• 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

It’s a Farm Brewery, But Not Just Beer Is on Tap

Outdoor activity for all seasons at Norbrook Farm Brewery   By Colleen Gundlach Excitement has been mounting around town for the much-anticipated opening of Norbrook Farm Brewery, expected to begin operations later this year. This new business in town, owned by brothers John and Randy Auclair, promises to be much more than a place to […]

State Harvests Ash Trees at Dennis Hill State Park

Emerald ash borer expected in Norfolk this year   By David Beers Eighty-three years ago, Dr. Frederick Dennis gave his 240-acre Norfolk property to the state to become Dennis Hill State Park. Dennis was a New York City surgeon and an amateur horticulturist. A stipulation of this gift is that the property be kept “in […]

Norfolk’s Nov. and Dec. Weather and a Yearly Summary for 2017

A Chilly End to the Tenth Warmest Year on Record   By Russell Russ The surplus of rainfall in October nearly wiped out the yearly deficit that had been slowly growing all year long. The months of November and December were drier than normal, which increased the deficit to close out the year. The year […]

Religious Compound Plans Cultural Center

Organization seeks greater contact with the surrounding community   By Wiley Wood On a recent day, piles of construction debris formed mounds under the windows of the stone mansion on Westside Road belonging to the Confucian Study Association. The building is undergoing major renovations, according to the association’s secretary and spokesman, Craig Chung. The plan […]

Food Insecurity Not Always a Consequence of Lack of Resources

  Working toward food justice in Norfolk   By Gabby Nelson Food justice is one of the most intimate facets of a growing social justice movement. Human beings interact with food every day, but the way the majority of it is currently produced, distributed, and consumed is often harmful to people and to the environment. […]

Norfolk Residents Help Those in Need While Helping Themselves

Alternative Gift Market returns to town this holiday season   By Kelly Kandra Hughes Looking for more meaningful holiday gifts this Christmas? After a hiatus of several years, the Alternative Gift Market returns to Norfolk’s Church of Christ during coffee hour (approximately 11 a.m. to noon) on Sunday, December 3, and Sunday, December 10. This […]

Winsted’s Blue Dandelion Yoga Offers Classes in Yoga and Massage

New studio opens in Mad River Lofts building   By Ruth Melville On October 1, 2017, Becky Thompson held an open house to inaugurate Blue Dandelion Yoga, her new yoga studio in Winsted’s Mad River Lofts building. To her amazement, 150 people showed up. “It was a beautiful gathering of people. I could see it […]

Bus Tours of Norfolk Show Visitors the Town’s Hidden Treasures

Tiffany Windows Attract Tourists   By Ruth Melville Norfolk residents have always been proud of their town, and there is a growing feeling that it would be nice if other people knew more about the town’s rich artistic and architectural history. New efforts like the WIN weekend are designed in part with this in mind, […]

Representative Brian Ohler Looks Back on His First Session in Hartford

Budget woes overshadow other issues   By Susannah Wood State Representative Brian Ohler had already arrived at the Berkshire Country Store and was deep in conversation with Ryan Craig when I walked in five minutes ahead of our scheduled appointment Against the background noise of coffee traffic and orders for late breakfasts, we settled into […]

Norfolk Elects Riiska in a Landslide

By Wiley Wood In a municipal election that drew 53 percent of Norfolk’s voters to the polls, Matthew Riiska (D) was elected first selectman over William Reudgen (R) by a commanding lead. At the polling station, where the results were announced shortly after the polls closed at 8 p.m., Reudgen congratulated Riiska in front of […]

Northwest Connect Hopes to Build Regional Fiber-Optic Network by 2021

Dropped cell phone calls and slow downloads would be distant memories   By Ruth Melville If the efforts of a local advocacy group called Northwest Connect are successful, we may see a fiber-optic network installed in the Northwest Corner by 2021. Northwest Connect was formed by a group of citizens and elected officials, most notably […]

Great Mountain Forest Makes Long-Term Deal to Sell Carbon Credits

Planning for the Future   By Tom Vorenberg Early one morning last month a young man and his girlfriend, visiting Norfolk from a western state, hiked up the logging road from the Great Mountain Forest (GMF) east gate. They wanted to get to the pond known as Old Man Mac to watch the sunrise. It […]