The lasting legacy of windshield wipers

Windshield wipers have provided a philanthropic treasure to western New York.

On a rainy night in 1916, John R. Oishei struck a bicyclist he hadn’t seen on the road. The cyclist, fortunately, wasn’t seriously hurt, but a shaken Oishei was moved to find ways to improve drivers’ vision. He went on to found Trico, a company manufacturing windshield wipers.

Oishei died in 1968 at age 82. The foundation created from his wealth continues as a major funder of causes in Buffalo and the surrounding area.

The best-known recipient is the Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. The John R. Oishei Foundation has also supported other hospital and health programs in the region, along with food distribution, educational and religious organizations.

It has purchased operating room stretchers for the hospital in Westfield and helped build a memory care unit at Brothers of Mercy in Clarence. The foundation’s most common description for grants, as listed in its 2019 tax return, is “basic human needs,” applied to support for organizations as diverse as Habitat for Humanity, the Polish Community Center of Buffalo, Native American Community Services, and Rural Outreach in East Aurora.

The foundation lists assets of $285 million.