• Inside the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art

    A season of student and community activity By Patricia Platt For over 80 years, the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Trust has endowed Yale University’s summer music and art programs in Norfolk. The renowned Yale Norfolk School of Art opens the 2026 summer season on May 23, before the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival begins, and shares its […]

  • Trio Revives Local Farmers Market

    Northwest Farm to Fork launches at Norbrook By Andra Moss When Devin Grosso and her husband moved to Norfolk in 2024, she was disappointed to learn that the town’s farmers market had permanently closed just the year before. However, a chance meeting at the Botelle School garden with Lisa Auclair, who had managed the Norfolk […]

  • Tracing the Dudley Legacy

    Family history and the truth behind Dudleytown By Jude Mead The Dudley name, with roots stretching back to 14th-century England, carries with it a long and often dramatic history. For Susan Dudley of Winchester, that legacy has been a lifelong source of curiosity—particularly her family’s connection to Dudleytown, the long-abandoned settlement hidden within Cornwall’s Dark […]

  • Cultivars, Nativars and Natives: The Lowdown

    by Susannah Wood It’s May and gardening is in full swing. At nurseries and on gardening sites, beginners and enthusiasts often encounter plants labelled “cultivar” or “nativar,” as well as “native.” What is the difference between a cultivar and a nativar? If someone wants to support local ecosystems and biological diversity, are nativars a good […]

  • Noteworthy Natives: Arrowwood Viburnum

    By Jill Chase For some, a mass of viburnums in bloom on the woodlands edge rivals the beauty of any formal garden around. The fresh white flowers on green foliage let you know that the spring garden season is well and truly on. There are several good varieties of viburnum—some produce blooms like snowballs, while […]

  • A Town Hall Treat for Pollinators

    The Norfolk Nature Alliance sponsored a student native plant garden project at Town Hall. The Northwestern Regional 7 Agricultural Education Program/FFA arrived on a sunny Sunday to install the donated native shrubs and perennials.

  • Birds Now

    A view on the prose and poetry of spring By Cheryl Heller As I write, the red-winged blackbirds are partying outside my window. Goldfinches, in their bright almost-summer feathers, make yellow polkadots in the dogwood that will flower any day. The phoebe (or her daughter) who has nested on our hanging porch light for the […]

  • Happiness Is …

    Smiles and squeals greeted “Farmer John” Coston as he surprised the Merrymakers group of kindergarten and first-graders with a lamb visit at the Norfolk Library’s after-school program on March 23. Cuties and lambs—need we say more?

  • Greenwoods Puppet Festival Returns to Norfolk Library

    By Bina ThomsonThe Greenwoods Puppet Festival returns to Norfolk for a third exciting showcase of puppet magic. Children’s Librarian and Event Coordinator Eileen Fitzgibbons, who has coordinated the previous two festivals, is busy fine-tuning this year’s offerings. In addition to a full day of performances, a puppetry workshop for adults will also be offered. Festivities […]

  • Botelle Beat

    Power Goals and WIN Time Personalize Learning at Botelle By Lauren Valentino One of Botelle School’s SOAR expectations is to Achieve Your Goals. We believe that when students know their goals—what they are learning, why and what success looks like—they are more engaged and motivated. They are partners in the learning process and own their […]

  • Courtney Maum’s Comedic Take on Capitalism

    On June 2nd, Norfolk author Courtney Maum launches her new novel, “ALAN OPTS OUT” (Little Brown) at the Norfolk Library in conversation with WAMC radio’s Sarah LaDuke. The book is a comedy about an ad exec who bombs the biggest pitch of his career and decides to move into a backyard playhouse, opt out of […]

  • “You Shall Not Pass!”

    Gandalf and the state Department of Transportation have spoken. Mountain Road at Westside Road is now closed through November for the Spaulding Brook bridge replacement project. Traffic is being detoured off Route 44 via Westside Road. Cars can still reach the ball fields along the short stretch of Mountain Road.

Articles

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 […]

Botelle PTO Regroups After Theft

Former Treasurer Issued Warrant By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo A warrant was issued on October 22 for the arrest of Vanessa Millard, the former treasurer of Botelle School’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), who allegedly stole roughly $13,000 from the organization over the past year. Connecticut state police called Millard’s home to ask for her surrender shortly […]

Selectman Jim Stotler Steps Down After Long Career Of Service To Norfolk

Stotler’s Name On Every Town Ballot For Past 26 Years By Colleen Gundlach Retirement doesn’t come easy to Jim Stotler. When his career at the Connecticut Department of Transportation ended in 1997, Stotler embraced a new career and more volunteer work. There is no sign that things will be any different now that he is […]

It’s a Tough Life For Beekeepers

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo Honeybees are not native to North America, but records show that colonies of the adept honey makers were shipped to Connecticut from England as early as 1644. Beekeeping in our neck of the woods is as old a tradition as we have, and one testament to our Yankee resolve, as beekeeping […]

Aija Moves Into Hardware Store Building Across Street

By Janet Gokay Why did the chicken cross the road? We put this question to Bella Erder, owner of Aija, the gift, jewelry and accessory store currently on the second floor of the Royal Arcanum Building downtown. On Nov. 1 she will be moving across the street to 6 Station Place, which has laid vacant […]

On Call With The Norfolk Ambulance

By Christopher Little Small as Norfolk is, residents in urgent need of help can count on a dedicated response from trained EMTs and drivers, all volunteers of the Norfolk Lions Club Ambulance. The editors have asked Deputy Chief Christopher Little to describe his experiences. Names and details have been changed. As in police work, an […]

Norfolk 2023! Event Draws Strong Community Support

By Wiley Wood When the doors of Infinity Hall opened at 9:30 a.m. on October 5, the staff of Norfolk Now wondered a little nervously why anyone would give up a perfectly good Saturday morning to wrangle about Norfolk’s future. In fact, just over 150 residents of Norfolk attended, and their reasons appeared to cover […]

Missing Funds Investigated At Botelle PTO

No money in PTO account for children’s programs By Shelley Harms Members of the Botelle Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization were shocked to discover in September that nearly all the money was missing from the PTO bank account. Only about $1,000 remained of what should have been at least a $12,000 balance, with bills of […]

November 5 Is Election Day

Register, Get Your Absentee Ballot This Month The candidates have been chosen for this year’s municipal elections on November 5. Norfolk is fortunate to have so many citizens willing to take on these important public service roles. Coming out to vote is one way to show your support for them. Registering to vote is quick […]