• 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

Old Perceptions, Enhanced Recollections

Robin Yuran’s poems come alive at Norfolk Library By Joel Howard Poet Robin Yuran does not simply live on forested land in north Norfolk, rather she and her family live “in a nut-brown house at the edge of the woods.” It is through such vivid selection and placement of words that her poems seem infused […]

Curling Club Shaping A Comeback Strategy

Members refining plans for fund raising and design of a new facility By Lloyd Garrison There are no easy answers to two key questions in the wake of the vandalism and fire that destroyed the Norfolk Curling Club in December. The first question is how and when the club will be restored. The second is […]

Church Rejects A Tempting Offer

Members decline lucrative bid to build wireless antenna in steeple By Joel Howard Church steeples are prime real estate for companies like Message Center Management (MCM), a firm that leases antenna space to cellular service providers like ATT and Verizon. Eyeing such expanded coverage, MCM approached Congregational Church of Christ trustees 18 months ago in […]

Joel Howard Joins Norfolk Now as Editor

Wrote ad copy for the likes of Verizon and American Express By Lloyd Garrison Joel Howard almost perfectly personifies the old adage that in the heart of every ad agency copy writer there is a frustrated novelist just waiting to be unleashed. Retired from advertising and now living in Norfolk, Howard already has several plastic […]

Norfolk’s Board of Ed Debates Merger and Expansion Issues

Absorbing Colebrook students still under consideration By  Josh DeCerbo Norfolk’s Board of Education is weighing several issues affecting the future of Botelle School, including merger options with Colebrook. Several years ago, the leadership of both towns supported a study of the costs and benefits of a merger. The matter was dropped once the regional school […]

Foundation for Norfolk Living Switching Gears

Group is now eyeing existing properties for affordable housing By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo The Foundation for Norfolk Living’s mission “to create opportunities for housing in Norfolk that are affordable to a diverse community including people and families of modest means” may be realized sooner than expected. The Foundation’s Old Colony Road project,  a low-maintenance, environmentally […]

Move to Boost Small Businesses in Norfolk

EDC to offer seminars on how to launch, maintain businesses By Colleen Gundlach To start a new business in Connecticut, which state agency should a potential new owner approach first, the Secretary of State, Department of Revenue Services, or the Department of Labor?  This question and many others will be addressed at an upcoming series […]

Allen Melville, Advocate for the Disadvantaged, Dies

Family Trust Focused on Building Programs and Policies to End Homelessness  By Leila Javitz Allen Whitley Melville, a resident of Norfolk for almost 30 years, died on Jan. 1 at age 85 . A memorial service in February at the Lyceum in Hartford highlighted her work for social justice and for the rights of the […]

Anne Garrels Garners Yet Another Honor

Veteran NPR foreign correspondent Anne Garrels is one of three Connecticut residents slated to be inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame at the Hartford Convention Center in October.  Already the recipient of numerous coveted journalism awards, Garrels’ front line coverage in many overseas war zones was cited along with the work of international […]

Curling Club to Rebuild

Down But Not Out By Lloyd Garrison All was calm in Norfolk as darkness fell on Saturday, Dec. 17, exactly one week before Christmas. The town’s village green was bathed in the glow of multicolored tree lights. Many Norfolkians were home decorating their own trees in advance of the holidays.           Just before midnight, the […]

Geothermal Systems Come to Norfolk

By Bob Bumcrot Norfolk is not on a geothermal “hotspot,” like Iceland, where steam and superheated water can be easily extracted and used for heat and power, but like many parts of the earth, Norfolk sits atop its own virtually inexhaustible source of heating and cooling energy. From about ten feet below the surface to several […]

Accolades

   Four Norfolk students made Dean’s List at the University of Connecticut for the fall 2011 semester. To attain this distinction, students must take at least 12 credits, finish the semester with a grade point average that is among the top 25 percent of students enrolled in their school and have no grade below a […]