Canaan YMCA to Reopen August 10
New safety procedures in place to safeguard members By Chris Sinclair The Northwestern Connecticut YMCA, comprising branches in Torrington, Winsted and Canaan, has joined other businesses and nonprofits over the last several weeks in beginning their slow and gingerly march toward reopening amid the pandemic. The Canaan branch, to which many Norfolk residents belong, will […]
Early Automobilists Find Their Way to Norfolk
By Andra Moss Just when travel seemed so modern—the Mountain Express train barreled along from Hartford to Canaan at speeds up to 37 miles per hour—something new came clanging, hissing and rattling over the hilltops. It was 1900. American automaking was still in its infancy, but change was coming fast (“fast” being a relative term; […]
100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment
This month sees the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. The amendment was adopted after Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it on August 18, 1920. One month later, on September 18, 1920, two hundred Norfolk women went to Town Hall and […]
“This Shouldn’t Happen to Anyone”
Residents and activist group appeal council’s decision on new turbine By Wiley Wood On March 6, the Connecticut Siting Council approved the construction of a new turbine on Flagg Hill. Considerably taller than the two existing ones, and generating roughly as much energy as the other two combined, it will sit just within the Colebrook […]
Church in the Time of Covid-19
Bringing the Church Family Back Together By Kelly Kandra Hughes Norfolk is home to three different churches within the town limits: The Church of the Transfiguration (Episcopalian church), Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and Norfolk Church of Christ Congregational (UCC). As the town slowly opens up and returns to a new kind of normal, the question […]
Payroll Protection Program Lending Period Is Over
Additional legislation relaxes terms for paying back loans By Ruth Melville The Payroll Protection Program (PPP), part of the $2 trillion stimulus bill passed to help businesses weather the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, has come to an end. The deadline for the second round of funding was June 30, and National Iron […]
A Beautiful Piece of Norfolk History in the Woods
The bridge at Campbell Falls By Andra Moss During pre-Revolutionary War days, an early Connecticut entrepreneur, John Campbell, operated a grist-mill alongside a powerful cascade that he may never have imagined would still bear his name three centuries later: Campbell Falls. Today, those falls are part of the Campbell Falls State Park, although some might […]
Norbrook Brewery, a Place of Refuge from Stresses of the World
Food trucks are now an added feature By Doug McDevitt In March we went into a lockdown. Boarded everything up. Donned our masks and only ventured out for necessities. Many thought well, it’ll only be for a couple weeks, it’ll pass soon enough. Over three months later, we’re still grappling with a new way of […]
International Art Exhibition Has Two Locations in Norfolk
Re-creation of a 1990 sculpture is made out of hundreds of fortune cookies By Ruth Melville The Cuban-born artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres died of complications from AIDS in 1996, when he was only 38 years old. But this spring, inspired in part by the coronavirus pandemic, the Andrea Rosen and David Zwirner galleries, working on behalf […]
Botelle Garden Continues to Provide Hands-on Learning
It’s a small garden after all by Virgina Coleman-Prisco Over a century ago, local gardening was still the norm in rural areas and encouraged during World War I to supplement regional food supplies. Afterward, during the Great Depression, community “depression gardens” sprang up. World War II saw the rise in “victory gardens”. A decade ago, […]
