• 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

Church Choirs in Norfolk Sing for Worship and Fellowship

By David BeersPhotos by Bruce Frisch For many decades both the Catholic Church and Congregational Church in town have had active choirs with a long list of devoted singing members. Both choirs are fortunate to be led by musically gifted and experienced choir directors (and organ players), who are paid church staff. Deirdre Broderick has […]

Changes On the Way for the Children’s Room at the Library

Facelift will feature reading nook and star-bright lighting By Colleen GundlachPhoto by Savage Frieze Generations of Norfolk children have spent many happy hours in the Children’s Room at the Norfolk Library. Originally located in what is now the Reference Room, the Children’s Room moved to its current location about 30 years ago when the beautiful […]

Nocturnal Animals Enliven the Norfolk Darkness

By Jude MeadPhoto by Fred Knight Norfolk is considered a quiet town during the cold winter months, leading to the mistaken impression that the village rolls up its streets at dusk and slumbers until dawn. Actually that is the time when the exciting world of darkness comes alive and the stillness of the night is […]

November and December Weather and a Yearly Summary for 2018

Lots of Warmth and Precipitation By Russell Russ The year of 2018 was a wet one, and the months of November and December were also above normal for precipitation with both months adding to our yearly surplus. The previous three years were all below normal for precipitation, but 2018 ended that—and then some. The conclusion […]

From the Fire Department to the Farmers Market, Norfolk Always Needs Volunteers

By Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto by Jon Barbagallo New Year’s may have come and gone, but many of us are still grappling with our New Year’s resolutions. For anyone in Norfolk who included give back to the community as a resolution in 2019, we have good news for you—there are many ways you can help right […]

A Very Unusual Election Day Indeed

Huge turnout for mid-terms   By Colleen Gundlach It was a mid-term election like none other in the collective memories of Norfolk residents. Most mid-term voters are apathetic, resulting in, as a general rule, a low turnout. That was not the case with this November’s race. A whopping 70 percent of the town’s voters came […]

Collaborative Workshop on Downtown Design Holds Final Meeting

Suggestions will be added to new town plan By Wiley Wood Photo by Bruce Frisch As winter closes in, most Norfolkians will limit their interactions with the town center to the few yards of sidewalk between their parked car and the post office or library. In the summertime, a person might take a more expansive […]

Beckley Furnace Stands as a Reminder of Industrial Days in Northwest Corner

Area was rich in iron ore deposits   By Colleen Gundlach Have you ever hiked Canaan Mountain in the East Canaan area and discovered mounds of beautiful, glassy black rocks and wondered where they originated and why there are so many of them? They are slag—a very unappealing name for a truly lovely rock—and their […]

Norfolk’s Fire and Ambulance Volunteers Logged More than 31,000 Hours This Year

Members dedicated to keeping the town safe   By Jonathan Barbagallo As we approach the end of 2018, the emergency services in town have had another busy year, at least by Norfolk standards. House and building fires, jackknifed tractor trailers, mutual aid responses to Brookfield, overdose resuscitations, cardiac arrests, and injured hikers are just some […]

Greenwoods Counseling Referrals, Providing Mental Health Services for Over 25 Years

Health and Welfare in the Town Budget   By Ruth Melville Greenwoods Counseling Referrals, Inc., has been in operation since 1992, working to provide high quality and affordable mental health care to the people of Litchfield County. The organization does exactly what its name suggests. Once a potential client has contacted them for help, Greenwoods […]

Washington’s Trade War and Norfolk’s Economy

  By David Beers On the news there is much talk about trade wars and tariffs, and if you are like me, it all seems far away. But it is not far away, and tariffs are directly affecting livelihoods in Norfolk right now. A bit of background is in order here. A tariff is a […]

Haystack Book Talks

Ten Authors, Two Days, Five Conversations   By Christopher Sinclair As people streamed into Battell Chapel beneath the autumnal glow of the Armstrong stained glass windows, they might easily have imagined themselves in a New Haven lecture hall rather than on the village green in Norfolk. The chapel, which hosted four of the five sessions […]