Tea for the soul: Exploring harmony and tranquility in Norfolk

Mrs. Li-Jin Chung and Mr. Wenchin Tsai Photo by Jennifer Almquist
Mr. Wenchin Tsai and Mrs. Li-Jin Chung greeted visitors with welcoming smiles at the open house held Sunday, Nov. 5, at the Connecticut-Asia Cultural Center on Westside Road.
Mr. Tsai, who manages the tour guides for the Center, explained their mission is to “promote cultural exchange to enhance mutual understanding among people. This is a place where you can explore the roots of spiritual thought that have influenced the world.”
Beyond the ornate metal gates emblazoned with the logo of the Connecticut-Asia Cultural Center lies a world that enchants, educates and humbles the viewer. The marble reception area displays its motto—“Love, Mutual Support, and Peace”—surrounded by the Chinese characters for gentleness, kindness, respect, frugality, yielding, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and sincerity.
As the tour began, Mrs. Chung continued: “The Center opened on Aug. 6, 2022, to introduce Asian culture through education and dialogue, and to integrate with the local community with the goal of creating a more harmonious society. We must walk together as a team, as we are all the same under our skin.” Mrs. Chung, formerly a systems analyst at Bell Labs, volunteers her time at the Center “because I am passionate about our mission.”
Housed in an extraordinary stone castle built at the turn of the century, the Center contains museum-style art and history exhibits exploring the background and meaning of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and the spiritual and mystical aspects of the Incan and pre-Columbian culture of Peru. Young docents, volunteers who come from as far away as Montreal, are on hand to answers questions, bring fresh glasses of water, and knowledgeably guide the curious through three floors of interactive, mysterious and informative displays.
Sculptures, paintings from Taiwan and Canada, ancient artifacts, stained glass windows, calligraphic scrolls, and brilliant silk ceremonial robes glowing in the light fill the senses. There is a tunnel of glass lit from within that has water flowing down its sides to help visitors feel tranquil in their Spiritual Exploration Zone.
While the purpose of the museum is serious, there are flights of fancy. For instance, in one display, a button asks visitors to choose whether they pray for peace. There is a hand suspending a globe that, if the wrong answer is given, pulls the Earth underwater and a film plays showing global catastrophic events; push the “yes” button and the message is hope, light and salvation. In a separate building on this 48-acre estate, there is a Peruvian cultural exhibit, which has at its centerpiece a life-sized llama serving as a backdrop for a selfie photo booth.
Entering the vast Victorian dining room, Mrs. Chung explained that in 1998 when the Confucian Study Association purchased the property, it was in a state of disrepair. The funding for the restoration project has come from private sources around the world. Craftsmen from Taiwan were brought to Norfolk to reproduce the mahogany panels and coffered ceilings from the heyday of this massive stone house, which was designed by Henry Hornbostel for his widowed client, Pulitzer-Prize-winning Serbian physicist and inventor Michael I. Pupin, who wrote in his memoir, “From Immigrant to Inventor”: “In 1897 I bought a farm at Norfolk. This blessed spot where I regained my health and happiness, became my real American home and I have never had any desire to seek a better haven of happiness in any other place.” There is a display in the museum honoring the origins of the home including an image of Pupin and his friend Albert Einstein.
On Nov. 5, the Center held an open house and tea ceremony for the community to enjoy. A table set with soft linens, flowers and a row of teacups waited in a sunny alcove of the great paneled room. A row of guests joined the two women, who explained the tradition and meanings behind the aesthetic tea ceremony they call the Tao of Tea. They served red and green teas from Ali Mountain in Taiwan.
In a stone castle built to restore the soul of a man, it is fitting that its walls contain an organization that believes “The earth is the home we all share. By reducing conflicts and living in harmony and mutual prosperity, we are fulfilling our responsibility of protecting the earth. To achieve this goal relies on people being able to awaken and to manifest universal love, tolerance and mutual assistance. In this way we can honor the possibility of peaceful coexistence among people and create a bright and happy future.”
For more information: ctasiaculture.com
Call: 877-274-2285
The Connecticut-Asia Cultural Center
207a Westside Road
Norfolk, Connecticut 06058
The Center was open this year on the first weekend of every month, April–November 2023. Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It will reopen in the spring.
Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.
AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.
“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.
“Megan’s job is not an easy one,” Blackman said, honoring Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent who has served the town for 20 years.
Also among those honored was Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner for 20 years of service as Court Clerk.
Maureen Moore, Court Clerk, was also honored in absentia for her 20 years of town service.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
Downtown Millerton
MILLERTON — Voter turnout in the Village of Millerton dropped sharply in 2025, with just 58 ballots cast in this year’s village election — less than a third of the record turnout seen just two years earlier.
The election on June 17 marked a stark contrast to 2023, when signs littered the intersection of Route 22 and Route 44 and 208 voters headed to the polls to decide a competitive mayoral race between incumbent Jenn Najdek and challenger Kelly Kilmer. That year also featured two contested trustee positions and generated the highest turnout in at least five years.
This year’s ballot looked much different. All three candidates — Mayor Jenn Najdek, Trustee David Sherman, and newcomer Katie Cariello — ran unopposed. With no contested races, just 57 voters turned out, plus one absentee ballot and one spoiled ballot.
Participation in village elections has fluctuated significantly over the past five years, often correlating with whether races were contested.
An uncontested trustee race during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw unusually low turnout with just 17 ballots cast. The 2022 election, which also featured two unopposed trustee candidates, saw a more typical 135 ballots.
Years with competitive mayoral or trustee races saw spikes in participation. In 2021, 147 voters turned out, followed by a special runoff one week later that drew 157 ballots after a tied trustee race. During that race, three trustees ran for two seats, with David Sherman and Laurie Kerr ultimately elected.
The most recent contested election in 2024 drew 122 voters. Matthew Hartzog, Matthew Soleau and Kelly Kilmer ran, with Hartzog and Soleau elected. While that marked a dip from the previous year, it was still more than double the number who turned out this year.
While elections in small villages like Millerton often see modest turnout, the wide swings from year to year suggest that competitive races — and clearer distinctions between candidates — play a major role in mobilizing voters.
Despite the lack of competition, this year’s election produced a few notable results. Trustee David Sherman led all candidates with 52 votes, including 13 on the Republican line and 39 on the Democratic. Mayor Najdek was re-elected with 47 votes — 41 on the Democratic line and six on the Republican. Newcomer Katie Cariello received 39 votes — 34 Democratic and five Republican. There were also four write-ins for mayor and three for trustee.