Barbara Hatfield’s life of travel, teaching, and tenacity
Photos by Lauren Howe
On Owensboro’s west side, the walls of Barbara Hatfield’s home tell a story as expansive as the world itself. Italian cabinets, Moroccan rugs, Russian kettles, and a globe-turned-bar from Rome serve as relics of a life that spanned continents — and defied expectations.
“I’ve been to just about every place in the world, and most of them twice,” Hatfield said, her voice steady at 89 years old.
Her journey from rural Kentucky to nearly every continent began with a turbulent childhood and a stubborn dream. Raised in poverty and subjected to abuse by her stepfather, Hatfield said she was on her own by the age of 14. Her biological father died in a car crash, and she said he left behind a small inheritance that was quickly squandered by her mother and stepfather.
“At 14, I was on my own,” she said.
She found refuge in Illinois with a retired teacher, through a distant family connection. With encouragement from her new guardian, she flourished, even in a one-room schoolhouse. Hatfield said she scored the highest marks in the state and was dubbed “the brain” in high school.
Hatfield returned to Kentucky in her late teens to live with her half-sister and brother-in-law in Livermore. While working at Weir’s Drug and Jewelry in Owensboro, she saved up for college. A legal claim on the Evansville house her parents once owned yielded $1,000, which she added to her savings.
“I did three semesters and summer school and started teaching in McLean County,” Hatfield said.
After teaching in McLean and Daviess counties, she discovered a program hiring American teachers for overseas military bases — an opportunity she had dreamed of since the seventh grade.
Her first assignment came in the 1960s in Mildenhall, England, with the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS). Hatfield spent the next 32 years teaching children of U.S. service members across Europe, Asia, and even into North Africa and the Middle East.
“I literally taught overseas every year but two,” she said. “Everywhere I went, I made it a point to see the world.”
Hatfield taught second through eighth grade but mostly specialized in middle school reading and math. She also spent two years in special education, earning multiple Outstanding Teacher awards throughout her career.
Her favorite post? “Naples,” she said without hesitation, glancing at a framed painting of the Bay of Naples, gifted to her when she retired.
“I lived at the top of the mountain overlooking the bay,” she said. “Every morning I’d rise up in bed and look out over that view.”
Though she spent 21 years in Madrid and loved the Spanish lifestyle — bullfighting included — she said Naples stole her heart. In every country she lived, she brought back pieces of culture: handcrafted furniture from Italy, tapestries from Spain, ornate canes made from bull horns, and rosaries from the Holy Land.
She rattled off countries she’s visited with ease: Russia, China, India, Morocco, Portugal, Greece, and even Antarctica, though that was an unintended layover during a military flight. She’s visited every U.S. state except Alaska and drove a red Mustang convertible across the country after retirement.
She tried to adopt children in Italy and Spain, but was denied due to local laws. In China, she was part of one of the first tour groups allowed in after it opened to foreigners.
“We couldn’t go anywhere without a guide,” she said. “The people had never seen a white person — they’d make a circle around us just to watch.”
Later, while still in China, she sought to adopt two orphaned girls but was called back to work before she could stay the required five days.
Throughout it all, Hatfield never married. She said she once loved a man in Owensboro but that he moved on while she pursued the adventure she’d always wanted.
“I don’t regret it,” she said. “I’ve had students from all over the world. One even became mayor of Seattle. They still write to me.”
Her globetrotting ended in the mid-1990s when she retired and split her time between Florida and Kentucky, where she eventually settled in Owensboro. Her home — part “museum” and part memory — is filled with furniture, artwork, and keepsakes that reflect a lifetime of exploration.
The table in her dining room is Italian, protected by a glass top.
“I put that on when we have dinner,” she said. “To preserve it.”
Nearby sits a trio of 300-year-old prints salvaged from a storm-damaged monastery in Spain.
“I always wanted to see faraway places,” Hatfield said. “From the time I was a girl, I dreamed of it. And I made it happen.”
She may not travel anymore — her red Mustang now sits idle in the garage — but her stories stretch farther than any road can take her. And even at 89, she offers advice for anyone looking to follow a similar path.
“You have to change a lot if you want to see the world,” she said. “You can’t judge people. You’re in their country, not yours. Be open, be accepting, and never stop learning.”
Hatfield paused for a moment, her eyes scanning the room of treasures once more.
“People helped me all along the way,” she said. “And I’ve lived a life I’m proud of.” OL
