who was superintendent of the East Haddam Public Schools from 2012 to 2014, has also served as an elementary school principal in […]

New Regulations Approved For Industrial Wind Turbines

In New England, opposition is getting serious By Veronica Burns After prolonged negotiations, Connecticut finally has regulations in place governing industrial wind turbines. Senator Kevin Witkos applauds the effort. “Colebrook has been identified as an area where wind power can prosper,” he stated in an e-mail. “The passage of these regulations will allow the installation […]

Minister Plans Sabbatical

Erick Olsen to visit Kenya in July By Sally Quale After nearly 11 years of service at The Church of Christ Congregational, the Reverend Erick Olsen will be taking his first sabbatical this July, August and September. He returns to the pulpit October 1. “This will not be a vacation,” he emphasizes, but an opportunity […]

The Drama of The Missing Man

Copters and canines used in hunt for retired teacher By Lloyd Garrison For two days in April, Norfolk witnessed numerous police cruisers on the prowl and two helicopters searching for Joseph Pappalardo, a 60-year old East Hartford man who had abandoned his parked Toyota Avalon at Station Place. Police said he was thought to be […]