• Norfolk Crowds Return to New Farmers Market

    By Andra Moss The crowd was large, loud and loving it at July’s Northwest Farm to Fork farmers market, held under the pavilion at Norbrook Farm Brewery. “We were very pleased with the turnout, with approximately 230 customers coming through and 16 food and farm vendors,” says Lisa Auclair, a co-founder, with Devin Grosso and […]

  • Friday Night on the Green Celebrates America’s 250th

    July 3 was a picture-perfect night for the community-wide event cel-ebrating America’s Independence. Following a quick parade, picnickers enjoyed burgers and ice cream while judges dug into the entries in the pie baking contest. First Selectman Hen-ry Tirrell moved seamlessly from his welcome speech to the dunk tank, and a few folks, like Pete Sanders […]

  • NORFOLK REMEMBERS Laurene Mary Wallace

    Laurene Mary Wallace, 77, of Colebrook passed peacefully at home surrounded by her family on Friday, July 10, 2026. Laurene was born on April 28, 1949, in Bridgeport, the last of four children born to the late Lawrence and Irene (Misencik) Firmender of Stratford. A retired registered nurse, Laurene’s career in nursing and cardiac rehabilitation […]

  • Norfolk Remembers Sally Sterling Ellis Quale

    Sally Sterling Ellis Quale, of Norfolk and St. Petersburg, Fla., formerly of Bronxville, N.Y., died unexpectedly of heart failure on July 7 at the age of 87. Sally will be remembered for her deep commitment to her family and communities and for her warmth, kindness, intelligence, creativity … and, of course, for her beautiful smile […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    This charming house, still standing on the west side of Litchfield Rd., was built in 1905 for Richmond Paine, the newly appointed conductor of the Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU). Carl and Ellen Battell Stoeckel engaged the architect Ehrick Rossiter to design the house for Paine as well as the Music Shed for performances by […]

  • 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 […]

Articles

2021 Brings New Challenge for the Connecticut State Legislature

An interview with State Representative Maria Horn By Jeremy Withnall On Friday, Jan. 15, Norfolk Now interviewed Maria Horn (D), recently re-elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives for District 64, which includes Norfolk as well as much of the far northwestern corner of the state. As she starts her second term in office, we wanted to ask […]

Wiley Wood Steps Down as Editor After 10 Years at Norfolk Now

by Ruth Melville Wiley Wood doesn’t quite remember when he joined the staff at Norfolk Now—turns out it was 2010—but he does remember his first assignment, to write a profile on longtime NN staff photographer Bruce Frisch (who himself retired last year).  “I was furious,” Wood said recently. “I thought it would a stupid be […]

Snowy Norfolk a Popular Destination for Skiers, Ski Jumpers in the 1930s

By Andra Moss In February 1934, millions of moviegoers across the country were transported to Norfolk via a Fox Movietone newsreel featuring a ski-jumping meet at the well-known Norfolk Hill. The Nashville Banner announced, “Ski experts at Norfolk, Conn. stage some new thrills when they leap by twos and threes down the steep slide. The […]

Evan Hughes Charitable Trust: A Norfolk Success Story

by Michael Cummings Kelly When Evan Hughes, a longtime Norfolk resident, passed away in 2016, he left behind specific plans for the disposition of his estate. His deep fondness for the town of Norfolk prompted a generous bequest to the community and its residents, including educational scholarships, village beautification projects, individual financial assistance and quality […]

Group Forms to Study Effects of Climate Change in Norfolk

by Mike Cobb I grew up in Norfolk with clear memories of four distinct seasons: muddy, green springs; pleasant, mild summers; cool, colorful falls; and long, frigid winters. But today we have a crazy mix of unpredictable weather. Snow on Mother’s Day last spring, a hot, dry summer with water levels alarmingly low at Tobey […]

Churches Adapt and Uplift at Christmas

by Kelly Kandra Hughes Last spring, many churches in the northwest corner of Connecticut suspended communal worship services in response to the Coronavirus. They had no idea at the time that this decision would include Easter Sunday, the most sacred and well-attended holy day on the Christian calendar.  Most churches had returned to in-person worship […]

Norfolk EMTs Study Wilderness Medical Skills at New Hampshire’s SOLO School

Norfolk EMTs Study Wilderness Medical Skills at New Hampshire’s SOLO School By Jon Riedeman Imagine going for a hike in the woods with a friend and two hours into your hike your friend loses their footing and tumbles down into a ravine. You climb down the side of the ravine and find your friend unconscious […]

Keep on Singing – High-Tech Covid Style

Text by David BeersPhoto by Liz Allyn Three or more weeknights every week, two to four singers get together in the Battell Chapel for fellowship and a chance to do what they love to do–sing. The chapel windows are open and the singers are properly distanced from one another. They all sing facing the same […]

Spotting Unusual Animals on the Back Roads of Norfolk

Who’s Your Llama? By Andra Moss In Norfolk it’s wise to keep an eye out for deer, bears, skunks and the rare awe-inspiring appearance of a bald eagle. But travelers on Winchester Road often do a double take at an unfamiliar hilltop silhouette. These are the llamas on Roy Pilbin’s farm.  Pilbin has been raising […]

Holiday Celebrations Change During the Time of Covid

Families finding ways to be together and safe by Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto Courtesy of Janet Byrne Family celebrations are a holiday tradition many people look forward to during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Because of Covid-19, however, these celebrations come with the risk of exposure to a potentially fatal virus. Many Norfolk residents now must decide what […]

Battling Buckthorn While Staying at Home

It’s Only Natural By Susannah Wood When the novel coronavirus dropped “normal” on its head, many Norfolkians found themselves spending much more time at home. People cleaned attics and garages, went through their closets, baked a lot of bread. Molly Ackerly and Mike Sconyers, very busy lawyers before March hit, knew just what to do […]

Artisans Guild of Norfolk Closing After Twenty-Six Years

Sales have slowed during the pandemic Text by Jude MeadPhoto by Savage Frieze The Artisan Guild of Norfolk is closing its doors. Vee Kausel and Kathy Williams, co-owners of the Guild, made the announcement in October. The last day of business will be December 11 unless someone steps up to take it over. “We would […]