• 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

Michele Sloane Retiring as Tax Assessor

By Colleen GundlachPhoto by Bruce Frisch An era will come to an end when Norfolk’s long-term and well-respected tax assessor retires next month. Michele Sloane, who also serves as chairman of the town’s Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z), recently took some time from organizing her move to Florida to reminisce about her years in Norfolk […]

Eliza Little Lays Out Latest Findings About Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases

By Susannah WoodPhotos by Bruce Frisch On Saturday, Aug. 10, Eliza Little gave the annual Ted Byers lecture at the Doolittle Club in front of a standing-room-only audience. The lectures are free and open to the public. Little, a postdoctoral researcher at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven for the past two years, […]

The Haystack Book Talks Festival Returns for a Second Year

A new lineup of writers in conversation By Marie-Christine Perry This summer saw Haystack Book Talks bring three stand-alone talks to the Norfolk Library: Byron Kim and Lisa Sigal, the new directors of the Yale Summer School of Art, talked with Nell Painter, the distinguished American historian and author of “Old in Art School: A […]

Little Red Barn Brewers Is Part of the Renaissance of Winsted

By Jeremy WithnellPhoto by Bruce Frisch  Nils Johnson, co-owner of Little Red Barn Brewers in Winsted, speaks of his brewery in much the same way a parent does of their infant child, with pride and mild exhaustion. “Might be nice to get some more sleep one of these days,” he confides. Still, through the entire […]

New Year, New Beginnings at Botelle

By Virginia Coleman-PriscoPhoto, of some of Botelle School’s new staffers this year (from left: Melissa Asselin, Winter Thorne-Kaunelis, Erin Dubecky, Lauren Montagna, Tyler Yelsits, Mary Krusch, Erica McCleary and Shana Bazelmans), by Virginia Coleman-Prisco As summer winds down, Botelle Elementary School is already buzzing with activity in preparation for the new school year. The Botelle […]

Norfolk Library Presents the First Greenwoods Puppet Festival Weekend

Renowned puppeteers to bring their magic and creativity to town By Eileen FitzgibbonsPhoto, of Alex and Olmsted (Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas) with their puppet Milo the Magnificent, by Sean Dennie This month, by the light of the Harvest Moon, puppets tiny and mighty will find their way to the first Greenwoods Puppet Festival. […]

Weekend in Norfolk 2019

Propelling Norfolk into the 21st Century

Charging station for electric cars installed at Town Hall Text and photo by David Beers Last summer, an overnight visitor to town inquired at Town Hall about charging their electric car and found out that the closest chargers were in Winsted and North Canaan. This prompted a conversation in the town’s newly revitalized town Energy […]

Library’s Annual Sale Builds a Community Around Books

By Ruth MelvillePhoto by Savage Frieze On Aug. 24 and 25, the Norfolk Library held its 43rd annual book sale. Thanks to the donation of about 13,000 books, and countless hours of labor by the Library Associates and their friends, approximately $14,000 dollars were raised to support the activities of the library. Equally important, a […]

Tour the Forest, and Learn a Little about Norfolk

By Doug McDevitt Norfolk may not have notable historical events, such as Stratford, say, which saw the first colony in Connecticut, or Danbury, which was the target of a British invasion and where General Israel Putnam’s army endured a harsh winter that became known as Connecticut’s Valley Forge. No, our town in the past was […]

Norfolk Artists and Friends Features Nine Guest Artists

NAF greets second decade with a gala reception By Christopher Sinclair As the Norfolk Artists and Friends (NAF) Annual Exhibition enters its second decade of existence with its eleventh installment, it welcomes the diverse and dynamic talents of nine guest artists working across a broad spectrum of mediums. The Battell Stoeckel Gallery, affectionately known to […]

Treads & Trails Bike Build Event Coming to Botelle

Bringing exercise and the great outdoors to Norfolk students By Kelly Kandra Hughes Thanks to a serendipitous encounter at Norfstroms salvage shed, approximately 40 Botelle Elementary students will receive new bikes this year. Sara Hannafin, Director of Engagement at Can’d Aid, had stopped by the transfer station in June when she noticed Norfstroms on her […]