• 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

Photographs by Bruce Frisch Going on Display in Venice

Photos of Renowned Indian Artist to Accompany Retrospective   By Ruth Melville Bruce Frisch’s photographs are well known to readers of Norfolk Now. He is the paper’s staff photographer, and his pictures enliven every issue. He also exhibits his work at the annual Norfolk Artists and Friends show, always including some spectacular nature shots taken […]

Norfolk Firefighters Receive State Recognition

By Ruth Melville In honor of Firefighters Day, held every year on September 6, the State of Connecticut chose this year to recognize the fine work of the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD). On the quiet, sunny late afternoon of September 4, the members of the NVFD, resplendent in their dress uniforms, gathered behind the […]

Norfolk-Colebrook Regionalization Fails

Colebrook votes strongly against   By Wiley Wood Colebrook voters resoundingly opposed the regionalization plan that would have brought the Norfolk and Colebrook primary schools together under one roof and one regional board. The vote count was 369 no, 175 yes. In a simultaneous referendum held in Norfolk, the measure passed by a count of […]

Norfolk Holds Final Public Hearing on Regionalization Plan

Both towns to vote this month   By Janet Gokay About 70 people turned up at Botelle School on August 10 to hear a final presentation of the proposed regionalization plan for the Norfolk and Colebrook elementary schools. A similar presentation occurred the following evening in Colebrook. The two towns will vote separately on the […]

Americorps Puts Boots on the Ground

Team of Volunteers Helps Land Trust Clear a New Trail   By Susannah Wood The weather forecast was for hot and sticky all week, but the six lean and fit members of the Buffalo 5 Team came into town ready to do all the tasks the Norfolk Land Trust put in front of them: drainage […]

Opinion: Two Views of Regionalization

Cost Is Too High for Norfolk and Its Children By Kim Crone There are two arguments supporting the regionalization plan: that it’s good for the town or that it’s good for the children. I am convinced that it’s neither. This plan is not good for Norfolk: (1) The financial burden is higher for Norfolk. Colebrook […]

How Did Dolphin Pond Get Its Name?

A Look into Norfolk’s Past   By Ryan Bachman In December 1803 Norfolk resident Peter Freedom received a crushing verdict from the Litchfield County Court. Because of debts incurred by his recently deceased father, Dolphin, the son was ordered to sell the family farm in southwestern Norfolk. The 40-acre property had only been in the […]

The Norfolk Connecticut Children’s Foundation Funds Educational and Cultural Activities

Enriching the Lives of Norfolk’s Children   By Ruth Melville The Laurel School, at the corner of Route 44 and Laurel Way, was a nonprofit residential school for children with special needs, managed by Ken and Dottie Satherlie. In 1985 the school closed. The leftover funds had to either be returned to the state or […]

Husky Meadows Farm Grows a Cornucopia of Vegetables

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo The former Curtiss Farm is once again a full working enterprise. The property, just past the three-way intersection of Ashpohtag Road, Lovers Lane and Loon Meadow Drive, is doing its heritage proud. An acre and a half of land is now dedicated to growing vegetables. The rather impressive garden sits at […]

Norfolk—A Thousand Points of Light

Improved communication channels should help town develop   By Kurt Steele Noting that Norfolk has, in the words of a long-ago Presidential candidate, a thousand points of light and yet believing that these need to be coordinated, the Norfolk Economic Development Commission and the Coalition for Sound Growth are focusing on improving communications among the […]

State Board of Ed Approves Regionalization Plan

Towns to hold hearings and referendums   At its regular meeting on July 1, the State Board of Education approved the Norfolk-Colebrook Study Group’s plan for consolidating the towns’ primary schools under one roof and one regional district. Official notification reached the town clerks’ offices in both Norfolk and Colebrook on July 29. In the […]

Tobey Pond—From Glacial Kettle to Local Swimming Hole

By Christopher Sinclair Several thousand years ago a glacier inched its way through the southern Berkshires, and upon its retreat left the patch of land that would later become Norfolk, Connecticut, with a parting gift. Tobey Pond, the locally famous and universally beloved swimming hole, is that gift —nearly as pristine now as it was […]