Local Hero Recounts Grueling Guadalcanal Campaign
Text By Patricia PlattPhoto Courtesy of the Marolda Family The Battle of Guadalcanal, a six-month campaign for control of a strategically important Pacific island airfield, marked a critical turning point in World War II for the Allies. If the Japanese controlled the island, they could cut off the sea route between Australia and America. From […]
Preparing in Norfolk to Fight Wildfires Across North America
Interstate fire crew trains locally at Yale Camp By David Beers During the first week of June, 26 students and 10 instructors were cut off from the world at Yale Camp at Great Mountain Forest for four days of wildland fire training. The instructors were seasoned wildland fire fighting veterans and the students were new […]
The Joshua Whitney House, c. 1755
This Old Norfolk House By Joseph Kelly Whitney is a storied family name in America. Think Eli Whitney and his cotton gin or the Connecticut company Pratt & Whitney. In worlds as diverse as art, aviation, film, finance, journalism, linguistics, politics and women’s rights, Whitneys have played prominent roles including, as it turns out, right […]
Matt Riiska Talks Trash
Text By Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto By Heath Hughes Historically, Connecticut has done well with its garbage. As a state, it buries the least amount of trash in landfills. “But now it’s going to get ugly quick,” said First Selectman Matt Riiska to a group attending his talk about trash at the Norfolk Hub on June […]
Local Landowners Rally to Protect Hemlocks
It’s Only Natural Text By Susannah WoodPhoto by Wiley Wood On a cool afternoon at the beginning of June, a dozen or so volunteers gathered around a short woman sporting hiking gear, several fanny packs and a long stave with a hook on the end. Carole Cheah of the Connecticut State Agricultural Experiment Station was […]
Beagles and Terriers and Hounds, Oh My!
Text By Janet Gokay MeadTop Photo By Kelly Kandra Hughes The evening of the second annual Norfolk Library Pet Parade on June 17 began as it did last year: with perfect early summer weather, bright and a bit breezy. Though 18 dogs had been preregistered for the event—which Library Director Ann Havemeyer has declared a […]
Art to Assist Ukraine Exhibit Opens at the Norfolk Hub
Local artists rally to raise money to provide support By Patricia Platt A remarkable, comprehensive show of art from the northwest Connecticut area can be found this month at the Norfolk Hub. The event, Art to Assist Ukraine, is a fundraising benefit put together by community members and 35 artists to support Assist-Ukraine, a nonprofit […]
New Lamps at the Norfolk Library Illuminate a Whimsical Walk Downton
Text By Michael Cummings KellyPhoto By Doug McDevitt To the number of reasons we already have for taking a leisurely walk through Norfolk’s anomalous, historic village can now be added the crooked pathway that courses down a gentle incline on the east side of the Norfolk Library. Where daily for 50 years a dozen New […]
Tips From a Master Gardener
The Norfolk library hosted Michelle Winkler, the Litchfield County Master Gardener coordinator, on May 14 for an open session of “ask the gardener.” Home gardeners came with questions on everything from pruning to deer-resistant plants and the best grass for a low maintenance lawn (hint: fescue to the rescue). Winkler, a firm believer in the […]
Music Shed Hosts Premier of Kirk Sinclair’s American Discovery Symphony
A Musical Love Story Text by Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto by Heath Hughes The world premiere of the American Discovery Symphony, an orchestrated travelogue and love story, took place on May 24 at the Music Shed in Norfolk with a socially distanced crowd of about 150 people. Approximately 37 musicians took the stage under conductor Mark […]
