• 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

Norfolk Costumer Readies Tin Soldiers for This Year’s Battle With Mouse King

Text by Wiley WoodPhoto by Bruce Frisch On a Monday morning in early November, costume designer Susan Aziz apologized for the bareness of her studio. Fittings had been held over the weekend for the Nutmeg Ballet’s new production of “The Nutcracker,” and most of the costumes were now at the theater. “We fitted nine mice, […]

Going Completely Over the Edge But Doing It for a Good Cause

Event company helps organizations raise funds Text by Heath and Kelly Hughes Photo Courtesy of Daryl Byrne Imagine standing at the top of a building 485 feet tall. To help raise money for Connecticut Special Olympics, you agreed to rappel down the building. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but now you’re here […]

Norbrook Farm Brewery Hopes to Build on a Successful Start

Owners want to bring in food trucks Text and Photo by Doug McDevitt For many, sipping a fine ale with friends, revisiting past adventures or planning new ones and talking history or debating current events in a comfortable setting can be as good as it gets. What could make that even better? Perhaps a really […]

Neighbors in the News

Torpedoed Ship and Stolen Identity Are Basis of Author’s Second Novel Text by Colleen GundlachPhoto Courtesy of Frank Buyak It was spring, 1939, and the feeling of unrest in Europe was increasing. World War II was in the offing. Frank Buyak was less than two years old when he, his brother and his mother were […]

American Mural Project to Honor the American Worker

American Mural Project Will Be Five Stories Tall and 120 Feet Long  Text and Photo by Jeremy Withnell The first impression one gets when stepping into the cavernous space occupied by the American Mural Project (AMP) in Winsted is one of enormity. This work of art, once completed, will stand five stories tall and 120 […]

Norfstrom’s First Winter

Text and Photo by Kelly Kandra Hughes Five months have gone by since Norfstroms opened at the Transfer Station in June. So far, this experiment is heading in the right direction. Response has been enthusiastic, donations have been abundant, and volunteers have been outstanding. But what will happen to Norfstroms during Norfolk’s cold and snowy […]

From Puppy to Assistance Dog

ECAD provides animals and training that help change lives Text and Photo by Jude Mead Some people are great at seeing a situation and assessing ways to solve it. Lu and Dale Picard are two such people. In 1995, the couple founded ECAD, the East Coast Assistance Dogs facility. According to Ms. Picard, ECAD was […]

Identifying Invasive Plants in Norfolk’s Village Center

Conservation Commission to lead inventory walk By Martha KleinPhoto by Bruce Frisch November is a perfect time of year to identify and remove invasive plants in Norfolk, because the fall color changes make some of these plants very visible. For example, the plant Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) is an invasive shrub seen along roadsides near woods, and […]

Breathing New Life into an Historical Landmark

Crissey Place has a new owner By Doug McDevitt Sometimes a good thing just can’t be kept down, even in the form of a house. A very old house. It’s located just inside the village green as you travel north towards Maple Street. It’s the first house you see on your right and it is […]

Fidlar, Charles Lenhart: 1940 – 2019

Charles L. Fidlar died on Dec. 14 at his home in Norfolk, Conn. with family by his side. Charles was born in Terre Haute, Ind. and then moved to Hartford and Windsor, Conn. as a youth. He lived 17 years in the San Francisco Bay area before settling in Norfolk. He was born into a […]

Help! My Friend Hit an Owl

A smalltown wildlife rescue in the age of social media By Heath Hughes BAM! Something hit my car as I was driving home on Route 44 one night last fall. The sun had just crossed the edge of the trees and it was almost completely dark. I caught a glimpse of large, white wings.  I […]

Town Looks at Creating Solar Farm

Takes first steps to creating solar array at town landfill by David Beers On the same 149-acre town property where the transfer station is located, the town farm was established by the town in the 1800s to provide food and shelter to Norfolk’s indigent population. This was a town-run residence where destitute people were supported […]