World War II Silk Mills

Cheney Brothers Silk Mills- Manchester, Connecticut

World War II Silk Mills

Pioneer Parachute Company

The Great Depression brought the eventual failure of the Cheney Mills, despite that the mills were prosperous, and employed nearly a quarter of Manchester residents in the 1920s. Pioneer Parachute, an offshoot of the Cheney Company however, helped in defense efforts for World War II, in collaboration with Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, an aerospace company that still employs a majority of Hartford County residents today.

Mary Severick, above, stitches parachute harness for the Pioneer Parachute Company Mills in July of 1942. Although the Cheney Mills themselves had failed during the Depression, Pioneer parachute used a new stock of silk during the war, and employed women to sew parachutes together.