Describe the relationship Parson Hooper had with his community before the incident with the veil.

The Reverend Hooper previously enjoyed a fairly good relationship with his local community. He was renowned as a good preacher (if none too energetic). He gained a reputation as a minister who would always use persuasion to show his flock the way to heaven, instead of screaming hellfire and brimstone at them like some preachers would. Even more importantly, Mr. Hooper was known throughout the community as a good man; he wasn't called "good Parson Hooper" for nothing.
At the same time, one gets the impression that Mr. Hooper's relationship with his community wasn't all that close; the good folk of Milford generally found him a somewhat forbidding figure. This would explain why everyone was so reluctant to challenge him over his weird new habit of wearing a black facial veil.