Josephine Fenton Gifford

The Creche Inc. will celebrate the 125th anniversary of its founding by Josephine Fenton Gifford with the opening of the Explore 125 Years of Creche exhibit at the Fenton History Center Museum on Sept. 18.

The exhibit will remain on display at the Fenton History Center during its daily open hours until Nov. 8.

On opening night, the community is invited to view the exhibit from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. to learn how Gov. Reuben Fenton’s daughter Josephine Gifford was a trailblazer in the city of Jamestown at the turn of the twentieth century. She was deeply involved in community service and played a major role in establishing WCA Hospital, serving on its Board of Directors for two decades, is attributed to starting the Chautauqua County Chapter of the American Red Cross and is the founding member of the Mozart Club, the first women’s club in Chautauqua County. In 1900, she was inspired to instill the same spirit of service in her teenage daughter, Cecile, by suggesting that she and her friends sew garments after school for the infants at WCA Hospital. From this modest beginning, Josephine Gifford created Creche to evolve into a philanthropic and service group focused on helping children in need.

The scope of Creche’s impact has increased over the past 125 years, but the organization has never wavered from its original mission of caring for the children of the Jamestown area. The call to action that Josephine Gifford made in 1900 has been answered by every succeeding generation, passed down to daughters, colleagues, and friends. Creche’s endurance through multiple global pandemics, World War I, World War II, the Great Depression, and significant social and political change over the decades.

The exhibit consists of four life-sized panels displayed in intervals throughout the museum. The panel descriptions span from the founding of Creche in 1900 to the present. A timeline of The Creche’s notable community projects, throughout its history, will also be on display.

Creche is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, established in 1900, by local Jamestown women to provide ongoing support to fill any ‘gap needs’ for infants, children, and youth. To date, the organization continues to provide childcare needs, beds, educational supplies, holiday gifts and countless other needs that cannot be timely met by other organizations. Learn more at www.crecheforkids.org.