• 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

Town Map Under Construction

Norfolk group nears completion of marketing piece By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo While Norfolk has long been averse to promoting itself by any means other than word of mouth, a major marketing tool is currently in the works. A detailed map of all Norfolk has to offer will be in print before Memorial Day. As map […]

Colebrook Store Reopens

By Christopher Sinclair Prior to the shuttering of the Colebrook Store in 2007, it “had been the oldest continuously operated general store in the state of Connecticut, encompassing a span stretching from 1812 until 2007, 195 years,” according to the Colebrook Historical Society website. The store has seen countless residents pass through its doors over […]

The Lights Go Out at Great Impressions

Tenant Sought for Vacated Hair Salon By Colleen Gundlach With the closing last month of Norfolk’s only hair salon, Great Impressions, the south corner of Station Place at Route 44 looks dark. But, in the words of an old Chinese proverb, “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Martha Pallone, owner of […]

Bill Gridley Dies After Brief Illness

William Gill Gridley, Jr. died peacefully after a brief illness Saturday, November 29 at his Norfolk home under the loving care of his family and hospice nurses and aides of the Foothills Visiting Nurses Association. Gridley was born January 10, 1929 in New York City, the son of Elizabeth Meeker and William Gill Gridley. His […]

Farmers Market Plows on Through Winter Months

Thriving from May to October for eight years strong, the Norfolk Farmers Market now has a winter presence as well. Moving inside, to the second floor of town hall, for the cold weather months, food vendors sell their products twice a month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Winter markets will be held on February […]

The Sharing Economy Comes to Norfolk

New Business Model Threatens Local Innkeeper By Wiley Wood The basic idea of the sharing economy is that if you have an asset that is not being fully used—a car that sits in the driveway, a vacant couch, a pup tent in a closet, fancy camera equipment—you can hook up through the digital world with […]

Russell Russ Records Norfolk’s Weather for the National Weather Service

Continuing an 82-Year Tradition By Colleen Gundlach There has been a lot of discussion in Norfolk about the town’s ability to keep young people here and provide them employment. There are, however, families whose contribution to the town has spanned generations and provided not only a livelihood but a way of life. The Russ family […]

The Christmas Bird Count

Citizen Scientists Make Their Mark By Susannah Wood On December 14, in the dark and cold of 4 a.m., Ray Belding is going to be in the woods calling to owls. For the next 10 hours or so he and his team will be counting every bird they see for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird […]

Economic Development Commission Readies for Action

Toby Young Named Co-Director By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo Norfolk’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) has a robust agenda for 2015. Newly appointed co-director Toby Young and longtime leader Libby Borden foresee the organization having a fruitful year. At the top of the agenda is utilizing the consultant that will soon be appointed to Norfolk and seven […]

Norfolk Library Plans for the Next Century

Preserving an Architectural Gem By Ruth Melville The Norfolk Library is one of the architectural highlights of our town. For over 125 years this striking building on the Village Green has served the people of Norfolk, not only as a home for books, but as a gathering place for town residents. The library recently received […]

Norfolk Offers Dial-A-Ride Bus Service

“We’ll go anywhere people need to go” By Christopher Sinclair It’s hard to imagine, but the town of Norfolk was once a transportation hub. Conductors barked orders, and steam-driven trains came to a reluctant halt in the village center where Norfolk residents now pick up their mail and deposit their checks. People traveled with ease […]

Struggle to Maintain Town’s Aging Roadways Continues

Major Repaving of State Highways Last Summer Helped By Kurt Steele Every day most Norfolk residents drive on some part of Norfolk’s nearly 60 miles of roads—43 miles of it maintained by the town and 16 by the state. They are joined a little less often by Norfolk’s many part-time residents. Having enough money to […]