When someone mentions the factory workers who helped build Pennsylvania, usually coal miners and steel workers come to mind.

Not a lot of attention is given to the hundreds of thousands of garment workers, nearly all women, who worked long hours in factories in rural areas across the state, oftentimes while raising a family.

“Nobody really talks about these hidden heroes, the seamstresses that worked in the textile industry,” said Tony Giordano, an Eldred Township resident and historian.

An event this Sunday in Eldred Township hopes to bring together some of the women who worked in the garment factories of Monroe and Northampton counties. Giordano and his wife, Renee, created an exhibit featuring photos of the workers from over the years.

The gathering will take place at 2 p.m. in a historic school house owned by the Giordanos, located at 485 Church Road, Kunkletown.

At one time there were more than a dozen small shops around the area where women worked long hours while taking care of things at home.

The factories sprang up in a search for a source of labor that was cheaper and less regulated than was available in the city, and would prosper for half a century.

For the women who worked there the memories were positive and negative. The bosses would push them to the limit, restricting breaks. But the women also came together, holding parties and even wedding showers inside the garment factories.

“It’s almost like a duality, these were terrible times, the work was hard. But these women told stories about how it was a second family,” he said.

Women of all ages worked at the factories, whether they were single or married. Some of the workers left school because they knew they could be hired at the mills.

Giordano said while they were tough, the bosses were liked by the women. Some have recalled going over to a boss’s house for dinner.

In their heyday, each factory would produce hundreds of garments each day, despite often having small staffs. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union operated a resort for its workers near Delaware Water Gap.

Giordano learned about the factories from reading obituaries from women who lived in the area. He was interested in learning about how the garment industry ended up employing so many women from rural Pennsylvania, particularly in Kunkletown, which once had three such factories.

“What struck me the most was the women themselves, not the history part. The suffering these women did, the role they played, and that they got no thanks for it.

He had no trouble finding stories. It seemed like everyone had a woman in their family who had been a garment worker. One woman recently sent him a letter about her mother, who would get the kids ready for school, work eight hours in a factory, return to serve dinner, then work a few more.

“To me, that’s absolutely courageous,” he said.

Eventually, they would close up in the ’70s, as companies searched for even cheaper labor elsewhere, although a few factories managed to stay in business for years after. One company, Maria Rose Fashions, which operated factories in Palmerton and Sciota, eventually became Majestic Athletic, the company which makes Major League Baseball uniforms.

Unfortunately, many of the women who worked the mills around Monroe County have died, and the ones who are remaining are getting up in age.

Giordano decided that there was a need to recognize them. He and his wife decided that the Frantz School house, where they volunteer, would be a good site for the display. They invited all the surviving garment workers they could find, as well as the public, to help remember the garment workers.

They plan on having a video camera on hand so the workers who attend can have some of their stories about life in the factories documented for generations to come.

Sen. Mario Scavello and state Rep. Jack Rader got on board immediately, with plans to honor the former workers who attend Sunday’s event.

“We’re losing these women, and they deserve to have somebody say, ‘thank you for what you’ve done,’ ” he said.