What is it like to live in Winchester?
JOANNE RATHE/GLOBE STAFF
A barn at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester.
By Rachel Lebeaux GLOBE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER 28, 2016
Susan Barrett has music in her heart and has dedicated her life’s work to sharing it.
Barrett and her husband, Edward, moved to Winchester in 1971. “We bought a home on Manomet Road, our first little house,” she said. They raised two sons in Winchester.
Barrett taught music for many years in Burlington before joining the Winchester public schools’ music department in the late 1970s. In 1980, she left to teach private piano lessons when her second child was born, instructing hundreds of burgeoning area musicians until her retirement this year. A large party was thrown in her honor, with many longtime former students in attendance.
That kind of gathering is indicative of the close-knit, supportive character of this affluent bedroom community, according to Barrett. “I like that close feeling of the town. I have lived in Winchester from the time that I was a young mother to the time that I am a grandmother. I still feel that the town and its spirit and friendliness are the same,” she said.
Barrett hasn’t stopped spreading music in the community. A few years ago, she picked up the ukulele at the senior center and joined a group called Shukulele. “We have a great time and hopefully bring smiles to a bunch of people,” she said. “I’ve been really active in taking advantage of offerings in the community and hopefully giving something of myself back, too.”
