The
town of Hershey was founded in 1903 by Milton S. Hershey,
the  "Chocolate
King." A few years earlier, he sold his caramel
candy business for $1 million dollars to the American
Caramel Company. In a shrewd business decision that
was to change his life forever, he kept the rights
to make chocolate.
Using
the proceeds of the sale of his caramel business,
he built a chocolate factory in the midst of Derry
Township farmland. The supply of milk for his factory
was plentiful and the Scotch-Irish citizenry was
known for its good work ethic. In that time period,
chocolate was not widely consumed or affordable.
Mr. Hershey set out and succeeded in being the Henry
Ford of chocolate, making the confection available
to the masses. In the ensuing years, he became a
millionaire many times over.
With
his new-found wealth, Mr. Hershey built a town unlike
any other company town in America. He provided for
his workers, building homes they could afford to buy,
not rent. He built a community center, hospital, fire
company, library and a swimming pool. |
Mr.
Hershey felt strongly about a good education and his
generosity extended to the public schools. He built
and operated a two year junior college, where the children
of his workers and townspeople attended tuition free,
save for books. A little known fact is that for over
65 years, not one cent of local tax dollars were spent
on the construction of schools. Mr. Hershey reached
into his pocket and built whatever was needed.
Although
Mr. Hershey became known throughout the world for
his famous chocolate, his crowning achievement was
founding the Milton
Hershey School for orphan boys in 1909.
Mr.
Hershey and his wife Catharine (Kitty), who died in
1915, could have no children of their own. In an amazing
philanthropic pursuit, they gave away the vast portion
of their wealth into a trust to house, feed, educate
and care for poor orphan boys. Mr. Hershey always told
others that the school "was Kitty's idea." Since
then, the school Trust has grown to nearly $7 billion,
becoming one of the largest of its kind in the world.
It has graduated thousands and now serves boys and
girls not receiving adequate care from their families. |
