Historian used modern skills to preserve the past

Dan Socha’s deep reverence for the past and his comfort with modern technology combined to create a reservoir of Dartmouth history that will live forever.

That theme reverberated in memories shared by friends and colleagues Sunday at the Dartmouth Historical & Arts Society headquarters Sunday during a tribute to Socha and an unveiling of a plaque in his memory that will be displayed at society’s headquarters and at Town Hall, said Robert Harding, society president. 

Socha served as a board member and webmaster for the society prior to his death at 80 on Dec. 29, 2020. 

Through Socha’s efforts, “people who are interested in local history now have an avenue to explore that history’’ in permanent form, said local historian Richard Gifford. 

His work represented “a magnificent achievement that’s going to be a benefit to us and to generations’’ to come, Gifford said.

Socha used his computer skills to create, design and maintain the society Website, Harding said. He also maintained the digital library on the site, which links to various historical programs and records. 

One of his major projects and lasting legacies, various speakers said, was the “untold hours’’ he spent as project manager and gatekeeper for the society’s Quaker Records Project. 

He was credited with much of the work of preserving and transcribing thousands of pages of notes from the Dartmouth Monthly Meetings of Quakers, dating back to 1699. 

That work is scheduled to be published soon, Harding said.

This effort relieved “a lot of our worries about our records,’’ said Anne Lopoulos, treasurer of the Smith Neck Friends.

Having those records permanently recorded and accessible by computer keeps them safe and preserved for future generations, she said. “Hands touching records is not always the best,’’ she said of records.

His work “to preserve, protect and promote the Town of Dartmouth’s historical record has been an invaluable asset,’’ said a letter written by Dartmouth Select Board chair Shawn McDonald on behalf of the board.

“They don’t make many men like that anymore,’’ his friend Jeff Graber said. 

Along with a rich legacy of local history, Socha left his fellow society members with an important task, Harding said. 

“By girding ourselves for learning new skills, we as a membership body will accept the responsibilities Dan so comfortably carried on for our dear DHAS and continue to advance and build on them,’’ he said.