NORFOLK — Tasty food, coffee and a friendly atmosphere are drawing people to the ICBX, a new café offering breakfast and lunch.
The ICBX, so named in honor of Norfolk being known as the Icebox of Connecticut, opened on Monday, Dec. 2, after many delays in the installation of an exhaust system.
“Something you’d think would take two weeks, ends up taking three months,” café co-owner Peter Crippen said. In this case it took much longer than three months, closer to two years. He said the bigger companies kept pushing back the job in favor of bigger jobs. Finally, using local contractors was the key and the work was done more quickly.
Marinelle Crippen, Peter’s wife and partner in the business, works at the counter greeting customers and taking orders while Peter is in the kitchen cooking.
“Things have been going very well,” Peter said. “We get busy, we handle it and learn each day how to refine the flow from everything for customer service to food preparation.” Marinelle agreed, saying, “It’s been fun so far.”
The Crippens are not strangers to working with food. They bring their experience running Rex Café in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, managing the Mermaid Inn in Chelsea and Red Rooster in Harlem, to the ICBX.
Peter Crippen, owner of the ICBX cafe at Station Place in Norfolk, prepares to cook a made to order omelet. ICBX opened on December 2nd. Peter and his wife Marinelle run the cafe together and offer breakfast and lunch from 7a.m. to 2p.m., everyday except Tuesday. Robin Roraback
In addition, Peter’s mother makes Mrs. Crippen’s Bourbon and Molasses Fruitcake, which is available at ICBX. His sister ran Irving Farm Coffee House in Millerton, New York, for many years. When Peter and son Rex went on a fishing trip recently, his sister filled in at the grill.
“It is amazing how the Breakfast Burritos have gone over.” Peter remarked. He also said that he has brought back something he remembers from childhood: toasted muffins. He said that once customers have a toasted muffin “it is the only way to eat it.”
David Gourley of Norfolk has quickly become a regular customer. He sat at the counter, chatting with Marinelle. “It’s a wonderful meeting place and a welcome addition to our community,” he said. Of his made to order three egg omelet, he said, “The tomatoes are warmed on the grill first. Delicious.”
ICBX offers coffee, tea, biscuit sliders, oatmeal, yogurt and granola. Breakfast sandwiches can be made to order with a choice of sausage, ham, egg, avocado, bacon, tomato and cheese. Breakfast Chorizo Burritos have options of onion, egg and hot sauce. Vegetable Burritos can be made with green peppers, mushrooms, black beans, egg and hot sauce.
A variety of baked goods is also available, including scones, breads and muffins.
Starting Thursday, Jan. 2, the café began offering lunch. The lunch menu contains two sandwiches, soup and salad.
In December they were open every day except Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and in January extended the hours until 2 p.m. For more information, call (860) 671-0005 or stop by the ICBX at 10 Station Place in Norfolk.
First Selectman Gordon Ridgway presents the proclamation declaring Feb. 8 Robin Starr Day in Cornwall.
Pippa Cavalier, a 7th grader at CCS, explained Starr earned the medal “for being wounded twice in battle. And he was also the first Black soldier to get that award. ”On Feb. 8, 1781, Starr became a free man by purchasing his freedom. He later owned land in Cornwall and Sharon, as verified by census data and meeting minutes discovered through student research in conjunction with the Cornwall Historical Society.
Nearly 245 years later, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway prepared a proclamation declaring Feb. 8, 2026, as Robin Starr Day. The proclamation was presented to the 7th graders on Feb. 5. As part of the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, Cornwall was compiling a list of local veterans. Starr was not previously on the list, but because of the student research he has since been added.
“You’ve led us to learn a lot about this story,” Ridgway said to the class, praising the efforts of the students.
First Selectman Gordon Ridgway learns from 7th graders at Cornwall Consolidated School about the story of Robin Starr, a man who bought his freedom after serving in the Revolutionary War.Riley Klein
The idea to research Starr came when the students spoke with John Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation in West Hartford, whose company researches formerly enslaved peoples and brings their stories to light.
“The timing of this worked well,” said Will Vincent, history teacher at CCS. He pointed out that Starr’s Feb. 8 payment to buy his freedom coincides with Black History Month. “It all ties together.”
A presentation on Starr’s life and legacy will be given by the students at Troutbeck Symposium this spring. There, they will show informational posters about Starr’s life, a three-dimensional model of his land near the Housatonic River, a depiction of the uniform he likely wore serving in the 2nd and 7th Regiments, his family tree and other visual cues to bring his story to life.
Cavalier noted that Starr does not have a gravestone in town, but some of his descendants are buried in Calhoun Cemetery. “So, we decided to get him an honorary gravestone in Calhoun Cemetery.”
The students plan to deliver a full address to the community at the Memorial Day ceremony in May.
Kaelan Mullen-Leathem jumps in the Salisbury Invitational.
SWSA President Ken Barker, found just after descending the steep, slick landing of the K65 jump in his characteristic crampons, said “this night is for the community and people turned out.”
Target jumping launched just after 7 p.m. as skiers sought to hit a 65- meter and 70-meter distance – about 213 and 230 feet, respectively. For the 70-meter launch, Jack Kroll of Lake Placid, New York’s NYSEF team and Spencer Jones of Brattleboro, Vermont’s HHN outfit tied with 69-meter jumps and $500 on the line.
Light snow started to fall as fireworks launched from the top of Satre Hill, with SWSA’s red, blue and white colors illuminating the healthy snowpack below as watchers “oohed” and “aahed,” swilling specialty beers from Norbrook Farm Brewery, including an IPA brewed specifically for the event.
Wrapping up the evening was the always-anticipated human dog sled race, with spectators cheering, laughing and occasionally grimacing as teams of six – one sledder and five pullers – sprinted and sometimes sprawled across the icy flats below the K65 landing. The Terrible Toymakers ended up claiming the coveted victory, making quick work of the course with the evening’s fastest time of 21.19 seconds.
Saturday morning was met with single-digit temperatures and piercing wind. But that didn’t stop the youth jumpers from skiing down the K20 and K36 hills.
It was the first official launch of the new jump on the K36 hill. Spencer Jones caught big air in the youth competition and soared 35.5 meters, the longest jump of the morning.
Fireworks over Satre Hill Friday, Feb. 6.Alec Linden
Guests entering Satre Hill were greeted by cutouts of ski jumpers who competed there over the past 100 years. Spectators huddled around the bonfires situated on either side of the landing zone. Mac-n-cheese provided warmth to some, while others went for hot toddies. And the SWSA snack bar was serving up burgers, hot dogs and brats.
Rocco Botto, a Cornwall selectman, was in attendance and said it was his first time at Jumpfest. He wisely wore four layers of clothing to combat the cold.
Between events, some young spectators kept occupied by building an igloo. Before the roof of the structure could be built, it was announced that jumping for the rest of the day was postponed due to high wind. It was deemed unsafe for jumpers.
The Nordic combined competition took place Saturday afternoon, which combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing into a single winter sports event.
Sunday morning remained in the single digits, but the wind wasn’t as strong as Saturday. With the sunshine it was almost comfortable. A small but dedicated crowd of about 150 was on hand around 10 a.m. when the Salisbury Invitational event got underway with trial jumps.
One jumper was SWSA’s own Ariel Picton Kobayashi, author of “Ski Jumping in the Northeast: Small Towns and Big Dreams.” Islay Shiel, a junior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School representing SWSA in the competitions, placed second among females on the K65 hill. The winner was her Junior Nationals teammate Caroline Chor, who jumps for Ford Sayre. The duo won gold together at the Junior National Ski Jumping competition in Utah in 2025.
Gus Tripler prepares to jump from the new 36-meter jump.
Satre Hill and SWSA are celebrating their 100th Anniversary of ski jumping in northwest Connecticut this week. As part of this week’s festivities, Salisbury Central School was invited to watch a demonstration of jumping on the 20-meter and the newly installed 36-meter ski jumps.
The event began with Coach Seth Gardner welcoming Salisbury Central School to the jump complex and explaining the sport and training that goes into ski jumping.
Ski jumpers Oona Mascavage and Camden Hubbard assisted Coach Gardner by showing off equipment used in the sport from the oversized skis to the aerodynamic jump suits as well as the proper starting form known as the in-run position.
Salisbury Central School with SWSA jumpers.Dan Hubbard
Then, Willie Hallihan of the SWSA offered students a brief history of ski jumping in Salisbury, tracing the sport’s local roots back a century to when the Satre brothers first launched themselves off a barn before going on to construct the area’s first ski jumping hill. After the history lesson, younger jumpers showed how to begin the sport by skiing down the landing portion of the hill called the outrun.
Jumpers proceeded to show basic jumping from the 20-meter hill, where most beginners start. The event was capped with a demonstration of jumping from the bigger 36-meter hill, where the real flying begins led by one of SWSA's veterans, Gus Tripler.
Willie Halloran of SWSA, Coach Seth Gardner, and ski jumpers Oona Mascavage and Camden Hubbard giving a history of Salisbury ski jumping and equipment demonstration.C Tripler
The SWSA operates one of the oldest ski jumping facilities in the United States and is the home club of 1956 Olympic ski jumper Roy Sherwood and legendary ski jumping coach Larry Stone. The organization has hosted Olympic ski jumpers over the years, including many members of the current U.S. Olympic ski jumping team, now competing in Italy at the Winter Games.
The future of ski jumping at SWSA remains strong, with plans underway to install artificial grass that would allow for summer jumping and year-round training. Islay Sheil, a homegrown jumper, is currently competing on the Junior National Ski Jumping circuit, which includes Olympic-size 100-meter hills.
The 100th anniversary celebrations will continue Feb. 6–8 with Jumpfest, which will feature ski jumping events at Satre Hill in Salisbury.
The jumps at Satre Hill are groomed and ready for launch of the 100th annual Jumpfest Feb. 6 to 8.Photo by Lans Christensen
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