• 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

Norfolk Country Club’s Golf Course Is Acclaimed

New book salutes best nine-hole courses in the country   By Ruth Melville A recently published book declares the Norfolk Country Club’s nine-hole golf course to be one of the finest such courses in the country. “The Finest Nines: The Best Nine-Hole Golf Courses in North America,” by Middletown writer Anthony Pioppi, ranks the NCC […]

Norfolk Awaits the Opening of the Hub in Station Place

  By Dijana Vajushi As many Norfolkians are aware, 2 Station Place in downtown has been vacant since September 2014. This spring will see the eagerly awaited reincarnation of the building as the Hub, the Norfolk Foundation’s coworking and meeting space. Dawn Whalen, executive director of the Norfolk Foundation, explains the purposes of the Hub: […]

Open Anywhere: New Stories by John Funchion

  By Charles Fidlar “When once invited to join a police lineup, I didn’t visualize the scurrilous group of dysfunctional miscreants that I would be alongside.” I know you might guess Mickey Spillane wrote this teaser, but in fact it’s the opening sentence of “The Lineup,” one of John Funchion’s stories from his new collection, […]

Wellness Classes for Mental and Physical Health

Exercising with Friends   By David Beers There is something special happening at the Norfolk Congregational Church’s Battell Chapel almost every day of every week. That something is wellness classes that are open to everyone in our community. You could (and should) go to a gym to get exercise, but you could also enjoy these […]

Station Place Café Serves Up Good Food and Lively Conversation

Spotlight on Town Business   By Colleen Gundlach To build a successful business in Norfolk, it takes a special kind of strong and business-savvy person. That person needs to be able to know instinctively what the 1,500 or so locals need year-round and what the expanded summer population wants during their few months here. In […]

Winter WIN

It was hardly a winter wonderland in Norfolk for Winter WIN, but plenty of people showed up anyway. At 40 degrees, ice skating and sledding were off the schedule, but there was still plenty of fun to be had indoors and out. Visitors. above, enjoyed s’mores and hot chocolate on the patio of Infinity Bistro. […]

NHCOG Hosts Annual Regional Economic Summit

What Have We Accomplished, Where Are We Going   By Ruth Melville On a bitterly cold night at the end of January, the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG) held its third annual economic development summit in the Mad River Lofts building in Winsted. The main goal for the summit was to discuss the perennial […]

Curling Club Celebrates the Olympics

The sport of curling is an important part of Norfolk winter life, but it’s not a passion that’s much shared among the general population. But every four years, during the Winter Olympics, curling takes its place on the world stage. In honor of this year’s Olympics, the Norfolk Curling Club hosted a day of special […]

Norfolk Community Garden Flourishes at Botelle School

  By Gabby Nelson Walking through the Norfolk Community Garden behind Botelle School in midwinter, one may not be greeted by the same lush show as in midsummer, but there is evidence everywhere of promise for the season to come. The picnic tables sitting on a brick patio in the center of the garden wait […]

Consolini & Tonan: Planting Gardens, Building Community

  By Ruth Melville Marc Tonan and Marialisa Consolini, the co-owners of Consolini & Tonan Landscape Design, have been working together, on and off, for over 25 years. Both gardeners got an early start on their future careers. When he was only 11 years old, Tonan was hired by Fred and Mary Ann McGourty to […]

School Costs Rise, but Board of Finance Unmoved

Plea for small increase meets with little sympathy   By Wiley Wood In an early skirmish of the town budget wars, the Board of Finance delivered strong messages to the Regional No. 7 Board of Education and to the Norfolk Board of Education that this was not a year for budget increases. School Superintendant Mary […]

State Biologists Call on Public to Report Bobcat Sightings

  By Jude Mead Have you seen a bobcat lately? Have you spotted a footprint of one in the snow? If so, then Jason Hawley, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), would like to know. Hawley said the state is conducting a bobcat study to evaluate the habitat and […]