• 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

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 […]

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 […]