• 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

Summer Interns at Great Mountain Forest

Planning for the future   By Hans M. Carlson Outside of the Great Mountain Forest (GMF) administrative offices, this summer’s interns are building a small raised-bed garden after work. It’s a bit late in the season, but even if they don’t get much of a yield this year, the bed will be ready for next […]

New Owners of Brotherhood Property Sue Norfolk Over Taxes

The Confucian Study Association, owner of the former Deerspring Bruderhof compound on West Side Road, is suing the Town of Norfolk in Litchfield Superior Court for exemption from property taxes. The organization, formed in January of this year, took ownership of the 48-acre parcel in March and applied to the town for tax exemption. Assessor […]

Report From the Real Russia

Former NPR correspondent Anne Garrels publishes book on the Russian heartland By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo “Those were the very best of days,” says Anne Garrels of the early 1990s when her husband, Vint Lawrence, went to Russia to visit her for six weeks every three months. “He couldn’t work on his drawings because there was […]

Lively Line-up at “Weekend In Norfolk” Festival

More Music and Live Performances than Ever Before   By Holly Leibrock Norfolk is a hub of outstanding talent and exceptional performance venues. Weekend in Norfolk (WIN) has capitalized on these talents and venues to offer storytelling, acting and more musical performances in one weekend than ever before at its locally renowned Infinity Hall and […]

Trail Running Club Meets Every Thursday

Heading for the Hills   By Jude Mead If you happen to be wandering in the woods of Norfolk, you may come across a group of runners from the Hill County Trail Runners Club. Nothing stops these outdoor enthusiasts from meeting every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to enjoy the popular sport called trail running. They […]

Church Work Camp Travels to Camden, New York

Serving Those in Need   By David Beers On June 19, an excited group of 28 people ranging in age from 12 to 50-something, headed out for a week of work and camaraderie in Camden, New York. Some had gone on this annual trip (organized and led by Reverend Erick Olsen of Church of Christ […]

“Unbridled” Art Show at the Norfolk Library

Bevan Ramsay’s Recent Sculpture Addresses the Sexualization of Girls’ Toys   By Ruth Melville   “Unbridled,” Bevan Ramsay’s show of recent sculpture at the Norfolk Library, might initially be startling to some viewers. The sculptures are made, not from traditional materials like stone or metal or wood, but out of globs of plaster painted bright […]

Notables – Professor Pupin

  By Ryan Bachman By the end of the 19th century, the arrival of warm temperatures in Norfolk signaled the coming of “The Summer People”. These part-time residents regularly arrived via train as the mountain laurel bloomed and the days became longer. The majority of Norfolk’s summertime residents came from New York City in search […]

The Berkshire Rambler

Crane Paper Company: Seven Generations of Making Money   By Michael Kelly High quality paper has been an intrinsic part of the lives of the Crane family of Dalton, Mass. for almost 250 years. Stephen Crane started the business, making 100 percent cotton paper at the Liberty Mill in Milton, Mass., which Paul Revere printed […]

Torrington Yarn Bomb Brings Color, Art and Whimsy to the City

  By Julie Scharnberg   I read an article about yarn bombing that appeared in Yankee Magazine about four years ago and passed it around to some knitters, thinking, Who wouldn’t want to do this? How fun! Yarn bombing is a form of temporary street art where brightly colored yarn in any form—knitted, crocheted, woven, […]

New Town of Norfolk Website Goes Online

Community input still needed   By Wiley Wood If you’ve got it, flaunt it. That was the basic idea behind the drive to create a new website for the Town of Norfolk. The old website was handsome but drab, functional in concept, embellished with photos by a local photographer, but its information was often stale […]

Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art Students Hear from Mentors and Peers

Learning by Example     By Ruth Melville Since its inception 67 years ago, the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art has presented a series of artists’ lectures as an integral component of its program. For the past years 17 years, the art school, which is based in the Art Barn on the Ellen Battell […]