• 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

Back to Back Marathons for Norfolk Sisters

Mary Bazzano-Reeve and Margaret Alexson run for health and fun By Colleen Gundlach Passion and excitement shine from Mary Bazzano-Reeve’s face when she talks about running. It is a sport to which she had never aspired, but one that has led her and her sister, Margaret Alexson, to marathons across the county. During the past […]

It’s Only Natural

Lessons in a Hemlock Wood by Hans M. Carlson   There is a palpable quietness to a grove of very old hemlock, a sense of grandeur that settles on you if you spend a little time beneath them. These stands are special places in Norfolk, and we have several on Great Mountain Forest (GMF). Some […]

New Cupola Tops Music Shed

The first phase of restoration of Norfolk’s historic Music Shed is finished. The new cupola, an exact copy of the original copper-domed cupola that has been missing for so long that no one remembers when it fell down, was installed in time for Memorial Day weekend, and restores the natural ventilation system of the original […]

Norfolk Then…

Norfolk boy scouts stand with their leader Carroll Estes on the steps of the Church of Christ Congregational about 1960. Scouting came to Norfolk fifty years earlier in 1911 when architect Alfredo Taylor formed the first troop, named for Norfolk benefactor Frederick M. Shepard, and served as scoutmaster.  After a hiatus during World War II, […]

Community News

Quilt-in at Church of Christ May 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Quilt-in in the chapel dining room, to make log cabin quilts for the Susan B. Anthony Project. No experience necessary. Pot luck lunch will be served. For more information, contact Shirley Metcalf at shirleymetcalf@comcast.net. Rabies Clinic May 2, 10 a.m.-noon. Norfolk’s Animal Control Officer Glen […]

Ellen Griesedieck’s Mural Project Celebrates the American Worker

By Ruth Melville Ellen Griesedieck thinks big. Her latest project has been 15 years in the making and is five stories tall. Griesedieck is the artist and driving force behind the American Mural Project. The three-dimensional mural, designed as a tribute to the working people of the United States, will eventually be 120 feet long, […]

Just Kidding Around at Lost Ruby Farm

  It’s Kidding Time Text: Baby goats have arrived at Lost Ruby Farm. Ten nannies gave birth, and their milk is now being used to make the farm’s cheeses. Most of the adorable babies are to be sold, available via Craigslist or contact the farm.

Norfolk’s March Weather   

Another Cold Month, but Springtime Is Near By Russell Russ This winter and early spring continued to be cold, very much like last year. The big weather related news this March was the unprecedented water line and sewer line freeze-ups that occurred all over Norfolk and in surrounding towns. The depth of the frost was […]

The Cafe at the Top of Connecticut

By Richard Kessin Photographs by Bruce Frisch I take visitors from the city on walks through Barbour Woods or up Haystack until they are proud of their wilderness adventures and very hungry.  “Can you get lunch around here?” they ask skeptically. “Trust me,” I say as I walk with them to Station Place Café and […]

Glass Is Full for Cookbook Award Winners

Local cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough have a lot to celebrate, as their 2014 book “Vegetarian Dinner Parties” was nominated for three major awards in the two main U.S. cookbook competitions. The book won the People’s Choice Award and was a finalist in the Health and Special Diet category at the International Association […]

Botelle Beat

By Principal Matt O’Connell On April 10, Botelle was jumping to the beat of great music for a great cause. Our PE teacher Mr. Anderson organized a Jump Rope-A-Thon to benefit the American Heart Association.  Our staff and parent volunteers helped run the jump rope stations—and and parent volunteers provided healthy snacks of cut-up fruit. […]

Joel Webster, Norfolk’s Olympic Wrestling Hopeful

By Christopher Sinclair Since Norfolk’s earliest days, the people who live here have possessed both mental and physical fortitude, and are not quick to shy away from hard work. Joel Webster, native Norfolkian, has displayed an exceptional degree of grit and determination that would make any Norfolk resident proud, in the pursuit of his lifelong […]