• 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

Lily Bernstein Wins National Writing Award

Norfolk resident Lily Bernstein, a sixth-grader at Botelle, entered a national essay contest this winter at the urging of her homeroom teacher, Kim DeDominicis. More than 1900 other students from around the country joined the competition, which is sponsored annually by the BIC Corporation. Bernstein won a runner-up prize. For her 200-word essay, she will […]

Robotics Team Travels to International Championship

Northwest Regional’s Gearheads Win Major Award By Joel Howard Winning is as much a journey as it is an end objective, as the Gearheads have learned over the past four months. Just three month ago, Northwest Regional High School’s robotics team was meeting after school almost every day to get their new club organized and […]

Spring Turkey Season in Progress

Hikers on or near state hunting lands should consider that the 2012 Connecticut spring wild turkey season, which started on April 25, continues through May 26. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection advises hunters to avoid the colors red, white, and blue when walking in the turkey woods, as these colors are associated with […]

Dancer and Choreographer Brings Her Love of Movement to Norfolk

Moving to Music By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo In two short years, professionally trained dancer Kristin Mudge has taken Norfolk by storm. Donating her time and energy to a myriad of groups and endeavors in Norfolk and the surrounding area, Mudge’s most recent undertaking was choreographing the Northwestern Regional Seven High School musical, “Chicago.” A member […]

Maple Syrup Season Is Fast Out of the Starting Blocks

Early Preparations Pay Off This Year By Wiley Wood Sap flow in Norfolk’s sugar maples started three to four weeks early this year. Syrup producers who caught the early, unexpected flow had a good season. “We tapped our trees in January and started collecting in early February,” says Jude Mead, of Mead’s Maple Syrup, “the […]

Whitehouse Roof Restoration Underway

Driving through the center of town you have probably noticed the scaffolding and construction materials around Whitehouse across from the Norfolk Green. Workmen will be replacing the roof and restoring masonry around the chimneys and cornices. Construction is expected to continue into September 2012. Whitehouse was home to the Battell family from approximately 1800 until […]

Local Foundation Helps Area Children

Funds Available for Summer Camp Tuition By Barbara Perkins Just as there has always been a certain amount of privilege in Norfolk, there has also been a feeling that the privilege should be spread around. When Ken and Dottie Satherlie closed The Laurel School in 1985, they started a foundation dedicated to the belief that […]

For Now The Prevailing Winds Have Died Down

Some renewable energy projects take a hit By Veronica Burns A recent defeat in the U.S. Senate of a proposal to extend the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy projects has taken some wind out of the sails of the energy industry. The proposal was in the form of an amendment attached to the approved […]

Norfolk’s Ranking Takes a Nose Dive

Downgraded to ninth place by Connecticut Magazine By Lloyd Garrison Over the past decade, Connecticut Magazine has placed Norfolk among the state’s top five Best Small Towns Under 3,500, and Norfolk has been named number one twice in a row. Coming in to 2012, it looked like Norfolk was still on a roll. A total […]

Author Wally Lamb to Discuss His Writings

By Janet Gokay  “I’ve been told many times by readers that, after they’ve finished a novel of mine, they catch themselves wondering about how the characters are doing now, as if these people lived and breathed in the actual world. There’s no better validation than that,” comments Connecticut author Wally Lamb. “Writing novels is, in […]

Curtains Up for the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival’s 2012 season

A gala dinner, ice cream social and music in between Summer is almost upon us and once again music will pour forth from the Shed,  located on Yale University’s Summer School of Music campus in Norfolk. On Saturday, June 16, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival will commence its 71st season. A gala evening  will launch […]

This property is on Mountain Road, known as Robin Hill, recently sold at a record price for Norfolk, boosting hopes for an upswing in the housing market.

Housing Market On The Mend

Record price for Robin Hill spurs hope for turnaround By Lloyd Garrison With the warm winter and early spring, Norfolk home listings, long frozen in place have suddenly begun to thaw, and one of them, the estate on Mountain Road known as Robin Hill, has just sold for a record $3,950,000. The price, brokered by […]