• 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

Annual Literary Festival at NCCC Celebrates National Poetry Month

By Tom Hodgkin   April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. —T. S. Eliot Echoing T. S. Eliot’s claims, April may be the cruelest month—the month of promising rain and sudden snow, of spring warmth and winter cold, of hopeful […]

New Wind Farm on Norfolk Land Under Discussion

Balancing economic, esthetic and environmental concerns   By Wiley Wood Discussions are reportedly underway between a Norfolk landowner and BNE Energy, Inc., a company that built two wind turbines in Colebrook, to erect as many as four more turbines along Route 44. At their recent monthly meeting, the Northwestern Connecticut Sportsmen’s Association heard a presentation […]

Six New Rental Apartments Near Completion in Downtown Norfolk

Some will be rented at below-market rates   By Wiley Wood The imposing two-story Victorian on the corner of Shepard Road and Route 44 dates to 1860, but with its new roof, new porches front and back, and new color scheme—muted gray with white trim—it looks freshly built. “It has good bones,” says Lou Barbagallo, […]

From Sea to Shining Sea – And Back Again

Mother and son team up for cross-country adventure   By Colleen Gundlach Many people dream of jumping in the car and driving across the country, but few take the leap and actually do it. Kate Wilcox and her 21-year-old son Larry are the exception. Last October they packed a tent, some provisions and their dog, […]

Local Documentary Wants to Put a Human Face on the Opioid Epidemic

Film presents a personal understanding of addiction and recovery   By Ruth Melville Anyone who pays attention to the news knows that the country is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. The state of Connecticut has been hard hit, and the northwest corner is not immune. According to a recent report, “Beneath the Surface: […]

Wellness Classes in Battell Chapel Promote Mental and Physical Health

Exercising with Friends   By David Beers Part one of this article, in the March issue of Norfolk Now, highlighted the Chapel fitness classes that are relaxing and rejuvenating. Now it is time to focus on the more vigorous exercise classes. Each class is $15 per class with a $5 discount if paid in advance. […]

Brian Ohler and Maria Horn to Vie for State House

It’s still seven months until the November elections, but northwest corner residents already have choices to make. In the 64th district race, incumbent State Representative Brian Ohler has been challenged for his seat by Salisbury resident Maria Horn, who announced her candidacy at Geer Village in March. Horn, a Democrat, says she “grew up in […]

Monday Night Is Game Night at the Country Store

By Ruth Melville Tired of sitting around the living room with family members all absorbed in their smart phones or tablets? Ryan Craig at the Berkshire Country Store has a suggestion to liven up your Monday nights: board games! “I noticed with my own family,” Craig says, “that we’re so busy all the time, rushing […]

Ripper Rides Again at Historical Society

The Anderson family rides the Ripper, a homemade toboggan, at an exhibit showcasing winter in Norfolk, currently on view at the Norfolk Historical Society.

New Group Formed to Discuss Ideas for Downtown

Riiska convenes stakeholders   By Wiley Wood Norfolk’s downtown is going through something of a renaissance. The Berkshire Country Store recently celebrated its first anniversary, construction trucks are parked outside the Norfolk Hub in advance of its April opening, and other businesses around Station Place have been lifted by the increase in foot traffic these […]

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: […]