E LUCAS & Co was more than just a textile company, and Kath Leonard can attest to that.Miss Leonard started working at the factory in 1945, immediately after completing primary school.Located at what is now Target, the company produced women's fashion with departments dedicated to children's wear, babies' wear and underwear.At 14-years-old, Miss Leonard worked 44 hours a week in the underwear department, folding and boxing, examining and hand-cutting.But her work, as was the case with all 500 employees, did not finish when the working day ended.The Lucas girls are known Ballarat-wide for their commitment to philanthropic work during the period of the Great War.From the early years, a selfless spirit was ingrained in their hearts and was sifted through the 50-plus years the company was in action.To this day the Lucas old girls continue to give back to their community the best they can.The Ballarat City Council this week voted to call the city's new suburb Lucas in recognition of their work. And Miss Leonard said the Lucas girls were "absolutely chuffed". "The girls are absolutely thrilled to their back teeth," Miss Leonard said. "I think it's great. The Lucas girls ran many events to raise money and everybody did everything voluntarily."E Lucas & Co was founded by Eleanor Lucas in 1888.From humble beginnings, the company started out with Mrs Lucas and her daughters setting up an intimate sewing business in the comfort of their own home.The room was seven metres by six metres and had 12 treadle sewing machines and about 20 employees."It was down in James Street where she lived and started a sewing place and it expanded," Miss Leonard said. "Not bad for a woman to start her own business."Between 1917 and 1919, the 500 employees of E Lucas & Co planted the Ballarat Avenue of Honour trees, dedicated to the men of Ballarat who were enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force.The first 1000 trees were planted on June 3, 1917 and the last 4000 trees on August 16, 1919.When the suggestion was made to plant the trees, the girls enthusiastically took it upon themselves to carry out the project to the very end, raising ?4600 for the arch and the avenue through their own ingenuity. The strong-willed and strong-armed women also loaded the truck with bricks needed to complete the Arch of Victory in time for its opening by the Prince of Wales."Those girls built the arch. They had money taken out of their pay every week," Miss Leonard said."They were very good at raising money. They always have been."When Mrs Lucas passed away in 1923, the business continued to contribute to the Ballarat community. Miss Leonard said her working years did not go without the community involvement that is so greatly associated with the Lucas girls. "We worked overtime and instead of paying us, it was used for whatever else," she said. "There were softball teams, badminton teams and a cricket team. We were involved in a lot of things."As Miss Leonard remembered her 30-odd years working at the factory, there were a few key moments that stood out for her."On the whole, working there was great because we had a lot of companionship," she said."Now that we're all old, we meet every month and we're sort of a bit clannish, I suppose."