November and December Weather and a Yearly Summary for 2018

Lots of Warmth and Precipitation By Russell Russ The year of 2018 was a wet one, and the months of November and December were also above normal for precipitation with both months adding to our yearly surplus. The previous three years were all below normal for precipitation, but 2018 ended that—and then some. The conclusion […]

From the Fire Department to the Farmers Market, Norfolk Always Needs Volunteers

By Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto by Jon Barbagallo New Year’s may have come and gone, but many of us are still grappling with our New Year’s resolutions. For anyone in Norfolk who included give back to the community as a resolution in 2019, we have good news for you—there are many ways you can help right […]

A Very Unusual Election Day Indeed

Huge turnout for mid-terms   By Colleen Gundlach It was a mid-term election like none other in the collective memories of Norfolk residents. Most mid-term voters are apathetic, resulting in, as a general rule, a low turnout. That was not the case with this November’s race. A whopping 70 percent of the town’s voters came […]

Collaborative Workshop on Downtown Design Holds Final Meeting

Suggestions will be added to new town plan By Wiley Wood Photo by Bruce Frisch As winter closes in, most Norfolkians will limit their interactions with the town center to the few yards of sidewalk between their parked car and the post office or library. In the summertime, a person might take a more expansive […]

Beckley Furnace Stands as a Reminder of Industrial Days in Northwest Corner

Area was rich in iron ore deposits   By Colleen Gundlach Have you ever hiked Canaan Mountain in the East Canaan area and discovered mounds of beautiful, glassy black rocks and wondered where they originated and why there are so many of them? They are slag—a very unappealing name for a truly lovely rock—and their […]

Norfolk’s Fire and Ambulance Volunteers Logged More than 31,000 Hours This Year

Members dedicated to keeping the town safe   By Jonathan Barbagallo As we approach the end of 2018, the emergency services in town have had another busy year, at least by Norfolk standards. House and building fires, jackknifed tractor trailers, mutual aid responses to Brookfield, overdose resuscitations, cardiac arrests, and injured hikers are just some […]

Greenwoods Counseling Referrals, Providing Mental Health Services for Over 25 Years

Health and Welfare in the Town Budget   By Ruth Melville Greenwoods Counseling Referrals, Inc., has been in operation since 1992, working to provide high quality and affordable mental health care to the people of Litchfield County. The organization does exactly what its name suggests. Once a potential client has contacted them for help, Greenwoods […]

Washington’s Trade War and Norfolk’s Economy

  By David Beers On the news there is much talk about trade wars and tariffs, and if you are like me, it all seems far away. But it is not far away, and tariffs are directly affecting livelihoods in Norfolk right now. A bit of background is in order here. A tariff is a […]

Haystack Book Talks

Ten Authors, Two Days, Five Conversations   By Christopher Sinclair As people streamed into Battell Chapel beneath the autumnal glow of the Armstrong stained glass windows, they might easily have imagined themselves in a New Haven lecture hall rather than on the village green in Norfolk. The chapel, which hosted four of the five sessions […]

Whiting Mills: An Old Sock Factory Stuffed With Surprises

  By Sally Quale Inside a former mill building tucked behind the community college in Winsted there is a warren of artists’ spaces, craftsmen’s workshops and miscellaneous businesses. This is Whiting Mills. On any given day, a ceramicist might be glazing her pots for the kiln, a painter scrubbing his canvases, a weaver laying out […]