• 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

Shop Local: Holiday Pop-Up Opens in Arcanum

By Andra Moss “It is,” says Bella Erder, “a bit like going full circle.”  Erder is referring to her return to a retail space in the Royal Arcanum Building, where she has opened a holiday pop-up version of her shop, Aija (pronounced Asia). “My first retail presence in Norfolk was a store and art gallery […]

Norfolk Salutes Its Volunteers

Ron Zanobi Back in July 1969, I joined the U.S. Navy as a Petty Officer 3rd Class and served at several bases in the United States, the Island of San Salvador and in Viet Nam.  Oddly enough, on the day I left for boot camp; my father’s parting words were, “Don’t volunteer. If they want […]

The Spell is Broken in 2023

State and Church Absolve 12 People Accused of Witchcraft in Colonial Era By Patricia Platt It has been over 370 years since Connecticut conducted the first witch trials in New England, but their shadow still reaches into 2023. Between 1647 and 1663, at least 34 people were accused of witchcraft in the Connecticut and New […]

Celebrating All- Encouraging Creativity

Botelle School’s Community Quilt Brings School and Town Together By Ruth Melville Botelle School has chosen “Celebrating All and Creating Community” as its theme for this academic year. Each month the school plans to organize a special project, involving both the school and the town, to honor this theme. Principal Lauren Valentino says the goal […]

Helping the Enviorment

Two Town Buildings Install Heat Pumps to Reduce Oil Consumption By Bina Thomson Norfolk has worked hard to establish itself as a champion of the environment, and two key town non-profits are continuing that work. The Norfolk Library and the Church of Christ on the green have installed heat pumps as a way to reduce […]

NorfolkNET’s Focus Expanding

Group is looking for more ways to support the community By Bina Thomson Of the many monthly meetings held at the Norfolk Hub, perhaps some of the most needed are the meetings for NorfolkNET (Networking Everyone Together). NorfolkNET is a grassroots organization with the goal of alleviating poverty and strengthening community relationships. NET was born […]

Food Pantry Reports Surge In Visits as Grocery Prices Remain High

Goal remains dignified client experience By Elizabeth Bailey Food price inflation has slowed from this time last year, down from an annual rate of 8.5 percent to 4.3 percent, but families continue to experience the shock waves. “We have undoubtedly seen a drastic increase in the number of people utilizing the food pantry, including many […]

View From the Green

A Look To the North By David Beers Many Norfolkians reading this are probably Connecticut-centric in their geographic thinking. This means we tend to favor and gravitate to in-state locations for work and play. Traveling south, east and west along the well-worn routes to Winsted, Torrington, Salisbury, Goshen and North Canaan is much more common […]

The Gas Spill One Year Later

Pollution, lawsuits and complaints remain By Joe Kelly  It’s been a full year since a tanker truck crashed on Route 44, spilling thousands of gallons of gasoline into the middle of Norfolk. While the initial cleanup is largely complete, residents in the direct path of the spill are still wrestling with the consequences. Several have […]

Puppets Take Norfolk Village Green

By Andra Moss The magic was swirling as the Greenwoods Puppet Festival returned to Norfolk Library on Oct. 13-14 with local and international puppet artists, live music and the Big Puppet Parade, led by Mark Alexander’s 10-foot-tall “Flock of Doves.” Sponsored by the Norfolk Library and the Battell Arts Foundation, festival events featured hand-crafted marionettes […]

From the Bookshelf

Joan Crawford’s Lifetime of Reinvention Explored in New Book by Robert Dance By Leila Javitch Longtime Norfolk resident Robert Dance has written a new book which, even before its publication release, has sold out its first printing. “Ferocious Ambition: Joan Crawford’s March to Stardom” provides not only a biography of the professional life of the […]

Proposed Firehouse Advances to Planning and Zoning Commission

Public hearing set for Nov. 14 By Joe Kelly Plans for a new Norfolk firehouse have received financial backing from the State of Connecticut and approval from the town’s Inland Wetlands Agency—two milestones for a project that could reshape Norfolk’s emergency response capabilities for years to come. Attention now shifts to Norfolk’s Planning and Zoning […]