Editing Streator, Illinois (section)

===Glass manufacturing===
Glassmaking and, more specifically, glass blowing was a highly skilled craft. Most of America's glassblowers came from Europe, or were trained there. Many of Streator's immigrant coal miners were trained in glass blowing. High-grade silica, the main ingredient in glass was in abundance in the Streator region and nearby Ottawa. The combination of silica, coal to fire the furnaces and skilled craftsmen were a perfect match for Streator's second major industry which began in 1887 with the Streator Bottle and Glass Company.<ref name="edgewater">{{Cite web |last=Gemperle |first=Kathryn |date=2007-10-01 |title=Glass Manufacturing |url=http://www.edgewaterhistory.org/articles/index.html?v18-3-5.html |access-date=2008-12-03 |website=Newsletter Fall-2007 |publisher=Edgewater Historical Society}}</ref>  Other companies like Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Corp (later Anchor Glass Containers) which began manufacturing milk bottles in 1909,<ref name="thatchers01">{{Cite web |date=2002-06-26 |title=Former Anchor Glass employees to gather |url=http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/print_display.php?id=245703 |access-date=2008-12-03 |website=Streator Times-Press News}}</ref> the American Bottle Company in 1905, the Streator Cathedral Glass Company in 1890, Owens-Illinois and others soon followed. Through the 20th century Streator was known as the "Glass Container Capital of the World."<ref name="chamberabout">{{Cite web |date=2008-03-14 |title=Streator Area Chamber of Commerce – About Streator |url=http://www.streatorchamber.com/city-profile/city-profile.html |access-date=2008-10-20 |publisher=Streator Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry}}</ref>