• 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

Multidisciplinary Retreat Brings Creative Artists to Norfolk

Courtney Maum’s The Cabins Project   By Ruth Melville Courtney Maum is a writer married to a filmmaker, so perhaps it’s natural for her to think about how artists from different fields can learn from each other. For years, she would go to writing conferences and meet other writers whose stories seemed perfect for filming. […]

Masterclasses Give Audiences a Glimpse Behind the Scenes

  By Leila Javitch One of the highlights of this year’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival is the ongoing series of masterclasses that are free and open to the public on Wednesday evenings. These are an addition to the popular recitals by the music fellows, which take place Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. In a masterclass, […]

Historical Society Commemorates Norfolk’s Role in the Great War

Norfolk Natives “Over There”   By Michael Kelly While the war was raging for three years on the European continent, the United States was determined to stay out of a conflagration between nations nursing centuries-old antipathies and animosities. But a groundswell of nationalistic support fomented by adventurous, upper-class American scions eager to test their mettle […]

New Planters Adorn Station Place

This pole planter in front of the Arcanum Building, with its profusion of purple and lavender petunias, is one of several new planters in town, courtesy of the hard work of the members of the Norfolk Community Association. This year the association added 11 pole planters to Station Place and Route 44, in addition to […]

Consolidation of Roman Catholic Parishes Brings Hope for the Future

Immaculate Conception Church becomes St. Martin of Tours   By Colleen Gundlach On June 29, the Immaculate Conception Church in Norfolk underwent not only a change in name but a change in structure. When Catholic Archbishop Leonard P. Blair announced in May that the number of parishes in the archdiocese would be reduced, the fear […]

Where Are All These Bears Coming From?

A wildlife biologist separates fact from fiction   By Wiley Wood Black bear sightings are underreported in Norfolk. That’s what Town Clerk Linda Perkins thinks, anyway. She is on a campaign to get Norfolk residents to call the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)when they see a bear. “If you look at DEEP’s black […]

Northwest Hills Council of Governments

Collaboration as the Key to Success   By Ruth Melville In Connecticut, as opposed to most states, the primary unit of local government is not the county but the town. This structure gives more autonomy to each of the 169 towns in the state, but it also makes regional cooperation and planning more difficult. To […]

Garden Conservancy Opens Two Secluded Norfolk Gardens

Guests welcomed to visit, admire and enjoy the beauty on July 15   By Michael Kelly There is something evocative, almost romantic, about a secret garden. What resplendent botanical wonders perfume desultory breezes from behind the garden wall, or peek demurely over closed, enigmatic garden gates, or generate panoplies of burgeoning color around the back […]

Fresh Faces to Lead Norfolk Ambulance

Group selects new roster of officers   By Leila Javitch The Norfolk Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team is complex but flexible group of highly trained individuals. It is really unique in that it is only one of a half dozen ambulance crews in the state that remain completely volunteer and charge no fees for services. […]

Recollections of Norfolk and Colombia

Living in South America after a Norfolk childhood   By Kati Hinman Since moving away from Norfolk, I´ve always been proud of my small town background. I can’t count the number of times people have asked “did you say twelve HUNDRED!” or “but how can you not have a grocery store?” When I moved abroad, […]

Without a Car in Norfolk? You Might Try Renting

  By David Beers When solving a lack of wheels, the first option to my mind is car rental. Most of us are familiar with renting a car at an airport. However, this option is also available in our area. In Torrington, there are two national car rental chain businesses: Enterprise and Hertz. Both offer […]

Norfolk NET Receives $20,000 Grant

  Funds to help residents with basic emergency assistance   By Kelly Kandra Hughes Norfolk NET (Networking Everyone Together), a collaborative grassroots effort to alleviate poverty and strengthen community relationships in Norfolk, has been generously awarded a $20,000 grant from the William and Mary Greve Foundation. According to Norfolk resident Tony Kiser, president of the […]