• Work to Resume on Route 44 and New Firehouse

    Warmer temps ensure concrete quality By Avice Meehan Two significant Norfolk projects that were put on hold because of below-zero temperatures this winter are expected to resume by mid-March: Reconstruction of two retaining walls along Route 44 and the construction of a new firehouse for the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department. Engineers for the state Department […]

  • Richard Byrne Retires as Active Firefighter

    After 58 years, veteran status By Joseph Kelly He was a young Navy veteran, about to be married and ready to start a family in his hometown when, in February 1968, his older brother convinced him to join the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD). For Richard Byrne it was the start of an association that […]

  • Rock ‘n Roll House Party Circus Will Benefit Local Food Banks

    Three Grammy nominees to perform at Infinity Hall By Colleen Gundlach On April 11, Infinity Hall will be the setting for Rock ‘n Roll House Party Circus, a concert that will benefit Stock the Shelves, an outreach of United Way of Northwestern Connecticut. The Rock ‘n Roll House Party Circus will feature three Grammy nominees […]

  • Rom-Com Curling Film Released With Olympics

    To get the ice just right, filmmakers tapped Norfolk expertise By Joseph Kelly The underdogs who battle the odds—the washed-up boxer, the outclassed football team, the aging baseball slugger with one last homerun in him—are all Hollywood standbys. Ronald Reagan may be remembered as much for “win one for the Gipper” as he is for […]

  • How Botelle (Carefully) Uses AI for Learning

    By Avice Meehan For more than three decades, children visited the fictional town of Frog Creek, Penn., home to two children named Jack and Annie. With the help of a magic tree house, the pair are whisked away to distant places where they have adventures, solve problems and, perhaps, learn a thing or two. Like […]

  • Choral Singing Meets Bluegrass

    LCCU welcomes all ages to sing new styles By Andra Moss The Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU) is entering its 127th concert year with decidedly youthful energy. Under the direction of Music Director Dr. Gabriel Löfvall, the LCCU will convene a youth choral festival in Norfolk in late spring; offer a series of choral seminars […]

  • Winter Weekend In Norfolk

    It was a cold and blustery weekend, but that didn’t stop the hardy from coming out on Feb. 21 and 22 for Winter WIN, the weekend for enjoying all things Norfolk in the winter season. The photos below show a story of a town that came together to strut its stuff for the world to […]

  • From Freeze to Flow: Extreme Temps and the Maple Syrup Season

    Reaching that ideal mix of natural conditions By Jude Mead The extreme cold and heavy snowfall this season has raised some concern among maple syrup producers. Reports of loud, cracking noises in wooded areas have set the stage for a phenomenon called “frost cracking.” During these periods of intense cold, the water and sap inside […]

  • Sit Right Back and You’ll Hear a Tale

    With Jude Mead at the guitar and with great enthusiasm, members of the Isabella Eldridge Club defied a threatened winter storm and entered Battell Chapel on Feb. 10 for a memorable performance of an episode of “Gilligan’s Island,” a daft 1960s television comedy. Despite the best efforts of the Professor (played by Marinell Crippen, left) […]

  • Cook For Goodness Sake

    America The Melting Pot By Linda Garrettson In celebration of the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, it seems appropriate to dedicate my food column this year to America, who we are, and what we eat. Get ready for some history lessons, and perhaps surprises that might enlighten you to what we call American […]

  • Be Careful, Very Careful

    An expert team from the Glass Source Stained Glass Studio spent nearly six hours in cold mid-January weather care-fully removing a cathedral stained glass window from Battell Chapel at the United Church of Christ before transporting it to their studio in Seymour for restoration. In this photo, Michael Skrtic balances one section of the window […]

  • The Week that Was

    First, frigid temperatures forced the relocation of Norfolk’s valiant Post Office staff to Winsted because of scheduled asbestos remediation, leaving box holders temporarily puzzled. Then, the big snow arrived on Jan. 25 and 26. Estimates vary widely: Russell Russ reported the official tally at the Great Mountain Forest weather station as 15.2 inches, but others […]

Articles

Benefit Concert for Humanitarian Aid

Teryn Kuzma, an accomplished vocalist and instrumentalist, held a benefit concert for humanitarian aid at Norfolk’s Botelle Chapel. She performed contemporary works, and uncommon Eastern European opera and art song. Kuzma accompanied herself on the 55-stringed Ukrainian bandura, a large harp-zither whose origins can be traced back to the 1600s in Ukraine.

Norfolk Rails to Trails Wins $400k Grant 

North Brook Trail to be Fully Accessible    By Andra Moss The third time was the charm for the Norfolk Rails to Trail (R2T) committee’s grant application to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Connecticut Recreational Trails Program. When the official announcement was made on May 15, Norfolk was one of only 50 communities […]

Norfolk in a Pickle

Pickleball in Norfolk: Bridge With a Racket By Janet Gokay Mead If you have access to any sort of media, you’ve probably read several articles about how pickleball is taking the country by storm. Well, for once, Norfolk was at the forefront of a cultural tsunami: a small group of players in town have been […]

Norfolk Housing Trends

A Hushed Market for Real Estate Transactions in Norfolk By Avice Meehan The British pop band Herman’s Hermits made it big in the U.S. in 1967 with a hit song called “A Kind of Hush” – and hushed is a good description of Norfolk’s real estate market this spring.  “There’s not much on the market,” […]

Icebox Cafe Plans Opening For Memorial Day Weekend

New Norfolk cafe will focus on food and community Text By Michael CobbPhoto Courtesy of The Crippen Family After more than 10 years owning and running Rex Cafe in Hell’s Kitchen and five years managing the iconic Mermaid Inn in Chelsea and Red Rooster in Harlem, New York City restaurateur Peter Crippen and his wife, […]

Questions Linger On Gas Spill Crash 

Could it have been prevented? Can it happen again? By Joe Kelly   The tanker truck that crashed last November on Route 44 in Norfolk didn’t just disgorge thousands of gallons of gasoline into the center of town, it also left behind lingering questions about the circumstances surrounding the accident and worries that it could happen […]

Biking to Norfolk with The Western New England Greenway

By Stephen Melville Norfolk residents driving to and from nearby destinations like Sand Road Animal Hospital, LaBonne’s Market or the Millerton Moviehouse may have noticed a new series of green-and-white signs along their route. These signs mark the Western New England Greenway (WNEG), also known as U.S Bicycle Route 7. This multi-part, multistate bike route […]

Norfolk Early Learning Center Celebrates 10-Year Milestone 

Supporting Norfolk’s Children Text By Jude MeadPhoto By Bailee Robinson When your work brings joy and you share a commitment to children, a decade can pass quickly, as Kailyn Nadeau and Paige Corey have discovered since opening the Norfolk Early Learning Center (NELC) in 2013. Nadeau grew up in Norfolk. She babysat, cared for children […]

Invasives: What To Do When Good Plants Go Bad

By Jill Chase  Here’s a little secret: not all plants are good guys. Some are very bad actors indeed. It’s not their fault; they were good plants minding their own business, growing in their own native habitat, until someone introduced them to our homeland. Here, with a climate that suited them and no native insects […]

Return of the Cranes 

It’s Only Natural Text By Shelley HarmsPhoto By Savage Frieze Some special summer Norfolk residents have returned from their winter sojourns in the south. Sandhill cranes have always migrated through Connecticut, stopping here briefly in spring and fall, but in Norfolk, two pairs have decided to stay for the summers. Last year, both pairs succeeded […]

Litchfield County Choral Union Call for Singers

Text By Jude MeadPhoto Courtesy of Harold Shapiro Local singers take note—the Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU) is seeking voices to join them for the Aug. 19 season finale concert of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, featuring Mendelssohn’s jubilant symphony-cantata “Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise).”  Dr. Jeffrey Douma, professor of choral conducting at Yale’s Institute of […]

The Healing Nest Is Planning a Full Season of New Programs 

Around Station Place Text By Ruth MelvillePhoto Courtesy of The Healing Nest In the two years since Dianna Hofer took a leap and opened the Healing Nest in Station Place, she’s faced several challenges in running her fledgling business. The pandemic was a major one, of course, but also life intervened. She decided to accept […]