• 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, […]

  • Focus on New Firehouse shifts to funding

    Costs likely to rise beyond initial $5 million estimate By Joe Kelly After months of sometimes contentious public hearings, plans for a new Norfolk firehouse are nearing the end of the wetlands/zoning part of the approval process and heading into a decisive new phase: finding the money to pay for it all. The Planning & […]

Articles

Serving Time in Connecticut

For Majewski and Carey, No Easy Road to Freedom By Susanna Wood Ten years in jail is a long time.  With two leap years that’s 3,652 days, 87,648 hours, 5,258,880 minutes. How does that time pass for inmates like Kyle Majewski and Matthew Carey, the two young men recently sentenced for a crime spree that […]

Election Officials Facing a Retirement Problem

Replacements needed to help oversee voting By Bob Bumcrot Staging local elections depends on a small cadre of Norfolk residents who supervise the polling, for which they are paid modestly, yet who keep coming back seemingly year after year. But change is in the offing. The town is looking for a few good men or […]

Are You Ready for Summer?

Norfolk Children’s Foundation Offers Camperships to Camp Jewell By Julie Scharnberg Imagine being able to spend a week or two this summer horseback riding, swimming, trying out archery or pottery, mountain boarding, rock climbing, kayaking, learning how to use high ropes or how to play the guitar, hiking, fishing, playing soccer and lots more. The […]

Preparing the Next Generation of Curlers

Botelle students learn Norfolk’s trademark game By David Beers Students in grades three through six at Botelle School have been curling at each of their gym classes for all of February and early March. After some initial instruction in curling rules, vocabulary, scoring and history of the sport, red and blue four-person teams were formed […]

Infinity Hall Reaches Two Milestones

The 1,000th concert in Norfolk performed March 14 By Bob Bumcrot Two milestones were reached in March for Infinity Music Hall and Bistro, often referred to as IMH for short. The first, on the 14th, celebrated the 1,000th concert performed on the Norfolk stage. “I’m both proud and grateful,” said IMH owner Dan Hincks. “It’s […]

Champion Norfolk Girls

For the first time in the history of Botelle School, the Northwestern League Girls B Division championship trophy was brought home to Norfolk.   A dedicated group of fourth and sixth grade girls defeated Salisbury Central School on March 10, wrapping up three days of tournament play at the Cornwall Consolidated School.  This win tops off […]

Norfolk Land Trust Pursues Elite Status with Land Trust Alliance

Decision taken to seek national accreditation By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo The Norfolk Land Trust (NLT) is seeking hard-to-win accreditation from the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, a program of the Land Trust Alliance. According to a recent press release, NLT welcomes the accreditation process as an opportunity to review and fine tune its practices and […]

Norfolk Vintage Vehicles to Vie for Top Honors

By Colleen Gundlach On July 14, a first-time ever event will be held in Norfolk that will have residents reminiscing and harking back to the days of their youth. The First Annual Classic Community Classic Car Show will be sponsored by the ArtsWave Committee of the Norfolk Economic Development Commission (EDC), and promises nostalgic moments […]

Norfolk Now Introduces Interactive Web site

Readers may comment on articles and access the site on Smart Phones and iPads By Matt Papanek Whether or not you have used Norfolk Now’s Web site, or even realized there was one, it is now in the process of a major makeover that will match the printed paper aesthetically while offering easy access to […]

More Than a Librarian

Chris Keyes Embraces Life, One Chapter At a Time By Rosanna Trestman Over the past four years, patrons of the Norfolk Library have come to know Chris Keyes, at least in his visible role as head of circulation. But behind the fellow checking out books is a man of many hats, including a chef’s toque, […]

Salisbury VNA To Offer Community Service Help Line

Answering the tough questions By Colleen Gundlach According to the Center for Disease Control, more than 1 million people have knee or hip replacements each year, and untold numbers of Americans will contract influenza. In addition, there are almost 80 million members of the baby boomer generation contributing to the aging of this country’s population. […]

Once China, Now Salisbury

Lisa Carter Appointed Principal of Salisbury Central School By Sally Quale Each morning about 6 a.m., Lisa Carter drives west out of Norfolk on Route 44 to Lakeville to begin her day as the new principal of the Salisbury Central School. Despite her initial anxiety, when the Board of Education offered her the opportunity to […]