• 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

Keeping up with Mama T

Freund’s Market Continues to Expand By Colleen Gundlach Anyone who hasn’t paid a recent visit to Freund’s Farm Market in East Canaan is in for a surprise. First came additional parking around the back of the property and the installation of a second driveway, creating a one-way traffic flow. Now, displays of perennials for sale […]

This old Norfolk House

Ten Old Colony Road Still Has Many Stories To Tell By Jane Andrias Editor’s note: In two past issues, “This Old Norfolk House” has focused on the Stevens House at 10 Old Colony Road. It was occupied by a member of the Stevens family from the late 1800s until well into the 20th century. Jane […]

Hope Comes on the Wings of a Moth

Insects under threat worldwide By Avice Meehan Poet and naturalist Susannah Wood admits to having a favorite insect: the Prometheus moth, which she saw for the first time last year on a spice bush in her garden. The moth, with a wingspan the size of a hand, had just emerged and the silky remains of […]

This Old Norfolk House

The 1764 Stevens House, Part 2: A Hatter’s Norfolk Legacy By Joe Kelly When Nathaniel Stevens came to Norfolk in the mid-1700s to set up his business as a hatter and build the house that still stands on Old Colony Road—and which the Stevens family would occupy well into the 20th century—he would become one […]

Off the beaten path

Ashley Falls Offers A Lot to Explore By David Beers The beaten path is Route 7. If you are heading north on Route 7 from North Canaan, just past the Connecticut police barracks, there is a road that veers left at a slight angle. This is Ashley Falls Road (Route 7A), and if you take […]

Know Your Neighbor

Christopher Keyes With this piece, Norfolk Now is launching a new series to get to know our neighbors better and to find common ground by talking about our relationship to our exceptional town. How did you come to Norfolk? I came to know Norfolk through friends in the late ’90s. I recall a walk up Dennis […]

Norfolk Remembers: Elizabeth Ann (Poll) Leifert

Elizabeth A Leifert, 80, passed away March 28, 2024. She was the wife of 60 years of Lawrence A. Leifert. Born in Torrington on Feb. 3, 1944, she was the daughter of Armand and Katherine Killiany Poll and a graduate of the Hart School of Music. She worked for the State of Connecticut Department of […]

Norfolk Remembers: Eleanor Curtiss Ellert

Eleanor Curtiss Ellert passed away on February 23, 2024, at the young age of 96. She was born in Norfolk, in 1927 to Albert H. and Elizabeth (Manville) Curtiss. Although she moved away from Norfolk during her marriage to her first husband of 14 years, she returned with her son, Clifford Bell, after her divorce. […]

Local Farmers Navigate Shift in Weather Patterns, Hardiness Zones

Norfolk reclassified as zone 6 By Jude Mead Gardening and farming have always been important in the Northwest Corner, and those involveddepend on the Plant Hardiness Zone Map released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to helpthem determine the best practices in these activities. Growing zones help identify the types of plantsand crops that […]

New Choral Union Director Plans Multigenerational Rebuild

Singers of all ages invited to join LCCU By Patricia Platt“When the Litchfield County Choral Union sings, our love of music and Mozart fills the air,” announcedGabriel Lofvall, the LCCU’s new musical director. Rehearsals will start in late May for an August concertwhich will include Mozart’s “Mass of the Sparrows (Spatzenmesse),” a selection of pieces […]

Can wildlife safely cross Norfolk’s Roads?

By Shelley Harms Where are animals crossing Norfolk’s roads? Are they making it across? Is it possible to make theircrossings safer? Julia Rogers, Senior Land Protection Manager at the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), helped agroup of interested Norfolk residents explore these questions at a training session sponsored by theNorfolk Land Trust on March 22 at […]

Great Mountain Forest’s New Executive Director Returns to His Connecticut Roots

By David Beers Mike Zarfos started his new position as executive director of Great Mountain Forest (GMF) at the end ofFebruary. It has been a lively time for Zarfos and his family; in addition to moving from Washington,D.C., to Connecticut, they are expecting a baby in April. Zarfos grew up in Deep River, Conn., where […]