• 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 […]

  • Hanging Up the Whistle

    Coach Sebach is retiring from Regional 7 By Rex Crippen Doug Sebach, Boys’ Varsity Head Basketball Coach at Northwestern Regional 7 High School (NW7), announced his retirement earlier this season. Sebach, who had served Northwestern as a coach for 22 years, ended his tenure with 332 career wins, six regular season Berkshire League championships and […]

  • Botelle Student Receives Student Leadership Award

    By Kevin D. Case The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents’ Student Leadership Award is an annual honor presented by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS). It recognizes outstanding middle school students who demonstrate exemplary leadership, academic prowess, and a strong commitment to community service. Each local school district’s Superintendent selects a student […]

  • A Centennial Celebration of Long-Term Forest Research

    Aton Forest has a long history in Norfolk By Carol Goodstein Along with a growing population of moose, black bear and red fox, Norfolk’s roughly 1,500 residents have plenty of room to roam. Great Mountain Forest, The Norfolk Land Trust, state-owned lands and public parks welcome hikers, bikers, skiers, strollers and even, to a limited […]

  • Norfolk Comes Together to Remember Those Who Gave All

  • NORFOLK REMEMBERS

    Peter Brown Peter Brown, 70 years old, of East Canaan passed away Sunday, May 17, 2026, in his home. He was the loving husband of Sandra Brown. Peter was born on December 27, 1955, at Sharon Hospital to Abraham “Bucky” Brown and Rosalie Freund Brown. He graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School and Northwestern […]

  • NOTES FROM A FRENCH KITCHEN

    Rhubarb Heralds the Spring By Marie-Christine Perry The first edible in my garden is usually rhubarb, followed quickly by asparagus, both valued in my kitchen—fresh and preserved! Beyond the celebrated strawberry rhubarb pie, I like rhubarb in many guises: in compote, jam, chutney and cake, but also in unexpected savory dishes, where its acidity is […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    Designed by architect Alfredo Taylor and still standing at the end of Golf Drive, this pavilion was built on the nine-hole Norfolk Downs as a gathering place for golfers. The large central room with cobblestone walls and a massive stone fireplace once had glazed windows on the north side, while the terrace on the south […]

  • Inside the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art

    A season of student and community activity By Patricia Platt For over 80 years, the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Trust has endowed Yale University’s summer music and art programs in Norfolk. The renowned Yale Norfolk School of Art opens the 2026 summer season on May 23, before the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival begins, and shares its […]

  • Trio Revives Local Farmers Market

    Northwest Farm to Fork launches at Norbrook By Andra Moss When Devin Grosso and her husband moved to Norfolk in 2024, she was disappointed to learn that the town’s farmers market had permanently closed just the year before. However, a chance meeting at the Botelle School garden with Lisa Auclair, who had managed the Norfolk […]

  • Tracing the Dudley Legacy

    Family history and the truth behind Dudleytown By Jude Mead The Dudley name, with roots stretching back to 14th-century England, carries with it a long and often dramatic history. For Susan Dudley of Winchester, that legacy has been a lifelong source of curiosity—particularly her family’s connection to Dudleytown, the long-abandoned settlement hidden within Cornwall’s Dark […]

Articles

Cold Nights and Warmer Days Herald a New Maple Syrup Season

Text by Jude MeadPhoto by Danesha Mead Maple syrup season is here again. This year will be a little different, with Covid-19 guidelines that still need to be followed. In years past, visitors were welcomed to the sugar houses. This year there will be more safety measures in place and visitors discouraged from coming. But […]

Experiencing the Many Stories of Village Life in Rwanda

Serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer Text and Photos by Kerong Kelly I received my Peace Corps assignment in the spring of 2018. The application, interviews and security clearances had dragged on for months, but now here it was: I would be a Peace Corps volunteer in Rwanda focusing on child and maternal health. I […]

Norfolk Farmers Market to Return this Summer

Text by Doug McDevittPhoto by Bruce Frisch Imagine a summer morning, leaves on the trees gently rustling as a warm, soft breeze brushes your face and the heat of the sun spreads across your shoulders. The sounds of lively banter and laughter reach your ears, and music lifts your spirit as you find yourself humming […]

Learning in the Time of Covid

Botelle staff and students have successfully readjusted to in-person classes Text by Virginia Coleman-PriscoPhoto by Chris Snyder Covid-19 isn’t the first pandemic to have an impact on public education in the United States. In the 20th century, Spanish flu, tuberculosis and polio outbreaks caused public schools to shift instructional methods to either “open air” or […]

Phishing and Vishing and SMishing, Oh My!

NIB warns against online scams by Kelly Kandra Hughes Catie Dougan chuckles as she tells the story of when someone tried to scam her by email phishing. “A couple of years ago, I received an email from someone by the name of Tom McGowan. He asked me to send money via wire out of state […]

Norfolk Citizens Form Group to Study Climate Change

Organization encourages local participation by Michael Cobb Growing awareness of the impact of climate change led to the formation in autumn 2020 of the Norfolk Climate Coalition (NCC), a local grassroots organization studying how a changing climate affects our town and surrounding region. Concerned residents are sharing ideas and activities such as online presentations, renewable energy […]

GMF Sees Opportunities in Global Conservation Organization

Carbon sequestration research a priority by Mattie Vandiver Great Mountain Forest (GMF) recently became a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). IUCN is the world’s largest, and oldest, environmental organization, a global authority on the natural and environmental world. It has more than 1,400 member organizations from over 170 countries, […]

Land Trust Boot Camp Prepares Board Members to Serve

Training and teamwork in the northwest hills by David Beers Prior to the 1990’s, the word webinar was not in common use and neither were webinars themselves.  Since the onset of the Covid pandemic, though, it is quite common to spend several hours a day in Zoom meetings. While the option of webinars existed before […]

City Meadow Park Development Cleared to Move Ahead

Linking City Meadow with a renovated Robertson Plaza by David Beers The next phase of construction to complete the City Meadow Park in downtown Norfolk was approved by the Planning and Zoning Committee (P&Z) at its Jan. 12 meeting. With approval already in hand from the Inland Wetlands Agency earlier in the month, the town’s […]

2020 Was Not Normal, and Neither Was the Weather

By Russell Russ Normal was not the norm for anything in 2020, and it definitely was not the norm for the weather.  There were arguably four main weather themes that highlighted the year. The first was the lack of snowfall during the January through March winter months. After just three months into the year, Norfolk […]

How to Remove the Congregational Church’s Steeple — Very Carefully

Repairs to the clock tower and belfry can begin Text by Ruth Melville After years of planning, consultation and crossed fingers, the steeple on the top of Norfolk’s Church of Christ Congregational was successfully removed last December, enabling the much-needed repair of the tower and steeple. In 2015, during routine work on the clock tower, […]

Text Amendment Proposed to Planning & Zoning Regulations

by Susan MacEachron Tracy Hayhurst, farm manager for Husky Meadows Farm, appeared before the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) on Jan. 12 to request clarification of the special permit terms regarding who is allowed to participate in the country retreat, farm-to-table program Husky Meadows Farm is planning. All agreed that the current permit allows up […]