When Barbara Barker arrived in Hanover in 1964, she fell in love with the community. That initial infatuation made her one of the South Shore's most well-known, widely read and beloved historians. In this collected work, the Hanover Historical Society shares the stories Barbara Barker loved to tell, of the early days when shipbuilders and oxen drivers were as prevalent as farmers and hoteliers. Step inside the old village markets and ride along the old back roads or on the tracks of the Hanover Branch Railroad to see what Hanover once was and what remains today.
Barbara Barker wrote forty thousand words about her hometown, Hanover, Massachusetts, where she lived from 1964 to 2016. She was an elementary school teacher for more than forty years, a caring passionate teacher of math and history who enriched the lives of hundreds of students. She was a natural leader who took great satisfaction in giving back to her town and was named Hanover Town Historian for her knowledge and dedication. She was the second recipient of the Spirit of Hanover Award, co-authored two books on the history of the town, served as president of the historic Stetson House in Hanover and was a board member of the Hanover Historical Society, as well as writing and directing original plays, taking students on guided bus tours that brought the history of their town to life and being the heart and soul of the Stetson House annual Christmas tour.