• 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 […]

  • 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 […]

Articles

Conservation Commission to Replace Shrubs at Town Hall In one of its first acts, the newly formed Conservation Commission will remove alien invasive species from the front of Town Hall and replace them with non-invasive natives. Their goal is to complete the transformation in one day, Saturday May 2. Slated for removal and disposal are […]

At the Library

Rare Book Room By Sally Quale “It’s beautiful!” exclaimed Co-Director Robin Yuran, describing the recently-completed Rare Book Room, another part of the Norfolk Library’s current capital improvements project. The new room is actually a refurbished meeting room on the second floor that now boasts walls of warm, wooden shelving, and is heat and humidity regulated. […]

Another Torch Passed

Norfolk’s Memorial Day ceremonies on May 26 will be marked by the annual parade of marching bands, school groups and servicemen and women. An 81-year- old Navy veteran will not be marching this year. Hobbled by arthritis, Colebrook resident Peter Giansiracusa will ride in a horse-drawn buggy as he has done for the past five […]

“Bella,” Based on “Our Town,” Comes to Life at the Library

The annual play performed by the women of the Isabella Eldridge Club at the library had the look of a costume party.  Jack O’Malley’s deftly written  script of “Bella” used Thorton Wilder’s “Our Town” as a template to reflect on life in Norfolk in the late 1800’s. Directed by Ann Havemeyer, the cast and extras […]

Zone 4: Spring Planting Choices

By Mark A. Tonan Spring is soon to be upon us, and plants are on a lot of people’s minds. Annuals, perennials, woody plants, ground covers, and edibles are all well suited to spring planting and will become widely available as the weather warms. These plants come in many forms and have certain signs to […]

Special Needs Program at Botelle Benefits All Students

By Timothy Lee Botelle School is home to the Intensive Education Program, or IEP, that serves the educational needs of severely disabled students who range in age from six to 16 and present a variety of challenges in the areas of mobility, communication and self-care. They are typically in wheelchairs and require adult support in […]

Grant Applications Invited From Area Artists and Writers

A newly incorporated foundation based in Norfolk and known as AWED, is now accepting grant applications from visual artists and nonfiction writers who live in Barkhamsted, Canaan, Colebrook, Norfolk, North Canaan and Winsted. The foundation name is an acronym for Artists and Writers Education and Development. Grants to be awarded in 2008 will range from […]

Library to Exhibit the Work Of Norfolk’s Ron Sloan

  By Robin Yuran During the month of March, the Norfolk Library is showcasing the artistic genius of Ron Sloan, who has been attacking the canvas with primary colors that are representative of his agonized view of the human condition since 1965. “I can feel the screams of everybody that have been hurt in this […]

Fiscal Year 2009-2010 town budget looks stable

2010-2011 not as predictable By Bridgette L. Rallo The numbers won’t be official until after the annual budget audit is released in January but, according to First Selectman Sue Dyer, Norfolk’s finances are stable despite unprecedented cuts in the state budget. Next year’s financial picture, though, may not be quite as rosy. “We’re still hanging. […]