Bike ride concludes with pig roast

Norfolk’s Tour de Forest Oct. 19 ended with a pig roast at the curling clubhouse.
Alec Linden

Norfolk’s Tour de Forest Oct. 19 ended with a pig roast at the curling clubhouse.
NORFOLK — The Norfolk Curling Club Pig Roast Fundraiser went down at the team’s clubhouse on Saturday, Oct. 19, capping off a day of cycling through the town’s bucolic back roads for the Tour de Forest and Icebox Gravel bike rides.
Curling Club member Bob Gilchrest said that the “first annual” designation was a little cheeky, but he does hope it happens again next year.
Gilchrest is the chair of Norfolk’s Rails to Trails Committee and organizes the yearly bike rides to fundraise for the development of the town’s rail trail that stretches down to Winchester. He first ran the event in 2018 as a way to bring awareness to the rail trail and also to “have an event that involves the whole town” and brings cyclists to Norfolk’s gorgeous roadways, he said.
The Tour de Forest course snaked its way up Wangum Road and back down through the Great Mountain Forest’s dirt roads, while the Icebox Gravel track explored the town’s northern country routes. “Having the Great Mountain Forest be a quarter of the town and having the course track through its dirt roads is really a treat,” said West Lowe, who volunteered to help set the courses.
Gilchrest and others emphasized that this event was not a race and there would no winners, a sentiment which several participants apparently took quite seriously. When a group of cyclists didn’t return after the sweeper had made it back to the finish line, an envoy was dispatched to locate the missing riders. They were found happily enjoying a pint in the sunshine at Norbrook Farm Brewery.
The pig roast, which was a new addition this year, followed the rides at the Curling Club which also served as the start and finish to the bike rides. The bike rides were the main event, Gilchrest maintained. The pig roast “piggybacked” on the cycling – “no pun intended.”
Secondary or not, the jovial atmosphere at the pig roast indicated that it was a fun way to raise money for the Club, whose season begins in a few weeks.
The pig was prepared courtesy of five-year Curling Club member Bryant Massey, who said he roasted the 120 lb. animal outside the clubhouse. His wife Gail was in the indoor kitchen and “did pretty much everything else,” Massey said. The results were delicious, this reporter assures.
WOODBURY — Nonnewaug High School claimed twin titles in the Berkshire League soccer tournament finals.
The school's girls and boys teams were named league champions after finishing the regular season with the best win/loss records. Winning the tournaments earned each team a plaque and added to the program's success in 2025.
Both of Nonnewaug's varsity teams faced off against their counterparts from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in the tournament finals in Woodbury Tuesday, Oct. 28.
The boys game was played first. Housatonic took a quick 2-0 lead with goals from Gustavo Portillo and Jackson McAvoy. Nonnewaug responded in the second half with three consecutive goals: first from Cash Medonis then two from Vincenzo Rose. The Nonnewaug boys won 3-2.

The girls game followed. Nonnewaug and Housatonic traded goals early on and the score was tied 2-2 at halftime. Nonnewaug scored twice more in the second half to win 4-2. Housatonic's goals were scored by Ava Segalla. Rosie Makarewicz scored twice for Nonnewaug and Hailey Goldman and Aubrey Doran scored once.
Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference soccer tournaments begin Oct. 31. Both Housatonic teams qualified for the Class S tournament and both Nonnewaug teams qualified for the Class M tournament.
TORRINGTON — Joan Jardine, 90, of Mill Lane, passed away at home on Oct. 23, 2025. She was the loving wife of David Jardine.
Joan was born Aug. 9, 1935, in Throop, Pennsylvania, daughter of the late Joseph and Vera (Ezepchick) Zigmont.
Joan graduated from Harding High School.
She was a working artist for much of her adult life, starting her career studying plein air impressionist oil painting at the Cape Cod School of Art. Her work evolved to include a more representational style, and eventually a large body of abstract pieces. Her award-winning work has been shown in galleries and juried art shows throughout southern New England.
She is survived by her daughter Leslie and her husband George, brothers Joseph, Victor, and their families, nephews Gregory, Christopher, and their families, daughter-in- law Huong, and the extended Jardine family. She was predeceased by her son Douglas, and brother Michael.
A memorial service will be held at All Saints of America Orthodox Church, 313 Twin Lakes Road, Salisbury, Connecticut on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 10 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the All Saints of America Orthodox Church, PO Box 45, Salisbury, CT 06068.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
Canyon de Chelly (1904) – Seven Navajo riders on horseback
At a time when questions of representation, cultural legacy and historical narratives are at the forefront of public conversation, the Norfolk Library’s upcoming screening of the award-winning documentary “Coming to Light” offers a timely opportunity for reflection.
The event will be held on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 5:30 p.m., and will include a post-screening discussion with the film’s director, Lakeville resident Anne Makepeace.
“Coming to Light” offers a deeply researched, visually rich portrait of photographer Edward S. Curtis, whose early 20th century mission to record Native American life resulted in tens of thousands of images, sound recordings and texts.
But the film goes beyond biography, critically examining Curtis’ romanticized vision of Native American life and engaging with the descendants and communities whose lives and traditions the photo archives continue to affect.
Between 1896 and 1930, Curtis photographed over 80 tribes from Arizona to Alaska in an effort to capture Native American cultures he feared were disappearing.
“Curtis saw cultural genocide going on, and he feared these cultures would disappear,” Makepeace said. “He wanted to show these people are still here and these traditions are still happening.”

In the late 1990s, when Makepeace was developing her film on Curtis — about a century after he had started his photographic work — she wanted to see how present-day Native Americans felt about his photographs. She found that while academics had long derided Curtis’ work as extractive, colonialist, and often staged, most Native Americans she spoke with were overwhelmingly appreciative of his work. In fact, some of Curtis’ photographs ultimately helped certain tribes revive specific ceremonies.
“Coming to Light” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2000, and was later aired on PBS’ “American Masters” in 2001. As the documentary nears its 25th anniversary, Makepeace reflected on the significance of the film and its lasting impact.
“The film shows the beauty and resilience of these cultures and the diversity of each of the varied tribes that were documented,” she said.
At a time when cultural preservation, national identity and documentary ethics are more important than ever, Makepeace said she believes the film’s message remains especially relevant in 2025.
For further details on the screening and to reserve a seat, visit: norfolklibrary.org/events/documentary-film-coming-to-light/
To see more of Makepeace’s work, visit: makepeaceproductions.com/index.html
This article has been edited to correct the date range of Edward S. Curtis’s photographic work.