• Norfolk’s Newest Neighborhood Puts Down Roots

    Haystack Woods lauded as a “model for the state” By Joe Kelly Norfolk’s newest neighborhood, the Haystack Woods affordable housing development, has officially come to life. A year ago, the 39-acre location—a former gravel pit off Old Colony Road—was little more than a muddy building site. Now construction of the 10, two- and three-bedroom homes […]

  • Winsted Church Auctions Tiffany Window for $1.25 Million

    Sale highlights women’s role in Tiffany designs By Joe Kelly When medieval architects found ways to build taller cathedrals, the techniques they developed also made possible the enormous stained-glass windows that we so enjoy today, such as at Chartres and Sainte-Chapelle in France and Canterbury Cathedral in England. American-made stained glass is more recent, dating […]

  • A Revolutionary Year

    1776 Norfolk explored in summer exhibition By Andra Moss Communities across the country are looking back with wonder at 1776, the year that 13 British colonies initiated a revolution that, against astonishing odds, led to the birth of an independent republic. In Norfolk, two curators have combed the Norfolk Historical Society’s (NHS) collection for colonial-era […]

  • SUMMER MUSIC: Familiar Quartets, New Composers at Yale Chamber Festival

    By Patricia Platt The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, running from July 3 until Aug. 22, will present an exciting season of classical, innovative and international music. This summer, the Brentano Quartet, Shanghai Quartet, Ying Quartet and the Horszowski Trio are among those who will perform during weekend concerts and serve as artist-in-residence mentors to the […]

  • Botelle Students Move Up

    By Avice Meehan Four sixth graders bid farewell to Botelle Elementary School at a laughter-filled, but occasionally serious, ceremony on June 16 that was attended by family, friends and town officials. First Selectmen Henry Tirrell, a Botelle graduate whose mother and aunt taught at the school for many years, reminded the students that they would […]

  • Norfolk Rail-Trail Project Pedals Forward

    By Jude Mead After more than a decade of planning, permiting and redesign work, Norfolk’s long-await-ed Rails-to-Trails initiative has reached a major milestone, bringing the community closer to the creation of a new multi-use recreational trail along a historic railroad corridor. The project is the North Brook Trail, a planned three-quarter-mile ADA-accessi-ble pathway that will […]

  • LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Budgets, Beetles, Nips and More

    By Avice Meehan State Rep. Maria Horn came prepared to share details about the Connecticut budget (she is co-chair of the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee) and the progress that has been made toward paying down the state’s unfunded pension liability, increasing the rainy day fund (now up to $18 billion) and allocating more state funds […]

  • Noteworthy Natives: Coral Honeysuckle

    By Jill Chase Do you go to other people’s gardens and envy all the hummingbirds they have? I did. But then I realized I had completely overlooked one of their favorite plants: The native coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens. It was practically designed for humming-birds. Their long beaks and extra-long tongues are a perfect fit for […]

  • CELESTIAL SPHERE: Honoring an Astronomer and Patriot

    By Matthew Johnson As America celebrates its semi-quincentennial and the 250th year since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this writer also celebrates the life of David Rittenhouse, an astronomer and political thinker who helped build the nation’s scientific infrastructure and informed its founding documents. The customary astronomical notes will follow at the end […]

  • Norfolk Then

    As we prepare for the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence on July 4, let’s look back 50 years to June 12, 1976, and the American Revolution Bicentennial parade in Norfolk. The parade was the largest parade ever held in Norfolk with almost everyone participating, many dressed in colonial garb. The Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department […]

  • GoodWorks Shares Plans for Infinity Hall

    Restaurant, more concerts coming to historic venue By Avice Meehan When Dave Rosenfeld walked onto the starlit stage at Infinity Hall, many of the more than 200 people gathered to hear what he had to say, were unsure about what to expect. The co-founder of GoodWorks Entertainment, which acquired the green Victorian gem of a […]

  • A New Tradition Begins for Litchfield County Choral Union

    Generations come together to refresh a century-long legacy By Jude Mead Music from singers young and old filled Battell Chapel on May 22 as the Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU) joined the Torrington High School choir for a collaborative concert aimed at connecting generations of choral musicians. Organizers hope the successful event will become an […]

Articles

Why Such a big Firehouse?

Plans call for a near tripling of space By Joe Kelly As plans for a new Norfolk firehouse advance through the design and budgeting phases—and ultimately a town vote—one question comes up repeatedly: Why is the proposed firehouse, at 10,700 square feet, so much larger than the current one, which is just 3,800 square feet? […]

From the Bookshelf

A Very Local Sacrifice: Litchfield County and the Civil War By Joe Kelly In the middle of Norfolk’s village green stands the Soldiers’ Monument, a tall, tapered tribute in stone to 35 soldiers from Norfolk who lost their lives in the Civil War. It’s a monument to the sacrifices made to end slavery and preserve […]

Jumping Worms, Part 2: What to do?

By Susannah Wood Last month Norfolk Now published a short piece (“Jumping Worms: Fast-Moving Agents of Destruction”) on the breaking story that Asian jumping worms had arrived on the grounds of the Norfolk Library, adjacent to the new native plant bed. Readers may be wondering what steps can be taken to, at the very least, […]

New Growth, New Services

A Norfolk Tradition Looks to the Future By Colleen Gundlach  The company now known as A.B. Bazzano Fuels has been a part of Norfolk history since 1937, when John C. Bazzano, Sr. opened John C. Bazzano & Son, a business that sold ice and coal. As coal gave way to oil, the business evolved and […]

Keeping up with Mama T

Freund’s Market Continues to Expand By Colleen Gundlach Anyone who hasn’t paid a recent visit to Freund’s Farm Market in East Canaan is in for a surprise. First came additional parking around the back of the property and the installation of a second driveway, creating a one-way traffic flow. Now, displays of perennials for sale […]

This old Norfolk House

Ten Old Colony Road Still Has Many Stories To Tell By Jane Andrias Editor’s note: In two past issues, “This Old Norfolk House” has focused on the Stevens House at 10 Old Colony Road. It was occupied by a member of the Stevens family from the late 1800s until well into the 20th century. Jane […]

Hope Comes on the Wings of a Moth

Insects under threat worldwide By Avice Meehan Poet and naturalist Susannah Wood admits to having a favorite insect: the Prometheus moth, which she saw for the first time last year on a spice bush in her garden. The moth, with a wingspan the size of a hand, had just emerged and the silky remains of […]

This Old Norfolk House

The 1764 Stevens House, Part 2: A Hatter’s Norfolk Legacy By Joe Kelly When Nathaniel Stevens came to Norfolk in the mid-1700s to set up his business as a hatter and build the house that still stands on Old Colony Road—and which the Stevens family would occupy well into the 20th century—he would become one […]

Off the beaten path

Ashley Falls Offers A Lot to Explore By David Beers The beaten path is Route 7. If you are heading north on Route 7 from North Canaan, just past the Connecticut police barracks, there is a road that veers left at a slight angle. This is Ashley Falls Road (Route 7A), and if you take […]

Know Your Neighbor

Christopher Keyes With this piece, Norfolk Now is launching a new series to get to know our neighbors better and to find common ground by talking about our relationship to our exceptional town. How did you come to Norfolk? I came to know Norfolk through friends in the late ’90s. I recall a walk up Dennis […]

Norfolk Remembers: Elizabeth Ann (Poll) Leifert

Elizabeth A Leifert, 80, passed away March 28, 2024. She was the wife of 60 years of Lawrence A. Leifert. Born in Torrington on Feb. 3, 1944, she was the daughter of Armand and Katherine Killiany Poll and a graduate of the Hart School of Music. She worked for the State of Connecticut Department of […]

Norfolk Remembers: Eleanor Curtiss Ellert

Eleanor Curtiss Ellert passed away on February 23, 2024, at the young age of 96. She was born in Norfolk, in 1927 to Albert H. and Elizabeth (Manville) Curtiss. Although she moved away from Norfolk during her marriage to her first husband of 14 years, she returned with her son, Clifford Bell, after her divorce. […]