• 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

COOK FOR GOODNESS SAKE! Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday with Food

By Linda Garrettson Meeting in Philadelphia 250 years ago, American patriots took the bold step of announcing their separation from the British Crown by signing the Declaration of Independence. Connecticut’s Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams and Oliver Wolcott were among those who pledged “to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor” […]

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 […]

HEARD AROUND TOWN

Poll Workers Needed Paul Madore, the new Democratic registrar of voters, took the opportunity of a visit with Town Clerk Debbie Nelson to put out a call for help to staff the upcoming primary. The pay isn’t bad (in the neighborhood of $20 an hour) but the demand is great and the hours long. The […]

Owner Alan Nero ends 41-year run

Winsted’s Gilson Theater Closes By Joseph Kelly The message posted on the marquee of the Gilson Movie House & Café in Winsted by its owner Alan Nero summed everything up in a few words: “Here’s to 41 years. Thank you & good night.” Nero operated the quirky movie house/ café for more than four decades, […]

Liz Bucar Will Discuss Her New Book at Norfolk Library

By Emily Gardiner Herzog A homeowner in Norfolk for nearly ten years, Liz Bucar lives primarily in Brookline, Mass., where she is a professor of religion at Northeastern University. With her partner, Alexis Zubrow, she raised daughter Zoe, who will head to college in the fall. She has also led a student walk along 150 […]

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 […]

Community Volunteers Help Keep Chamber Music Tradition Thriving

Norfolk Chamber Music Festival seeks volunteer ushers and reception assistants for summer season By Jennifer Pfaltz As the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival prepares for its summer season, organizers are once again inviting members of the local community to become part of the festival experience by volunteering as concert ushers or assisting with post-concert receptions. In […]

What Botelle Stands For

A hardy group of volunteers, town officials and educators have been meeting since April for a series of community conversations about Botelle Elementary School and to share thoughts about the future. Guided by Deene Morris, above, the conversations culminated with a two-hour workshop on May 20 that generated the framework of a new and more […]

Learning to Use Technology Efficiently

Grant to fund digital literacy program at Norfolk Library By Andra Moss The Northwest Connecticut Library Collaborative (NCLC) has secured major funding to launch a regional digital literacy initiative aimed at helping residents in seven area towns build essential technology skills. The collaborative—made up of the Norfolk Library, Cornwall Library, Douglas Library in North Canaan, […]

Town Meeting Moves Swiftly

By Avice Meehan Roughly three dozen voters took 11 minutes to work their way through a six-resolution agenda at the May 11 annual town meeting held at Botelle School’s Hall of Flags. Only one item—the request to transfer $58,366 to the Botelle Elementary School budget drew any questions and those were handled with dispatch by […]

SELECTMAN ’ S CORNER

Summertime in Our Unique Town By Henry Tirrell While we had snow flying just last month, all of a sudden we are almost into summer, and it is starting to feel like it. There is more activity in town, with more on the way. In addition to the ongoing major projects and all of the […]

Board of Education Updates

By Avice Meehan Topics covered at the April 26 Board of Education (BOE) meeting ranged from the June 16 moving up ceremony for departing sixth graders to a briefing about how students exercised their computational muscles by solving math problems through observing the maturation of salmon eggs, which were eventually released (as fry) into the […]