• 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

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 […]

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 […]

Botelle Fine Tunes at Mid-Year

By Avice Meehan The Board of Education received a mid-year snapshot of student performance and growth from Botelle Principal Lauren Valentino at its Feb. 24 meeting as part of a packed agenda that also included reports on completion of elevator repairs and praise for the “Blizzard of Fun” program during Weekend in Norfolk. Staff and […]

Chance Comment Yields Historic Gown

By Avice Meehan It was a hot August day, nearly six years ago, when Barry Webber found himself inside a dumpster in Litchfield looking for something unexpected: An evening gown commissioned in the 1870s by a young Alice Eldridge from the House of Worth in Paris while she and her sister, Isabella, were on a […]

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Norfolk but Didn’t Know Where to Ask

By Colleen Gundlach There really is no longer any reason for Norfolk residents to not know how the town operates, who is on any given board or committee in town, or what was discussed and decided at such board and committee meetings. If you have a computer and internet access, the whole town is an […]

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 […]

The Celestial Sphere

March Skies and the Vernal Equinox By Matthew Johnson It has been an unusually cold winter, even by Norfolk standards. The constellations of Orion, and Canis Major, the great hunter and his dog, must have struggled during those frigid nights to rise in the east and traverse the southern meridian to set in the west […]

It’s Only Natural

Planting with Bare Root Stock is a Win-Win-Win By Susannah Wood While March can be cold and forbidding, the month officially kicks off spring and rouses us out of dormancy. Many of us start thinking about our yards and gardens in earnest. The Norfolk Nature Alliance is organizing a year-long effort to promote planting for […]

Norfolk Children’s Foundation is a Living Legacy of Dorothy Satherlie

Dorothy “Dottie” Jane Satherlie, a woman whose life spanned over a century of profound change and even more profound service, passed away peacefully at her home on Jan. 29, 2026. At 102 years old, Dottie leaves behind a legacy defined by her unwavering commitment to education, her deep-rooted faith, and a family that stretches across […]

Mike Case Lived Life to the Fullest

Edward “Mike” Case, Jr. passed away peacefully on Jan. 31, 2026, at the age of 75. Mike was the loving son of the late Edward Case, Sr. and Virginia (Jasmin) Case. Mike was born and raised in Colebrook. From a very young age Mike worked in the woods, logging with his father and at times […]