• 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

Local Group Hopes to Welcome an Afghan Refugee Family to Torrington

by Kelly Kandra Hughes The end of August 2021 saw the United States’ final withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. During the withdrawal, over 75,000 Afghan refugees were evacuated through Operation Allies Welcome. Although many have now been resettled throughout the United States, there are still approximately 23,000 refugees living on six US military bases. Thanks […]

A Look Back at Norfolk’s 2021 Weather

by Russell Russ Norfolk’s weather for 2021 was interesting. Isn’t the weather always interesting? What rightly first comes to mind when remembering 2021’s weather is how wet it was in summer and fall. What also might come to mind is the relative lack of snowfall. Digging deeper, Norfolk residents might recall how lousy the weather […]

Now in His 90s, John Thew Keeps Making Art

A Long and Fulfilling Life by Kelly Kandra Hughes John Garret Thew may have retired from making his renowned copper weathervanes in 2017, but that doesn’t mean interest in them has waned. When eight of his weathervanes were exhibited at the Norfolk Library during January, the circulation desk received so many sales inquiries the first […]

Restoration Takes Yale Art Barn from Stable to Star

Renovation seamlessly integrates the new with the historic Text by Andra MossPhotos by Rob Benson Photography The Art Barn on the Battell Stoeckel Estate in Norfolk has emerged from a year-long renovation with its original features intact, stunning architectural elements uncovered, and new design features added to create a modern, flexible space where art and […]

Norfolk Foundation Purchases Royal Arcanum Building

No major changes planned for this town landmark Text By Ruth MelvillePhoto Courtesy of the Norfolk Historical Society On Nov. 1, the Norfolk Foundation (NF) announced its purchase of the Royal Arcanum building on Station Place. The William and Mary Greve Foundation of New York, under its president, Tony Kiser, gave the foundation the money […]

History of the Royal Arcanum Building

by Jude Mead In 1902 the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department and the council of the Royal Arcanum decided to work together to build a structure that could house both institutions. The NVFD needed somewhere fireproof in the center of town to keep their equipment. The members of the Royal Arcanum needed a place for their […]

The Capt. George Palmer House, c. 1755

This Old Norfolk House by Michael Cummings Kelly Approaching Norfolk from the west, just past the Blackberry River Inn (1763), the discerning motorist perceives on a gentle rise to the left an apparition sheathed in white. Spectral in appearance, the 1755 Capt. George Palmer House preens demurely, laying claim in its regal simplicity to being […]

Recap of November 2021 Elections

By Andra MossPhoto by Kelly Kandra Hughes The results of Norfolk’s 2021 municipal elections were officially released by Town Clerk Linda Perkins on Thursday, Nov. 4. Although local turnout for the election was not high, with 469 votes cast out of an electorate of 1,162, Norfolk’s voting rate of 44 percent still topped many Connecticut […]

Norfolk NET Wants to Give You $100 to Enrich the Town

New grant program will support projects that grow community by Kelly Kandra Hughes In Jan. 2020, Reverend Erick Olsen of the Church of Christ Congregational pitched an idea at a Norfolk NET (Networking Everyone Together) meeting:  a community contest with the goals of building new relationships, invigorating the town and, hopefully, encouraging more people to […]

Tenuta Market: Telling the Stories of Italian Foods

By Patricia Platt Two years ago, Ian Edwards studied Italian cooking at the renowned Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School in rural Sicily. His love of Italian food led Edwards and his friend Travis Powell on meandering trips across Italy to explore the farms and estates where fine Italian ingredients are produced. Today, Edwards and Powell […]

Norfolk Library Awarded $15,000 in ARPA Funds

Buying hotspots, laptops, and iPads for patron use By Kelly Kandra Hughes Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021, the Norfolk Library is now the recipient of over $15,000 in grant money. ARPA is the $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package designed to facilitate the United States’ recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Libraries […]

Infinity Hall Is Building Back With a New Menu and Improved Sound

By Michael Cobb After more than a year of being shut down, Infinity Hall reopened its doors to the public last summer. But managing lost revenue and surviving with the help of governmental assistance were only part of the equation. Infinity Hall had plenty of behind-the-scenes work to do in preparation for reopening, including maintenance […]