Basic Needs/Social Services
In the early 1900s, Winchester was a very different place. Horse wagons lined packed dirt roads. Men in dark suits and Derby hats swept store fronts, and young men peddled fresh fruit and fish from wooden carts. Wool was big business—Winsted Hosiery and the New England Knitting Company factory buildings stretched over Still River, providing ladies and men’s undergarments and steady employment for hundreds. By 1917, the United States was at war, and the women of Winsted were an integral part of the war effort.
During WW1 the New England Knitting Company, like many American factories had shifted its production to benefit the war effort, allocating more than 80 percent of production to manufacturing wool garments for the United States Army. With most of the men deployed in the war, the bulk of that work was done by the women of Winchester.
The dedication and hard work of those women was not lost on Leverett W. Tiffany, co-manager of the New England Knitting Company, who created a trust to benefit the women of Winchester. As a testament to his appreciation for the hard-working women of Winchester, the trust made available financial assistance to any woman who was experiencing economic hardship or illness.
In 2020, the trust came under the management of the Community Foundation as the Northwest CT Community Foundation Leverett W. Tiffany Fund. True to the wishes of Leverett W. Tiffany, the fund will continue to benefit Winchester women experiencing financial hardship.
A recent grant from the NCCF Leverett W. Tiffany Fund supported the Town of Winchester Resident’s Assistance Fund. The grant will support Winchester women experiencing needs that cannot be addressed through state and federal programs. In late 2021, the grant supported the purchase of a split box spring and mattress for a woman living in Winchester.
“We are grateful to the Northwest CT Community Foundation for awarding the Town of Winchester the Northwest CT Community Foundation Leverett W. Tiffany Fund grant,” said Joshua Steele Kelly, Winchester Town Manager & CEO.
“We know that these funds will be helpful to our community members as we embark upon the increase in heating and food costs this winter.”
