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Day of Appreciation
Honoring the Women & Men
Who Labored in the Blouse Factories & Textile Mills
of Kunkletown & Surrounding Towns
When we think of the history of labor in Pennsylvania, we immediately think of the farmers who fed our growing nation. We also think of the coal miners who fed the boilers that heated our homes and fed the machines of our industries. We of course also think of our steel workers over in Pittsburgh and nearby in Bethlehem.
And we are quick to build monuments to them - as we should. But about a month ago (June 2018) I realized there was a labor force that was invisible - even if there were 200,000 of them in the northeast corner of the state.
I am talking about the seamstresses - the women and handful of men that worked in what was called the "blouse factories" or textile mills.
I became aware of this because I noticed in local obituaries right next to the words "she loved her family, she attended St. Matthews Church" it said "she worked 30 years in Scotty's Fashions", or "she was a 20 year member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union".
Family, church and labor. But why haven't we heard of this, why are there no monuments? At first, I couldn't even find the location of the three local factories. And little did I know that there were 20 or more just within an hour's drive and that nearly every family in Kunkletown had worked in one of these factories at one time or another.
While the story has never been told, it was not a secret and the history was very easy to uncover.
In 1911, in NYC there was a devastating fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The business was a typical textile factory - unsafe conditions, many very young women crowded together, working long hours for little pay. The owners chained the various doors to the fire escapes closed so that the young girls could not step outside to take a break from work and slow down production.
A fire broke out and the women were trapped inside. Some jumped to their death on the sidewalks below. 146 girls died tragically and needlessly.
The public was outraged and demanded safer working conditions, an end to child labor and better pay. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union helped enforce the new rules. But many owners avoided these restrictions by creating "runaway" factories.
A runaway factory was a city factory moved into the rural farmland of Pennsylvania. In Kunkletown, times were rough. If a woman could spend some time working in a nearby factory, she could bring some much needed cash to her family.
Right after the Great Depression of 1929, this money saved not only the families but possibly the town.
But the work was not easy. In the summer, the heat was staggering, and the hours were long. We must remember that these women were farm women and they had chores that needed to be done in addition to working in the factory.
Some would do their morning chores and head off to the factory to work 8 hours. Then they would return home to feed their families dinner and after dinner go back to work for another 3 or 4 hours.
One woman told me of how she began work at just 10 years old. She was proud that she learned some complex operations and became a much sought after worker as she grew up.
Several women told me of accidents where a needle impaled their finger and the manager merely loosened the needle from the machine and said "You should go to the hospital and have it removed", and the worker then drove herself to the hospital in the next town.
I heard many stories like these and I was moved to think that these women were heroes. They deserved their day in the sun, they deserved to have the chains removed from the doors and be brought forward to be honored.
I knew that our town's Board of Supervisors' meetings only attracted a dozen or less residents. And often I heard the Supervisors say "We need more volunteers to come out to join the various committees". I thought this would be a great opportunity - the Supervisors could put aside 20 minutes of one of their meetings to host an award ceremony to honor these women (and their families). As my wife Renee said "There are times that these meetings attract a lot of folks but it is usually because of some problem, not to celebrate. Wouldn't it be nice to fill the town hall with happy faces?". I even suggested that it would be nice to place a permanent plaque on the meeting room wall with the names of these workers.
When I suggested it to the Supervisors I almost immediately got a response that they were going to pass this to the Community Center to do. I was upset because I made it clear that Renee & I would do all the work - all they had to do was hand out the Certificates of Appreciation that we would make for them. I also pointed out that if "they" didn't want to do it, Renee & I were committed to honoring these heroes. It was strange that they suggested "dumping" it on the Community Center because to my knowledge they had never done such a ceremony and also the dedicated volunteers of the Community Center were already working far beyond what should be asked of volunteers.
So Renee & I rolled up our sleeves and got to work. And we were amazed.
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We were amazed at how folks in town and folks who had moved away through the years were delighted to come out and be part of this long over-due thank you.
Many offered photographs, some offered stories and everyone helped spread the word.
We decided to use the 1855 One-Room School for the event. And we began putting together a special exhibit.
Among our favorite photos were the two you see here - the photos were so large they had to be split into two parts - the left & the right.
These were the workers at Kunkletown's Scotty's Fashions and Lee's Fashions.
I found it so interesting that the town's Grist Mill - powered by the Buckwha Creek, sitting alongside the old stone arch bridge - actually became Lee's Blouse factory when the mill closed.
While construction of a memorial to the Grist Mill is being debated, folks don't realize the building was used for more years as a blouse factory than a mill.
Hopefully if the memorial is built they will include mention of our seamstresses.
As the day approached, a neighbor Joyce Meyer Blaskow, stopped by with a treasure trove of items for the day's event - a bag of buttons from the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (from through the years) and a clock in the shape of a sewing machine - also from the union.
These items helped punctuate the day's celebration and will be a center piece of our permanent display dedicated to our town's women.
I have to admit, I was confused as to the location of the third Kunkletown Mill but local residents were very patient with my ignorance and I now know where they were.
Lee's was at the Grist Mill.
Scotty's was by the one lane bridge over Princess Run.
Sand Ridge was behind the old post office.
Renee and I put together a flyer and distributed it around town and mailed out press releases to the media.
We were thrilled when Chris Reber did a full page story about the upcoming event in the Times News.
And we even found our way onto several television stations - one over by Harrisburg, led to a couple driving quite a distance, under the threat of rain to join us on the day.
As the day approached we got a wonderful letter from United States Senator Pat Toomey congratulating the ladies.
And finally the school house was ready for our special guests.
I almost forgot, as the big day approached it rained and rained. It seemed like the scene from Forrest Gump, when he said - "One day it started raining and it didn't stop for four months" - the rains came and continued - ten inches fell and much more was to come.
But on the 22nd the rain stopped, early in the morning, and it held up just until the last guests left.
We were blessed. The first guests arrived early and we were ready.
Even before entering the school, the excitement was so high that folks broke out photos and began sharing them with age-old friends and strangers alike.
Our road only gets a handful of cars going by a day, but today it was like the world's largest yard sale was going on and the edges of the roads were full. We need a parking attendant next time to let folks know they can park on the property of the school.
If anyone needed an indication of how important the women we were honoring that day are to the community let me just say:
Our State Senator Mario Scavello &
Our State Representative Jack Rader
...both attended.
Not only did they attend, but their staffs pre-planned with us
to help make the event
spectacular.
Over 30 women & their families were honored with certificates presented on behalf of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Everyone was delighted.
The entire ceremony was very informal with folks moving about and enjoying the various exhibits in the museum.
Among our honored guests were Stacey Pekurny Correll & her daughter. Stacey has donated a huge collection of vintage photos to the school and in particular ones from events at the former blouse factory where her mother worked.
Here are copies of the cover
and the proclamation
presented by our
distinguished State Officials
And a personal letter
from
the Governor of Pennsylvania
Hon. Tom Wolf.
And we would like to thank
United States Senator Bob Casey
for his kind words.
Senator Scavello & Representative Rader presented us with a plaque for permanent display at the 1855 One-Room School to be part of the permanent exhibit.
In addition, Renee & I have promised to hold a reunion each year to celebrate our heroes -
the women of the textile industry of Pennsylvania.
I should add, that while greedy factory owners came to Kunkletown to take advantage of its people,
the people of Kunkletown were not fooled. They very quickly became active in seeking protections
and rights afforded to workers in the city and through strikes & union activity got parity for their work.
While the work was hard, through the years, the women who worked in these factories
did what they did best - "made a home".
Many of the women made great friendships at work and celebrated baby showers, holidays and other occasions with their second families.
And many of the factory owners, in the later years, were close to being considered friends of the workers.
I would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance along the way
Krysta Christman, Sandy Goddard Gray, Melissa Lutz, Shirley Ann Serfass, Dale Kresge, Lisa Altemose, Betty Shellhammer, Deborah Wiese Cardinella, Anna Jenetta Berger Smith, Patti Ziegenfus Meckes, Michael Froehlich, Stacey Pekurny Correll, Joyce Meyer Blaskow, Marlene Prutzman, Donna Borger Deihl, Wanda Thomas Osmun, Connie Johnson.
And I would like to remember in prayer these women
who spoke to us through their obituaries:
Evelyn M. Smith, Gladys E. Borger, Gisela "Oma" Marie Buciarski, Joan Jeanette Burger, Lorraine P. Borger, Angela Zagra, Irene I. Hawk, Pearl E. Borger
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