Library’s Annual Sale Builds a Community Around Books
By Ruth MelvillePhoto by Savage Frieze On Aug. 24 and 25, the Norfolk Library held its 43rd annual book sale. Thanks to the donation of about 13,000 books, and countless hours of labor by the Library Associates and their friends, approximately $14,000 dollars were raised to support the activities of the library. Equally important, a […]
Tour the Forest, and Learn a Little about Norfolk
By Doug McDevitt Norfolk may not have notable historical events, such as Stratford, say, which saw the first colony in Connecticut, or Danbury, which was the target of a British invasion and where General Israel Putnam’s army endured a harsh winter that became known as Connecticut’s Valley Forge. No, our town in the past was […]
Seacocks Opened on Thomson Canoe Works
Schuyler Thomson aims to retire from his craft By Doug McDevitt The year was 1969. The Apollo 11 crew landed on the moon, 400,000 people descended on the sleepy hamlet of Bethel, New York for Woodstock, and Schuyler Thomson embarked on a journey that would eventually lead him to Norfolk. 1969 was also the year […]
Pittsfield Rye, Baking Quality Bread for 90 Years
Faces at the Farmers Market By Ruth MelvillePhoto by Bruce Frisch Every Saturday morning during the outdoor market season, the Pittsfield Rye and Specialty Breads Company pulls its van up in front of Town Hall and starts to unload a cornucopia of freshly baked bread. There is a bread for every bread lover’s taste: seeded, […]
A Provençal Summer Evening With Friends
Notes From a French Kitchen By Marie-Christine Perry The farmers market beckons, full of this summer’s bounty, and conjures Provence, France, where every small village market on the hills offers an abundance of the local favorites – shiny purple eggplants, large juicy tomatoes, pale green and yellow zucchini, and sweet peppers in a variety of shapes […]
Art, Yearning and Bad Behavior in 1930s Mexico
Historical fiction from a Norfolk novelist By Wiley Wood Courtney Maum has a new book coming out: a novel, “Costalegre,” set in Mexico during the mid-1930s, told in the voice of a 15-year-old girl. In the foreground are the girl’s wealthy, spoiled American mother and the boatload of ego-driven artists she has brought with her—rescued—from […]
The Litchfield County Choral Union Celebrates 120 Years
Honoring the Stoeckel legacy By Colleen Gundlach The year was 1899 when Carl and Ellen Battell Stoeckel decided to honor her father, Robbins Battell, by starting a choral festival in Norfolk. The Stoeckels had been opening their home, Whitehouse, for musical gatherings for several years, so it was a natural offshoot for them to expand […]
Chamber Music Festival Shifts Into a Higher Register
By James Nelson With the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival now underway, there’s been a surge of activity on the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Estate. The students are here and making great use of Infinity Bistro, the Country Store, the Pub and the Hub. Audiences are coming for our series of concerts, lectures and master classes, and […]
Mary Lou Cobb Retires as Head of The Cobb School Montessori in Simsbury
By Kay Desai Photo courtesy of the Cobb School Montessori On June 1, over 400 students, alumni, parents, grandparents and friends came together in Simsbury, Conn., to celebrate Mary Lou Cobb on her retirement as head of The Cobb School Montessori, which she founded 45 years ago. A number of guests came from California and […]
Jon Riedeman: The Art of Music
Photo by Bruce Frisch Last month the Infinity Gallery was host to a show by one of its own, Jon Riedeman. Riedeman is Infinity Hall’s box office manager, but he is also an award-winning sculptor who has exhibited frequently throughout the area. For the past 10 years he has been able to combine his love […]
