Milton Snavely Hershey was an American confectioner, philanthropist, and founder of
The Hershey Chocolate CompanyThe Hershey Company, known until April 2005 as the Hershey Foods Corporation and commonly called Hershey's, is the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hershey's Chocolate World. It was founded by Milton S...
and the "
company townA company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
" of
Hershey, PennsylvaniaHershey is a census-designated place in Derry Township, Dauphin County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The community is located 14 miles east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality...
.
He was honored by the
United States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
with a 32¢
Great Americans seriesThe Great Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Postal Service, starting on December 27, 1980 with the 19¢ stamp depicting Sequoyah, and continuing through 2002, the final stamp being the 78¢ Alice Paul self-adhesive stamp. The series, noted for its simplicity...
(1980–2000)
postage stampA postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
.
Milton Hershey was born on September 13, 1857, to Veronica "Fanny" Snavely and Henry Hershey. The Snavely family were a well to-do
MennoniteThe Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
family. The nomadic Henry Hershey never stayed anywhere very long. He was prone to leaving his wife and child for long periods. When he was in his late teens and 20s, Milton would travel with his father on his sales trips. After one lengthy visit to Chicago, Milton grew tired of Chicago and returned to Pennsylvania.
Milton returning was a great joy for "Aunt Mattie" (Martha Snavely, Fanny's sister) who loved Milton as if he were her own son. Milton's return was short-lived though. He soon left for New York.
Lancaster Caramel Company
Returning to Lancaster in 1886, Hershey established the
Lancaster Caramel CompanyThe Lancaster Caramel Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1886. It was Hershey's first successful candy company and helped him build a reputation. The Hershey Chocolate Company became a subsidiary of the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1894...
, which quickly became an outstanding success. Utilizing a caramel recipe he had obtained during his previous travels, his company soared to the top. It was this business that established him as a candy maker, and set the stage for future accomplishments.
Hershey became fascinated with the machinery to make
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chocolateChocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
exhibited at the 1893
World’s Columbian ExpositionThe World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
by J. M. Lehman Co. of Dresden, Germany, and bought the equipment for his company.
Hershey Chocolate
With the proceeds from the 1900 sale of the Lancaster Caramel Company, Hershey initially acquired some 1200 acres (4.9 km²) of farm land about 30 miles northwest of Lancaster, near his birthplace of Derry Church. There, he could obtain the large supplies of fresh milk needed to perfect and produce fine milk chocolate. Excited by the potential of milk chocolate, which at that time was a
SwissSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
luxury product, Hershey was determined to develop a formula for milk chocolate and market and sell it to the American public. Through trial and error, he created his own formula for milk chocolate. On March 2, 1903, he began construction on what was to become the world’s largest chocolate manufacturing plant. The facility, completed in 1905, was designed to manufacture chocolate using the latest mass production techniques. Hershey’s milk chocolate quickly became the first nationally marketed product of its kind.
The factory was in the center of dairy farmland, but with Hershey’s support, houses, businesses, churches, and a transportation infrastructure accreted around the plant. Because the land was surrounded by dairy farms, he was able to use fresh milk to mass-produce quality milk chocolate. Hershey continued to experiment and perfect the process of making milk chocolate using the techniques he had first learned for adding milk to make caramels when he had moved to Colorado.
The town of Hershey
Hershey envisioned a complete community around his factory site. He built a model town for his employees that included comfortable homes, an inexpensive public transportation system, a quality public school system and extensive recreational and cultural opportunities. Hershey avoided building a faceless company town with
row housesThe Row at Stanford University is made up of 36 student-managed houses, from the Cowell Cluster to the Lake Houses and all along Mayfield Avenue, with a total population of a little over 1600 students. Houses range in occupancy from 22 to 59...
. He wanted a home town with tree-lined streets, single- and two-family brick houses, and manicured lawns. He was concerned about providing adequate recreation and diversions, so he built Hershey Park (now rendered "
HersheyparkHersheypark is an amusement park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, near the Hershey Chocolate Factory.Hersheypark was opened on April 24, 1907 as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, an American confectionery company. Later, the company decided to open the park to the...
"), which opened on April 24, 1907 and expanded rapidly over the next several years. Amusement rides, a swimming pool, and a ballroom were added. Soon, trolley cars and trains were bringing thousands of out-of-town visitors to the park.
Hershey established a sugar mill in Havana Province,Cuba. There they built a town with schools, church, etc. In addition a railroad between The cities of Havana & Matanzas was constructed to facilitate the transportation of sugar to the ports and be shipped to the US. As a service to those communities passengers train were offered which ran 60 miles using electric operated cars. After 1959,with Castro in power, the Hershey's properties were nationalized.Reference Dr. J.T. Munoz, Cuban born. Saint Petersburg,FL
Philanthropy
On May 25, 1898, Hershey married Catherine "Kitty" Sweeney. Since the couple could not have children, they decided to benefit others, establishing the
Hershey Industrial SchoolThe Milton Hershey School is a private philanthropic boarding school in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Originally named the Hershey Industrial School, the institution was founded and funded by chocolate industrialist Milton Snavely Hershey and his wife, Catherine Sweeney Hershey...
with a Deed of Trust in 1909. Catherine died prematurely in 1915 and Hershey never remarried. In 1918, Hershey transferred the majority of his assets, including control of the company, to the
Milton Hershey School TrustHershey Trust Company was created in 1905, as Milton S. Hershey was organized to create the Milton Hershey School. In 1909, when he founded the school, Hershey appointed the Trust as administrator of the school trust...
fund, to benefit the Industrial School. The trust fund has a majority of voting shares in The Hershey Company, allowing it to keep control of the company. In 1951, the school was renamed the Milton Hershey School. The Milton Hershey School Trust also has 100% control of
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts CompanyHershey Entertainment and Resorts , also known as "HERCO", is a privately owned company of the Hershey Trust Company.- History :The company was originally founded by Milton S...
, which owns the
Hotel HersheyThe Hotel Hershey, built in the 1930s, is a historical landmark, four-star hotel located on a hilltop overlooking Hershey, Pennsylvania. It has 232 guest rooms and of event space....
and HersheyPark, among other properties. He took great pride in the growth of the school, the town, and his business. He placed the quality of his product and the well-being of his workers ahead of profits.
- He was part of a forward-looking group of entrepreneurs in this country and abroad who believed that providing better living conditions for their workers resulted in better workers…Milton Hershey conceived of building a community that would support and nurture his workers. Developing the community became a lifelong passion for him.
In 1935, Hershey established the M.S. Hershey Foundation, a private charitable foundation that provides educational and cultural opportunities for Hershey residents. The foundation supplies funding for three entities: the
Hershey MuseumThe Hershey Story is a museum devoted to the history and legacy of Milton S. Hershey and the chocolate candy confections he invented. It is located at 63 West Chocolate Avenue in downtown Hershey, Pennsylvania, and opened in January 2009....
and
Hershey GardensHershey Gardens is a botanical garden and arboretum located at 170 Hotel Road, Hershey, Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They are set on top of pat's hill overlooking Hersheypark. It was built as a gift from chocolate magnate Milton S...
, the
Hershey TheatreHershey Theatre is a 1904-seat theater in downtown Hershey, Pennsylvania.The theater owes its existence to chocolate magnate and philanthropist Milton S. Hershey. Hershey Theatre was opened in September, 1933, as part of Hershey's Great Building Campaign of the Depression.- External links :...
and the Hershey Community Archives.
The founding of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center/Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center occurred when the board of the trust went to the Dauphin County Orphans Court with the
cy-près doctrine (
cy près is a French phrase meaning "As close as possible"). It was a gift from the Milton Hershey School Trust to the people of
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, with an initial endowment of $50 million and only one restriction—the hospital had to be built in Hershey. The hospital is a
teaching hospitalA teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
with an annual budget exceeding the initial construction cost.
Titanic
In 1912, the Hersheys were to travel on the ill-fated
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
luxury liner
RMS Titanic. However, they canceled their reservations because Kitty Hershey was ill at the time. Instead, they booked passage to New York city
on the German luxury liner
Amerika. The Hershey Museum displays a copy of the check Hershey wrote to the
White Star LineThe Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
as a deposit for a first class stateroom on the
Titanic.
World War II
Hershey Chocolate supplied the US armed forces with
chocolate barsMilitary chocolate has been a part of standard United States military ration since the original Ration D or D ration bar of 1937. Today, military chocolate is issued to troops as part of basic field rations and sundry packs. Chocolate rations served two purposes: as a morale boost, and as a...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. These bars were called Ration D Bars and Tropical Chocolate Bars. The Ration D Bar had very specific requirements from the Army: It had to weigh 1 or; it had to resist melting at higher temperatures than 90 degrees, and it had to have an unpleasant-enough flavor to prevent the troops from developing cravings for them. After a year or two, the Army was impressed enough with the durability and success of the Ration D Bar to commission Milton to make the Tropical Chocolate Bar. The only difference between them was that the Tropical Chocolate Bar was made to taste better than the Ration D Bar did and still be as durable as the Ration D Bar was. Tropical Chocolate Bars were designed not to melt in the tropical weather. It is estimated that between 1940 and 1945, over 3 billion of the Ration D Bars and Tropical Chocolate Bars were produced and distributed to soldiers throughout the world. In 1939, the Hershey plant was capable of producing 100,000 ration bars a day. By the end of World War II, the entire Hershey plant was producing ration bars at a rate of 24 million a week. For their service throughout World War II, the Hershey Chocolate Company was issued five Army-Navy 'E' Production Awards for exceeding expectations for quality and quantity in the production of the Ration D Bar and Tropical Chocolate Bar. The Hershey factory machine shop even made some parts for tanks and machines during the war.
Death
Milton S. Hershey died at the age of 88 on October 3, 1945, in Hershey Hospital, a year after he had retired from the board.
External links