| Milton S. Hershey - (1857-1945)
Milton Snavely Hershey was born on
September 13, 1857, in a farmhouse in Central Pennsylvania.
He was a poor boy turned
millionaire, he was loved and admired as well as envied and sometimes misunderstood. Mr.
Hershey was a man of principle who never gave up.
A chocolate bar carried his name
around the world and made him a legend. |
Milton Snavely Hershey was
born on September 13, 1857, in a farmhouse near the Central Pennsylvania village of Derry
Church. He was a descendant of people who had come to Pennsylvania from Switzerland and
Germany in the 1700s. Raised as a Mennonite, he attended school only through the fourth
grade before his father, Henry Hershey, put him to work as a printer's apprentice in Gap,
Pennsylvania.
It wasn't long before Milton discovered that his talents did not lie in printing. He went
on to become an apprentice to a Lancaster, PA, candy-maker and, in 1876 at the age of 18,
opened his own candy shop in Philadelphia. The business failed after six years. He then
moved on to Denver where he accepted a job with a caramel maker.It was there that he
learned of the results of fresh milk in making good caramels. Hershey moved to Chicago,
then New Orleans, then to New York City. In each of these cities he tried to establish his
own candy business. Finally, in 1886 he moved back to Pennsylvania where he established
the Lancaster Caramel Company. This time he met with great success.
In 1900, Mr. Hershey sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million. He returned to his
birthplace, Derry Church, and located his chocolate manufacturing operation in the heart
of Pennsylvania's dairy country. Here he could obtain the large supplies of fresh milk
needed to make fine milk chocolate. In 1903, with the money he received for his caramel
business, he began to build what is now the world's largest chocolate manufacturing plant.
It opened in 1905, and the mass production of milk chocolate by Mr. Hershey's had begun.
Mr. Hershey was a man of principle. He never wrote and seldom spoke about his beliefs, but
as a "doer" he put his beliefs into action. Throughout his life, he was
committed to the highest standards of quality, honesty, fairness and integrity. His
imagination and drive, his ceaseless labor and his care and concern for others were an
inspiration to all who worked with him. Milton Hershey believed wealth should be used for
the benefit of others. Milton Hershey was very community-minded, and donated money for
many of the cultural and recreational facilities found in Hershey. These included a
amusement park and zoo, public gardens, and a sports arena.
Mr. Hershey used his chocolate fortune primarily for two projects: the town of Hershey and
his Industrial School. Because he had no children of his own in 1909 he and his wife
established and financed the Milton Hershey School. It was an educational institution for
orphaned boys. In 1918 he placed most of his fortune in trust for the school. Today, the
10,000-acre school houses and provides education for nearly 1,100 children (boys and
girls) whose family lives have been disrupted. Through the Hershey Trust Company, the
School owns 35.5 percent of Hershey Foods' Common Stock classes outstanding, controls 76.4
percent of the corporation's voting shares, and is a direct beneficiary of Hershey Foods'
success.
Milton S. Hershey died at the age of 88 on October 13, 1945. A chocolate bar had carried
his name around the world and made him a legend. Poor boy turned millionaire, he was loved
and admired as well as envied and sometimes misunderstood. His personal convictions about
the obligations of wealth and the quality of life in the town he founded have made the
company, community and school a living legacy.
Sources: | Comptons | Internet Resources at
Hershey , Pa. |