Learn

It is 1945 and at the age of 88 I can say I’ve had my share of failures and triumphs. All in all it’s been a good life and I hope I’ve left the world a little bit better than I found it.

I was born in a farmhouse in Derry Church, Pennsylvania, where my parents raised me to value hard work. We were poor and moved around a lot. I think I attended 6 different schools before I completed the 4th grade and started my first job as a printer’s apprentice. Truth be told, I wasn’t very good at it and you can imagine my delight when I found another job in Lancaster as an apprentice to a candy-maker! It was fun and by the time I was 18 I had learned enough, or so I thought, to open my own candy shop in Philadelphia.

I worked hard, making candy at night and selling it during the day. But despite my best efforts, my little business failed after 6 years.

I grabbed a job with a caramel maker in Denver, Colorado. I only worked there about a year and it’s funny how I had to travel so far away from home to learn a simple lesson that served me the rest of my life; the freshest milk made tastier, chewier caramel, or in other words, the best ingredients made the best quality candy.

Flush with confidence and inspiration I tried to establish my own candy business first in New Orleans and then in New York City, but I just couldn’t make a go of it. Giving up isn’t in my nature so I returned to Pennsylvania. My Aunt Mattie lent me enough money to buy a few bags of sugar and with the help of one of my co-workers from years ago, I started the Lancaster Caramel Company. I was focused on providing the best quality candies and worked day and night developing formulas to improve the caramel, giving it better flavor, better texture, and longer shelf life. Our quality was our best form of advertising and our business was growing.

I may not have gotten beyond the 4th grade in school, but I was always curious and never stopped learning. I traveled as much as I could and visited other candy shops and factories to learn how they did things and then tried to see if I could do it better. Looking around it seemed to me that caramels were a passing fad. Chocolate was a luxury candy that was expensive and hard to get. What if I could make a quality chocolate that everybody could afford?

I added chocolate to the list of candies we made and for 6 years I worked to make sure that our chocolate was not only the best, but also affordable. Once again I applied myself and toiled night and day. By trial and error I eventually created a formula for fine milk chocolate. With the help of the latest equipment we could make large quantities at low prices. Chocolate had become my passion and in 1900 I sold the Lancaster Caramel Company and reinvested the money from the sale into a factory dedicated only to chocolate.

My life had come full circle. I built the new factory in the village where I was born, Derry Church, in the middle of dairy farms. The fresh, local milk was one of the ingredients we needed to make the best milk chocolate.

A lot of people thought I was crazy to build my factory in a small village and even crazier when they heard of my plans. Thank goodness for my wife Catherine’s kind heart and constant support. Together, with the growing success and profits of the chocolate factory, we set about to create a community in Derry Church that would make it possible for the employees to buy their own homes and live healthy, comfortable lives. We built affordable houses, schools, churches, and parks. Doctors, grocers and shopkeepers moved into town to offer their services. We even started a trolley system so that people who wanted to live outside the town could commute. Since the town was named after me I can’t very well tell you its name without giving away who I am.

I certainly understood how hard it was to make your way in the world with little money or education. So when Catherine suggested that we start a home and school for orphan boys, I jumped on the idea. Nowadays the home and school take in both boys and girls from disrupted families.

Looking back I’m glad I was raised with a strong work ethic and that I didn’t give up when my various plans fell through. I’m proud that I was able to provide quality candy and chocolate to my customers at a price they could afford. But my greatest happiness and sense of accomplishment has come from creating a pleasant environment for my employees and the chance at a better life for children who are less fortunate.

The streetlights in my town are shaped like chocolate Kisses.

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The company I started so many years ago makes the Hershey Bar, Kisses, and a long list of other chocolates I’m sure you’d recognize. The town I started in Pennsylvania is called Hershey and it has streets with names like Chocolate Avenue and Cocoa Avenue. The town has grown over the years and is a great place for families to visit. My name is Milton Hershey.