• Norfolk Crowds Return to New Farmers Market

    By Andra Moss The crowd was large, loud and loving it at July’s Northwest Farm to Fork farmers market, held under the pavilion at Norbrook Farm Brewery. “We were very pleased with the turnout, with approximately 230 customers coming through and 16 food and farm vendors,” says Lisa Auclair, a co-founder, with Devin Grosso and […]

  • Friday Night on the Green Celebrates America’s 250th

    July 3 was a picture-perfect night for the community-wide event cel-ebrating America’s Independence. Following a quick parade, picnickers enjoyed burgers and ice cream while judges dug into the entries in the pie baking contest. First Selectman Hen-ry Tirrell moved seamlessly from his welcome speech to the dunk tank, and a few folks, like Pete Sanders […]

  • NORFOLK REMEMBERS Laurene Mary Wallace

    Laurene Mary Wallace, 77, of Colebrook passed peacefully at home surrounded by her family on Friday, July 10, 2026. Laurene was born on April 28, 1949, in Bridgeport, the last of four children born to the late Lawrence and Irene (Misencik) Firmender of Stratford. A retired registered nurse, Laurene’s career in nursing and cardiac rehabilitation […]

  • Norfolk Remembers Sally Sterling Ellis Quale

    Sally Sterling Ellis Quale, of Norfolk and St. Petersburg, Fla., formerly of Bronxville, N.Y., died unexpectedly of heart failure on July 7 at the age of 87. Sally will be remembered for her deep commitment to her family and communities and for her warmth, kindness, intelligence, creativity … and, of course, for her beautiful smile […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    This charming house, still standing on the west side of Litchfield Rd., was built in 1905 for Richmond Paine, the newly appointed conductor of the Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU). Carl and Ellen Battell Stoeckel engaged the architect Ehrick Rossiter to design the house for Paine as well as the Music Shed for performances by […]

  • Norfolk’s Newest Neighborhood Puts Down Roots

    Haystack Woods lauded as a “model for the state” By Joe Kelly Norfolk’s newest neighborhood, the Haystack Woods affordable housing development, has officially come to life. A year ago, the 39-acre location—a former gravel pit off Old Colony Road—was little more than a muddy building site. Now construction of the 10, two- and three-bedroom homes […]

  • Winsted Church Auctions Tiffany Window for $1.25 Million

    Sale highlights women’s role in Tiffany designs By Joe Kelly When medieval architects found ways to build taller cathedrals, the techniques they developed also made possible the enormous stained-glass windows that we so enjoy today, such as at Chartres and Sainte-Chapelle in France and Canterbury Cathedral in England. American-made stained glass is more recent, dating […]

  • A Revolutionary Year

    1776 Norfolk explored in summer exhibition By Andra Moss Communities across the country are looking back with wonder at 1776, the year that 13 British colonies initiated a revolution that, against astonishing odds, led to the birth of an independent republic. In Norfolk, two curators have combed the Norfolk Historical Society’s (NHS) collection for colonial-era […]

  • SUMMER MUSIC: Familiar Quartets, New Composers at Yale Chamber Festival

    By Patricia Platt The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, running from July 3 until Aug. 22, will present an exciting season of classical, innovative and international music. This summer, the Brentano Quartet, Shanghai Quartet, Ying Quartet and the Horszowski Trio are among those who will perform during weekend concerts and serve as artist-in-residence mentors to the […]

  • Botelle Students Move Up

    By Avice Meehan Four sixth graders bid farewell to Botelle Elementary School at a laughter-filled, but occasionally serious, ceremony on June 16 that was attended by family, friends and town officials. First Selectmen Henry Tirrell, a Botelle graduate whose mother and aunt taught at the school for many years, reminded the students that they would […]

  • Norfolk Rail-Trail Project Pedals Forward

    By Jude Mead After more than a decade of planning, permiting and redesign work, Norfolk’s long-await-ed Rails-to-Trails initiative has reached a major milestone, bringing the community closer to the creation of a new multi-use recreational trail along a historic railroad corridor. The project is the North Brook Trail, a planned three-quarter-mile ADA-accessi-ble pathway that will […]

  • LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Budgets, Beetles, Nips and More

    By Avice Meehan State Rep. Maria Horn came prepared to share details about the Connecticut budget (she is co-chair of the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee) and the progress that has been made toward paying down the state’s unfunded pension liability, increasing the rainy day fund (now up to $18 billion) and allocating more state funds […]

Articles

Town War Monuments Illuminated

Lighting funded by Norfolk Community Association By Doreen Kelly At dusk this past Memorial Day, the Norfolk Village Green became a little brighter. The two war memorials located there are now dramatically lit as a constant reminder of the brave Norfolk men and women who have served this country. The first monument is a 24-foot […]

It’s Only Natural

Connecticut Biologists Create Habitat for the Endangered New England Cottontail By Wiley Wood “You can’t miss it. It’s a 57-acre hole in the forest,” says Paul Rothbart, a project manager with the Connecticut State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.  He is giving directions to a tract of state land in Goshen that, with the […]

From Child Care to Family Care

Deanne Towle Joins Northwest Corner’s State Farm Team By Colleen Gundlach There are many different ways to help people.  For 17 years, Norfolk’s Deanne Towle cared for the town’s youngest residents while owning and operating the Norfolk Child Care Center. Today, she is caring for the children in a different way, by helping their families […]

EDC Weighs Plan for Fiber Optic Network

Local technologist sees many potential benefits to town By Kurt Steele With a strong nod to the future, Kim Maxwell briefed the town’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) at its May meeting about the benefits he foresees if Norfolk installed a community-owned fiber optic network. Maxwell is a relatively new resident of Norfolk who has degrees […]

Gourmet Meets Homestyle in Goshen

Not Just Another Roadhouse By Rosanna Trestman Lucky for us, Norfolk now has a choice of four local dining establishments. But it may come as a surprise that a fifth restaurant has been quietly tucked behind the scene all along. Located in Goshen, just a quarter of a mile west of the rotary, A.J.’s Steak […]

Norfolk’s Silent Sentinels

Everything You Need to Know About Utility Poles By John G. Funchion There are 2,153 utility poles in Norfolk. These poles, standing as silent sentinels for years on our roadsides, provide us with all the amenities of modern living: electricity, cable television and internet access. Utility poles were first used above ground in the 19th century […]

ZONE 4

Mounting a Counter Offensive on Invasive Species By Susannah Wood Like most of us living in the Icebox of Connecticut, I greet the first signs of spring with a surge of relief and delight at the first sight of the branch tips of the red maples beginning to color, that first phoebe singing outside our […]

Norfolk Conservation Commission to Offer Ornamental Plant Exchange

Once again, the Conservation Commission is offering a free native plant to residents who take out an invasive ornamental. Bring proof of removal to the Farmers Market on June 15, and pick out a lovely native shrub to replace it. The invasive species we are looking to replace are winged euonymus (burning bush), autumn olive, […]

Regionalization Study Committee Chooses Consultant

Town Involvement Expected in Study Process By Wiley Wood On Wednesday, May 29, the Norfolk-Colebrook Study Committee met to choose a consultant. After hearing two presentations, the committee decided to hire Education Connection to shepherd them through the process. Based in Litchfield, Conn., the organization is the Regional Education Service Center for western Connecticut and […]

Norfolk’s Proposed Budget Up 1 Percent

By Wiley Wood On April 29, the Norfolk Board of Finance presented its budget for fiscal year 2013-2014 to a smattering of Norfolk residents at the Botelle School. The board’s chairman, Michael Sconyers, announced a total increase over last year’s budget of less than 1 percent, translating to a mill rate of 20.22, a bump […]

Vocal Music – A Norfolk Tradition

By Rosanna Trestman Norfolk will be singing this summer when the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival season opens with a concert by the Yale Choral Artists, a new 24-voice chorus of professional singers from around the U.S. It will be directed by Jeffrey Douma, who also directs the Yale Glee Club, and will perform Rachmaninov’s “All […]

Wood Creek Bridge On 272 Under Repair

Construction could end by fall By Bob Bumcrot The bridge across Wood Creek at the intersection of routes 44 and 272 next to Memorial Green is being rebuilt by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The bridge surface itself will be removed, one side at a time, and replaced with concrete and paving. Much of the […]