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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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.
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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
State Trooper Naylor Honored for Investigative Skills
Medal cites his exceptionally high rate of crimes solved By Sally Quale Norfolk’s Resident State Trooper Greg Naylor is not only a first responder but also a crime solver, and such a good one that late last year the Connecticut State Police awarded him the Medal for Outstanding Service. The medal is given to a […]
Walk on the Wild Side
Land Trust buys 311 acre Girl Scouts Camp By Janet Gokay The Norfolk Land Trust is looking forward to June, when they expect to finalize their acquisition of 311 acres of pristine wilderness, formerly part of the Girl Scouts’ Camp Iwakta. The purchase will significantly enlarge the corridor of conservation lands stretching from Aton Forest […]
Referendums in Norfolk and Colebrook Approve Regional School Study
Local Members of Study Committee Named Byline: By Wiley Wood In separate but identical referendums on December 18, residents of Norfolk and Colebrook voted overwhelmingly in favor of studying regionalization, the first step towards bringing their primary schools under one roof. The yes vote to establish a regional study committee was 76 percent in Norfolk […]
Local Home Sales Still Depressed
Historic number of listings but few sales in 2012 By Kurt Steele Despite historic low interest rates and a glut of homes on the market in Norfolk, there are few buyers. Those shopping definitely want bargains. Last year saw only 13 mutiple-listed homes sold here, 12 of which were at or below $365,000. With the […]
Memory Impaired Unit Opens
Geer Offering Assistance in Newly Formed Facility Geer Village, the Canaan retirement complex that is home to many Norfolk seniors, has opened a new unit providing assisted living for the memory impaired. It is only the second such unit in Connecticut especially devoted to residents with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The secure third-floor unit opened […]
How Times Have Changed
Becoming an EMT ain’t what it used to be By Joel Howard When Bill Brodnitzki started his first stint as an ambulance volunteer, he once answered a call when his neighbor yelled out, “Hey, Bill. You free to make a run?” Otherwise, like other volunteers, he answered his calls on a rotary dial phone. That […]
Local Business Mostly Flat in 2012
No sign of major changes ahead By Kurt Steele A review of area businesses found them mostly cautious about the future following a year in which the economy mainly held steady with a few notable bright spots. With continuing depressed house values and a large inventory of houses for sale in Norfolk, it is not surprising […]
Meadowbrook Receives Grant
The Norfolk Senior Housing Corporation (aka Meadowbrook) is very pleased to announce the receipt of a grant from The Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut. The amount of $500.00 has been received from the Local Area Fund and will be used in support of general operations. On behalf of all the residents and directors at Meadowbrook, […]
A Concerted Effort of Giving
By Joel Howard In a generous act befitting the season, Infinity Hall and Yale Summer School of Music are joining forces to stage a December 9 holiday matinee concert to benefit The Norfolk Library. Headlining the event will be The Whiffenpoofs, the storied male a cappella group from Yale University, who will be joined on […]
Popular Musical Group to Retire
String Quartet heads into final year By: John G. Funchion The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival plays host to the venerable Tokyo String Quartet’s final full season here in Norfolk following thirty five years as its in-residence, distinguished chamber music ensemble. Consisting of Martin Beaver, first violin; Kikuei Ikedi, second violin; Kazuhide Isomura, viola; […]
Bringing the World to Norfolk
Large attendance expected at Family Festival By Colleen Gundlach The Economic Development Commission’s (EDC) charge is, according to the town’s Web site, to “conduct research into economic trends of the town and make recommendations to improve the (economic) conditions.” One of the conditions that needs improvement, according to commission member Bella Erder, is the knowledge […]
Super Hikers and Liaison Readjust to Norfolk Life
By Bob Bumcrot Filled with a variety of experiences, some harrowing but many uplifting, Cindy and Kirk Sinclair returned to Norfolk on May 24 from their year-long hike across America. “It started out as a mission,” said Kirk, who calls himself The Hiking Humanitarian, “but it ended as a pilgrimage. We learned a lot about […]
