• 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

Former Norfolk Resident Publishes Her First Children’s Book

Finding Inspiration in the Words of a Child Text By Colleen GundlachPhoto by Laura Roehl A few years ago, there was a grandmother whose little grandson ran to her and said, “Grammy, Grammy, there’s a fish in the tree,” to which she replied, “A fish in a tree? How could that be?” That simple, spontaneous […]

Local Hero Recounts Grueling Guadalcanal Campaign

Text By Patricia PlattPhoto Courtesy of the Marolda Family The Battle of Guadalcanal, a six-month campaign for control of a strategically important Pacific island airfield, marked a critical turning point in World War II for the Allies. If the Japanese controlled the island, they could cut off the sea route between Australia and America. From […]

Preparing in Norfolk to Fight Wildfires Across North America

Interstate fire crew trains locally at Yale Camp By David Beers During the first week of June, 26 students and 10 instructors were cut off from the world at Yale Camp at Great Mountain Forest for four days of wildland fire training. The instructors were seasoned wildland fire fighting veterans and the students were new […]

The Joshua Whitney House, c. 1755

This Old Norfolk House By Joseph Kelly Whitney is a storied family name in America. Think Eli Whitney and his cotton gin or the Connecticut company Pratt & Whitney. In worlds as diverse as art, aviation, film, finance, journalism, linguistics, politics and women’s rights, Whitneys have played prominent roles including, as it turns out, right […]

Matt Riiska Talks Trash

Text By Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto By Heath Hughes Historically, Connecticut has done well with its garbage. As a state, it buries the least amount of trash in landfills. “But now it’s going to get ugly quick,” said First Selectman Matt Riiska to a group attending his talk about trash at the Norfolk Hub on June […]

Local Landowners Rally to Protect Hemlocks

It’s Only Natural Text By Susannah WoodPhoto by Wiley Wood On a cool afternoon at the beginning of June, a dozen or so volunteers gathered around a short woman sporting hiking gear, several fanny packs and a long stave with a hook on the end. Carole Cheah of the Connecticut State Agricultural Experiment Station was […]

Beagles and Terriers and Hounds, Oh My!

Text By Janet Gokay MeadTop Photo By Kelly Kandra Hughes The evening of the second annual Norfolk Library Pet Parade on June 17 began as it did last year: with perfect early summer weather, bright and a bit breezy. Though 18 dogs had been preregistered for the event—which Library Director Ann Havemeyer has declared a […]

Art to Assist Ukraine Exhibit Opens at the Norfolk Hub

Local artists rally to raise money to provide support By Patricia Platt A remarkable, comprehensive show of art from the northwest Connecticut area can be found this month at the Norfolk Hub. The event, Art to Assist Ukraine, is a fundraising benefit put together by community members and 35 artists to support Assist-Ukraine, a nonprofit […]

New Lamps at the Norfolk Library Illuminate a Whimsical Walk Downton

Text By Michael Cummings KellyPhoto By Doug McDevitt To the number of reasons we already have for taking a leisurely walk through Norfolk’s anomalous, historic village can now be added the crooked pathway that courses down a gentle incline on the east side of the Norfolk Library.  Where daily for 50 years a dozen New […]

Norfolk Boards Consider In-Person vs. Virtual Meetings

Are hybrid meetings the new normal? By Andra Moss Following the May 1 expiration of the pandemic-related law giving emergency permission for remote meetings, the Connecticut legislature passed House Bill 5269 giving local boards and commissions the option to continue meeting remotely. The law does not require remote access to meetings; it allows the decision […]

Music Shed Hosts Premier of Kirk Sinclair’s American Discovery Symphony

A Musical Love Story Text by Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto by Heath Hughes The world premiere of the American Discovery Symphony, an orchestrated travelogue and love story, took place on May 24 at the Music Shed in Norfolk with a socially distanced crowd of about 150 people. Approximately 37 musicians took the stage under conductor Mark […]

Life in a One-Room Schoolhouse at the Historical Museum

On Sunday, June 5, at 3 p.m., Susan Webb will present “School Days with the Traveling Schoolmarm: A Chronicle of American Country School Images, Artifacts, Recitations, and Adventures” at the Norfolk Historical Museum. For the past 20 years, the Norfolk Historical Society has been hosting Webb’s presentations for children at Botelle School. She spends the […]