Did you know that Milton Hershey, the man responsible for bringing chocolate manufacturing to the United States, only completed fourth grade? In keeping with February when thoughts turn to Valentines Day, a time when many heart shaped boxes of chocolates will be exchanged, it seems an appropriate time of year to acknowledge him and his achievements.
Milton Hershey was born on a 350 acre farm near the small community of Derry Church, Pennsylvania the 13th of September, 1857. As the only surviving child of Veronica "Fannie" Snavely Hershey, and Henry Hershey, he was raised in his mother's strict Mennonite faith. Due to frequent family moves while following Henry's many failed businesses, Milton's education was disrupted, and so it was that he only completed the fourth grade. The family farm was sold in 1877, but was bought back by Milton twenty years later.
Milton left school in 1871 apprenticing to a printer that published a German-English newspaper. He soon quit since he didn't care for the work.
When Milton was 18 years old, he began his first candy company in Phillidelphia after a four year apprenticeship with a confectioner, Joseph Royer, in Landcaster County, Pennsylvania. After six years, despite his hard work and the financial backing of his mother's family, the business failed.
Milton then accompanied his father to the silver mines in Colorado and found employment with a confectioner in Denver. It was there he learned the art of making caramels. He soon left Colorado, and tried to form another candy company in New York City. As with his first venture, it, too, was unsuccessful, and in 1886, he returned to Landcaster, Pennsylvania, penniless at the age of 29.
Determined not to give up, he established the Landcaster Caramel Company. A British candy importer offered to sell his products abroad and Milton convinced a bank to lend him the financial backing necessary to expand his business. In four years his company met with great success and established Milton Hershey as a confectioner, becoming one of the largest manufacturers of caramels in the United States.
While visiting an exhibit at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Milton became interested in chocolate making machinery, and bought the equipment for his plant in Landcaster. Soon afterwards, his company was producing chocolate and cocoa for coatings and flavorings for his caramels, and not long later, he began selling his products to other candy makers. The first recorded sale of Hershey's chocolate was on April 17, 1895.
During a trip to Jamestown, New York, Milton met Catherine Sweeny. They were married in New York City on May 25, 1898. Their's was a good marriage, each doting on the other, and they traveled the world together.
In 1900, Milton sold his caramel company in Landcaster for one million dollars and devoted his attention exclusively to his chocolate business. At the time, milk chocolate was a luxurious, Swiss product and Milton Hershey was determined to make it available to the American public. He created his own formula for milk chocolate through trial and error, and in 1903 construction began on a new chocolate manufacturing plant at Derry Church, which was to become the world's largest. It was completed in 1905 and was designed to mass produce his product which became the first chocolate to be marketed nationally.
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Milton Hershey felt a deep responsibility to his community and those who worked for him. He built a new, model town around his factory which consisted of comfortable homes, a public school system, public transportation, and recreational and cultural facilities for his employees. He built a park which opened April 24, 1907 and over the next several years a swimming pool, ballroom, and amusement rides were added. Trolley cars brought thousands of visitors to the park each year.
Milton and Catherine remained childless, which saddened them greatly. Because of this and the fact they believed in sharing the fruits of their success, they established the Hershey Industrial School in 1909 for orphaned boys. It was first located on the farm where Milton Hershey was born. Catherine passed away prematurely in 1915 following a long illness, and three years later, Milton endowed his entire fortune of Hershey Chocolate Company stock to the school. It is now called the Milton Hershey School, and it provides housing and education for disadvantaged children on it's 9,000 acres. Milton never remarried and carried Catherine's picture with him for the rest of his life.
In 1935 Milton began the small, private, M.S. Hershey Foundation, which supports the Hershey Museum, Hershey Gardens, the Hershey Theater, and the Hershey Community Archives, and though he passed away in 1945 at the age of 88, his legacy continued to grow. In 1963, with a fifty million dollar award from the Milton Hershey School Trust, and over twenty three million dollars from the U.S. Public Health Services, the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of The Pennsylvania State University was founded. The first students were enrolled in The College of Medicine in 1967 which has since conferred thousands of doctor of medicine degrees.
Through hard work and perseverance, Milton Hershey rose to great heights from humble beginnings, and made many meaningful contributions to society. One of the legacies he left that may be enjoyed by all, is the familiar treat we have come to recognize through the decades as the Hershey's chocolate bar.
