• 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

Norfolk Land Trust Completes Purchase of Camp Iwakta Property

Public Trails Planned For Newly Renamed “Pine Mountain” Parcel The Norfolk Land Trust (NLT) has finalized the purchase of a 311-acre parcel of forestland from the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. The property, located off Grantville and Winchester roads, has long been considered a preservation priority by federal and state officials because of its headwater stream […]

Connecticut Public Radio Host to Moderate Norfolk 2023!

By Rosanna Trestman John Dankosky, host of the NPR morning radio show Where We Live, happens to live just next door in Winsted. From 9 to 10 a.m. each weekday morning he takes his listeners through the ins and outs of Connecticut’s communities, ranging from New Haven to Norfolk and beyond. Dankosky will bring this […]

Lions Club Honors Barbara Tracey

Barbara Tracey recently stepped down as the long-time treasurer of the Norfolk Lions Club. For her many years of service safeguarding the club’s financial health and for her exemplary help with countless other projects, Tracey was presented the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, a nation-wide award named after the founder of Lions Club International, and one […]

Community Talent Provides After-School Program for Botelle Students

By Janet Gokay Life in Norfolk is greatly enriched by the work of volunteers—and the Norfolk After School Program (NASP) is no exception. Coordinated by two parent volunteers, Kim Crone and Kathy Yelsits, the program offers a potpourri of classes to any grade-school-aged child in Norfolk, not just those attending Botelle. Many of those classes […]

Norfolk Fire Department Awards Memorial Day Race Scholarships

The traditional kick-off to Norfolk’s summer season, the five-mile Memorial Day Road Race is won by the fleet of foot. But the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department, which organizes the race, also dedicates all proceeds from entrance fees, advertising and donations to its NVFD Scholarship Fund. This year, the fund distributed $3,500 to five Norfolk students. […]

Norfolk Lions Club Scholarships Announced

The Norfolk Lions Club recently awarded scholarships to four Norfolk students who will be attending college this fall. The recipients include: Taylor Allyn, daughter of John and Lisa Allyn, enrolled at New College of Sarasota, Florida with a major in English; Shannon Bollard, daughter of Alfred and Angela Bollard and also an English major, attending […]

Fiber Optics Would Improve Cell Phone Service in Norfolk

EDC welcomes call for strong community involvement By Kurt Steele Following Kim Maxwell’s May briefing of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) about the benefits of installing a fiber optic network in Norfolk, Maxwell now believes that a significant dividend would be a vast improvement in the town’s cell phone coverage. Maxwell, who has a distinguished […]

Bears Invade North Norfolk Homes

One even drained a pitcher of Sangria By Bob Bumcrot Between Memorial Day and mid-July bears have invaded at least seven homes on or near North Street, Doolittle Drive, Lovers Lane and adjacent areas. As usual, the bears came in search of food, often with considerable success. In some cases their gustatory visits were discovered […]

A Passionate Swan Song

A packed hall enthralled by the Tokyo’s last-ever Norfolk concert By Lloyd Garrison Over 700 Tokyo String Quartet loyalists paid over $350 a ticket at the Yale Music Shed on July 6 for one last chance to hear the quartet in Norfolk. Before they played a note, the four were greeted with a standing ovation. […]

Analysis of Norfolk’s Population Changes Reveals Surprises

Periodic increases and decreases evident By Joshua DeCerbo Much of the talk leading up to “Norfolk 2023!,” when, on October 12, the town takes stock of the future, presumes that the town is losing population, along with much of Litchfield County and the rest of the state. But an analysis of several population databases from […]

Glen Chalder to Join Line Up For Norfolk 2023! Event

Helped shape Norfolk’s town plan By Lloyd Garrison Glen Chalder, an authority on the challenges facing small town America, will join National Public Radio’s John Dankosky in leading Norfolk 2013! in Infinity Hall on October 5. Chalder was previously retained by Norfolk to help shape its 2009 Town Plan. He went on to do same […]

Bringing Townspeople Together

Community meal socials to begin in September By David Beers A new committee has been formed in town to provide opportunities for fellowship, conversation and a diverse culinary experience. The Norfolk Community Meal Committee had its first meeting on June 10 and voted to offer monthly potluck community meals to bring the townspeople closer together. […]