• 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

Winter Birds

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo Most of us, at one point or another, question why we stay in the Icebox of Connecticut throughout the winter months, but do you ever wonder why the birds do? When observing a little black-capped chickadee chipping away at a backyard feeder with four inches of snow on it, do you […]

Barbara Spiegel Named Person of the Year

By Ruth Melville To honor Norfolk resident Barbara Spiegel’s leadership in caring for victims of domestic and sexual abuse in Litchfield County and for helping Torrington emerge from a widely-publicized alleged rape scandal with a better understanding of the issue, The Register Citizen named Spiegel their 2013 Person of the Year. Spiegel grew up in […]

Copper Downspout Thefts Solved With Two Arrests

One of the accused was from Winsted, the other from Norfolk By Lloyd Garrison It was nine months ago in January that John Hester, who oversees the Battell Stoeckel estate and the Yale summer music and arts campus, phoned Barracks B in Canaan after fresh tire tracks in the snow led him to spot missing […]

Habitat for Humanity House Completed

Built in a year of Saturdays By Wiley Wood A year ago, it was just a hole in the ground. The long-vacant lot on Hillside Street was bought by Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Connecticut in 2009, but there was still nothing more on it than the remains of an earlier cellar hole. Today, a […]

Moose Hit by Car on Rte. 44—Police Offer Animal to Homeowner

The Bascetta family receive 200 pounds of meat By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo In the early morning hours of September 29, Brendan Tallon, 21, was driving home from Hartford with a friend from college. Less than two miles from their destination, the Norwich University students were startled to see a moose standing in the middle of […]

Norfolk Gets First New Selectman in 10 Years

Josh DeCerbo is now on Board By Bob Bumcrot For the first time in a decade the Norfolk Board of Selectmen has a new member. In the November 5 election, Josh DeCerbo was chosen to replace retiring Selectman James J. Stotler, Sr. Raised in Wallingford, Conn., DeCerbo came to Norfolk about ten years ago. “I’ve […]

Big Challenges from Aging Town Infrastructure

Nine million dollars of work clouds Norfolk’s future By Kurt Steele Like many aging towns across America, Norfolk struggles to keep its infrastructure operational and up-to-date. The town’s public roadways, sewer system, and fire and EMS buildings need regular maintenance as well as periodic rebuilding. “There is nothing simple about repairing and improving our 43 […]

Snow Guns at Region’s Four Ski Areas are Working Overtime

Mohawk gets the jump on the other three by opening Nov. 29 By Lloyd Garrison After two winters of dreary weather that crimped attendance, the region’s four ski areas are brimming with confidence that this year will be different. For the first time in recent memory, weather forecasters are predicting an exceptionally long string of […]

Building Bridges Between Local Volunteer Groups

Nonprofits and Volunteer Commissions Play an Important Role in Town Life By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo The Coalition for Sound Growth [CSG] was formed 11 years ago out of a need to provide a thorough, scientific study on the potential environmental impact of the proposed Yale Farm Golf Course. The group went on to spearhead the […]

Town Meeting On November 14, 2013

By Wiley Wood The Town of Norfolk has scheduled a Special Town Meeting at Town Hall on November 14 at 7 p.m., open to all citizens qualified to vote. Two issues will be voted on. The first concerns the reorganization of the regional planning commissions, a move mandated by the state to streamline state government. […]

Town Election Yields New Selectman

Voter Turnout At 26 Percent By Wiley Wood The results of Norfolk’s municipal elections were released by Town Clerk Linda Perkins on Wednesday, November 6. The town has a new selectman, Josh DeCerbo, who ran unopposed for the Republican seat made vacant by the departure of longtime selectman James Stotler. Sue Dyer will continue as […]

Plans For New Firehouse Shelved

Board of Finance To Seek Pension Bond Instead By Wiley Wood Reversing its endorsement of a new firehouse, the Board of Finance agreed at its October 8 meeting to delay plans to fund the facility for at least two to three years. Instead it will focus efforts on removing the town’s unfunded pension liability from […]