• 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

From Norfolk to Broadway and Back to Norfolk

Ted Sperling’s career has come full circle by Michael Cobb Ted Sperling first became acquainted with Norfolk in 1981, while studying the viola at the Yale Summer School of Music. As a student, he had a front-row seat to the evolution of the Tokyo String Quartet, who were in residence that year, breaking in the […]

Greenwoods, 2058 Brings New Art and Artists to Norfolk

Summer residencies underway Text by Ruth MelvillePhoto by Andra Moss The Yale Summer School of Art may have been canceled for this summer, but a new artists residency program promises to keep Norfolk’s small but enthusiastic art scene active. Molly Zuckerman-Hartung and Fox Hysen moved to town about four years ago. Artists and teachers, they […]

Family Friendly Friday Night Fun

Summer Happenings by Kelly Kandra Hughes Now that pandemic restrictions are easing and the number of people vaccinated is increasing, Norfolk residents are excited to get more out and about this summer. When asked what they’re most looking forward to this summer in Norfolk, members of the Norfolk Connecticut Past & Present Facebook group enthusiastically […]

Sometimes a Chair is More than a Chair

Around the Village Green by Kelly Kandra Hughes Norfolk resident Leslie Battis has seen Adirondack chairs outside of churches for over a year now. Often painted in vibrant rainbow colors representing LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, these chairs started popping up more frequently during the pandemic. Battis wanted to see her church, the Norfolk Church of Christ Congregational (UCC), have their own chairs, too. She thought they would […]

May 1 Declared James Mars Day

A Witness to History Text by Barry WebberPhoto by Torey Fisher A perfect spring day, with just enough bite to remind us that the season had just burst forth in Norfolk, set the stage for a large (in Covid-19 times) gathering to honor a Norfolk son. Students from the Salisbury School and their history teacher […]

June Is a Bad Month for Ticks in Connecticut

Understanding ticks is the first step to combatting them By Dr. Eliza Little, Ph.D. Globally, the number of ticks and tick-borne diseases are increasing. In the U.S., tick ranges are expanding every year, human cases of tick-borne diseases are rising and novel ticks and tick-borne pathogens are increasingly being identified. Since I started working at […]

Resilience and Perseverance Result in Valedictorian Honors

Reaching for the Stars Text by Janet GokayPhoto by Kim Crone When asked what the secret to her success in school might be, Norfolk student Ellie Crone, who is this year’s Northwestern Regional 7 (NWR7) valedictorian, replied, “I don’t know what my secret is, but I expect a lot of myself and that allowed me […]

Norfolk’s Mountaintop Views Just Got Clearer

State to provide signage describing scenic Haystack Mountain vistas by Jude Mead Haystack Mountain State Park in Norfolk offers many walking and hiking trails. The most popular is the mildly rigorous trek that follows a trail up the mountain to a stone observation tower with a 360-degree view of mountain ranges, lakes and historical town […]

Leave It to the Beavers

Rails to Trails group outsmarts the dam beavers by Doug McDevitt After a long winter of hard work, families in the communities surrounding Norfolk wanted a respite from their daily routine and Norfolk was the perfect summer getaway, so they boarded the Mountain Express that ran west from Hartford to Canaan. The huge 4-4-0, number […]

Who’s Up for a Game of Peggy

Botelle Beat Text by Andra MossPhoto by Chris Snyder Botelle 5th and 6th graders spent May 14 in the one-room schoolhouse on Ashpohtag Road as part of the annual—and much anticipated—History Day. After several weeks deep-diving into Colonial American history as part of their social studies class with 5th grade teacher Chris Snyder, the students […]

NVFD Planning to Build New, Bigger Firehouse

Current building too small for safety and efficiency By Doug McDevitt From a cat in a tree to a perilous rescue in a burning building, our first responders are always on call and ready to respond. It’s common knowledge that when others are running away from danger, there are those who run to it, and […]

Whatever Happened to Mad River Market?

by Colleen Gundlach A year ago, the Mad River Market project was in full swing, growing its membership by 50 percent in 2019. In 2020, they recruited only 28 new owner/members and have had little or no social media contact. It was a difficult year for most small businesses, and especially for struggling start-up companies. […]