When the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (PPG) opened a factory in Mount Vernon in 1907, glassmaking was considered a highly dangerous occupation that required a certain set of skills believed to be a man’s work. As in most other industries at the time, there were no women working at the factory until World War II. In 1940, as men went off to war, industrial companies needed to temporarily replace their workers, calling on women to take their place. Considered a prestigious occupation in the community, the women of Mount Vernon hired by PPG were granted one of the higher-paying jobs in town.