Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 October 13, 1945) was an American confectioner,

philanthropist, and founder ofThe Hershey Chocolate Company and the "company town" of Hershey,
Pennsylvania.
He was honored by the United States Postal Service September 13, 1995, with the issue of a
32 Great Americans series (19802000) definitive postage stamp (Scott #2933).
[1]

Contents
[hide]
1 Early life
2 Lancaster Caramel Company
3 The Hershey Chocolate Company
4 Philanthropy
5 Close Call of the Titanic
6 World War II
7 Death
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
Early life[edit]
Milton Hershey was born on September 13, 1857, to Veronica "Fanny" Snavely and Henry Hershey.
His family were members of Pennsylvania's Mennonite community. His ancestors were Swiss and
German and had settled in Pennsylvania in the early 1700s.
[2]
He grew up speaking the German
dialect "Pennsylvania Dutch" language.
[3]
Being a youngster in rural Pennsylvania, there was work to
be done. Like many rural young people of the time, Milton was expected to help out on the family
farm, and he learned early on of the value of hard work and perseverance. Henry Hershey rarely
stayed anywhere very long, and was prone to leaving his wife and child for long periods. Because of
this, Hershey had a very limited education with no schooling after 4th grade.
Milton's returning was a great joy for "Aunt Mattie" (Martha Snavely, Veronica's sister) who loved
Milton as if he were her own son. His return was short-lived though. He soon left for New York.
[4]

Lancaster Caramel Company[edit]
Returning to Lancaster in 1887, Hershey established the Lancaster Caramel Company, 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.
The Hershey Chocolate Company[edit]
Using the proceeds from the 1900 sale of the Lancaster Caramel Company, Hershey initially
acquired 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 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. The
first Hershey bar was produced in 1900. Hershey's Kisses were developed in 1907, and the
Hershey's Bar with almonds was introduced in 1908.
On March 2, 1903, he began construction on what was to become the worlds largest chocolate
manufacturing company, only he didn't know that it will be a large company. The facility, completed
in 1905, was designed to manufacture chocolate using the latest mass production techniques.
Hersheys milk chocolate quickly became the first nationally marketed product of its kind.
The factory was in the center of a dairy farmland, but with Hersheys support, houses, businesses,
churches, and a transportation infrastructure accreted around the plant. Because the land was
surrounded by dairy farms, Hershey 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.
Philanthropy[edit]
On May 25, 1898, Hershey married Catherine "Kitty" Sweeney. Since the couple could not have
children, they decided to help others, establishing the Hershey Industrial Schoolwith a Deed of Trust
in 1909.
[5]
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
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 Company, which owns the Hotel Hershey 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.
[6]

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 workersMilton Hershey
conceived of building a community that would support and nurture his workers. Developing the
community became a lifelong passion for him.
[7]

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 Museum and Hershey Gardens, the Hershey Theatre and the
Hershey Community Archives.
The founding of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center occurred when the board of the
trust went to the Dauphin County Orphans Court with the cy-prs doctrine (cy prs is a French
phrase meaning "As close as possible"). It was a gift from the Milton Hershey School Trust to the
people of Pennsylvania, with an initial endowment of $50 million and only one restrictionthe
hospital had to be built in Hershey. The hospital is a teaching hospital with an annual budget
exceeding the initial construction cost
Close Call of the Titanic[edit]
In 1912, the Hersheys were to travel on the ill-fated British luxury liner RMS Titanic. However, they
canceled their reservations due to last-minute business matters Hershey was needed for, contrary to
the popular belief that it was due to Hershey's wife, Kitty Hershey, falling ill. Kitty Hershey had been
ill for several years at this point.
[8]
Instead, they booked passage to New York City on the German
luxury liner America. The Hershey Museum displays a copy of the check Milton Hershey wrote to
the White Star Line as a deposit for a first-class stateroom on the Titanic.
[9]

World War II[edit]
Hershey Chocolate supplied the U.S. armed forces with chocolate bars during World War II. 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 2 ounces (28 or 57 g); it had to resist melting at
temperatures higher 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 its 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[edit]
Milton S. Hershey died at the age of 88 on October 13, 1945, in Hershey Hospital, a year after he
had retired from the board. Today at the Hershey School you can find a bronze statue of Milton
Hershey with an orphan boy wrapped in his arms. Below the statue are these words "His deeds are
his monument. His life is our inspiration." His sister Serina died at the age of 4 in 1862

Milton S. Hershey, The
Man Behind the Chocolate
Bar.
In the early 1900s, Milton Hershey made one of the great American fortunes through
dogged persistence and the courage to pursue a dream. Though he was modest and
unassuming in appearance, it was said Mr. Hershey was a shrewd and determined
businessman. A great entrepreneur and philanthropist, he measured success, not in
dollars, but in terms of a good product to pass on to the public, and still more in the
usefulness of those dollars for the benefit of his fellow men.
I Was a Poor Boy Myself Once
The memories of what it was like to have been a poor boy stayed with Milton Hershey
throughout his life. They influenced him strongly when he later founded a school for needy children.
Milton S. Hershey was born Sept. 13, 1857, shortly before the American Civil War on a farm in Central Pennsylvania.
Like most of the people whom he knew, he was the descendant of people who had come to Pennsylvania from
Switzerland and Germany in the 1700s. He grew up speaking the "Pennsylvania Dutch" dialect and inherited from
these people characteristics such as a zest for hard work, diligence, and thriftiness.
Both sides of his family were originally Mennonite. Though Milton's mother was a staunch member of the Reformed
Mennonite Church and wore plain clothes and a bonnet throughout her life, formal religion was never a part of Milton
Hershey's life. When he was asked once what his religion was, he is said to have replied, "The Golden Rule."
As to schooling, Mr. Hershey had very little. He attended several schools as his family moved from their original home
in Derry Township to Lancaster County, but his mother did not seem to emphasize learning. In fact, she felt that
books would ruin her son. Although Hershey became successful without the benefit of a good education, the fact that,
later on, he insisted the boys in his school have a "sound education" gives the impression that he felt the lack of it in
himself.
The First Million Is the Hardest
At first it seemed that Milton Hershey had no talents for business. He failed at numerous ventures before he finally
succeeded at making caramel candy. By then he was almost forty years old.
Milton first went to work as an apprentice to the editor of a small, German newspaper in Lancaster. He was clumsy,
though, and hated the work. Soon he got himself fired by dropping his straw hat into the printing press.
Next, his mother found him an apprenticeship with Joe Royer, a candy and ice cream maker in Lancaster. It was here
that he learned the basics of candymaking.
But Milton was ambitious, and in 1876, decided to move to Philadelphia where celebrations of the 100th anniversary
of the Declaration of Independence were taking place. Hoping to cash in on the money that people would bring to the
Centennial, he set himself up in the candy and confectioner's business. Hershey borrowed considerable sums of
money from his Uncle Abraham Snavely and printed elaborate business cards and stationery to advertise himself. He
brought his mother and his Aunt Mattie to Philadelphia to help him. But though they all worked terribly hard, Milton
was never able to make enough money to pay either his suppliers or his debts.
Hershey was persistent, however, and having failed in Philadelphia, went off to seek his fortune in Denver, New York,
Chicago, and even New Orleans. He had no more success in any of these places but he did come back with one
important thing: the knowledge, learned from a candymaker in Denver, that fresh milk makes good candy.
This was the secret that would make his fortune but for the moment, in 1886, he was penniless. He went back to
Lancaster but did not even have the money to have his possessions shipped after him. When he walked out to his
uncle's farm, he found himself shunned as an irresponsible drifter by most of his relatives.
This time, though, fortune finally smiled on Mr. Hershey. William Henry Lebkicher, who had worked for Hershey in
Philadelphia, stored his things and helped him pay the shipping charges. Aunt Mattie and his mother began once
again to help him and Milton started experiments which led to the recipe for "Hershey's Crystal A" a "melt in your
mouth" caramel candy made with milk.

The Lancaster Caramel Company
A large order from an English candy importer led
Hershey to ask the Lancaster National Bank for a
loan. The bank's cashier was so impressed by
Hershey that he lent him the money, backing the
loan with his own signature. When the Englishman
actually paid for the goods with a check for 500
English pounds, Hershey was so excited that he
ran down the street to the bank with his apron still
on.
From that time on, Hershey was extremely successful, and by 1894 he was considered one of Lancaster's most
substantial citizens.
The success of his caramel business enabled Mr. Hershey, for the first time in his life, to spend money for his own
pleasure. While he was never ostentatious, he clearly had a longing and a taste for beauty and elegance. He always
enjoyed being able to spend money when and how he pleased. "It's my money," he would say in later years if anyone
raised a question.
As was fashionable among other well-to-do Americans of the time, Mr. Hershey began to travel to Mexico, Europe,
England, the Continent, and Egypt. Always curious and always picking up ideas from what he saw, he visited
museums, shops, and tourist attractions, walked the streets, watched the people, and is said to have kissed the
Blarney Stone and gambled in Monte Carlo.
I'm Going to Make Chocolate
Caramels gave Mr. Hershey his first million, but chocolate gave him his real fortune. His first taste of it came on a visit
to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where he became fascinated by a set of German chocolate-
making machinery. Hershey bought the equipment and had it installed in Lancaster where he began producing his
own chocolate, 114 varieties in all.
By the late 1800's, Hershey, who was now aware of the growing market for chocolate, was convinced that his future
lay in producing it rather than caramels. In 1900, he sold his Lancaster Caramel Company to competitors for $1
million (a sum which was then worth considerably more than now) and began to devote all his energies to making
chocolate.
His search for the perfect site to build a complete chocolate factory led Hershey back to Derry Township. He had
already repurchased the house where he had been born for his father. Now he was convinced that the Central
Pennsylvania countryside would provide everything he needed for a factory: a plentiful water supply, fresh milk, and
industrious workers. Ground was broken in 1903 and by 1905 the new factory was completed.

His Legacy Continues
Business is a Matter of Human Service
Hershey and a few chosen employees worked side by side and
into the night, until just the right blend of ingredients was found for milk chocolate. As one of these men recalled later,
"Nobody told Mr. Hershey how to make milk chocolate. He just found out the hard way." Personal involvement in the
work at hand was typical of Mr. Hershey and was certainly one factor which earned him the devotion and admiration
of many employees.
Milton Hershey's great contribution to the American food industry was the organization of the mass production of milk
chocolate. Much of the machinery necessary for mass production was either developed or adapted in Hershey's
factory. He did not begin with the clear intention of making chocolate bars and for several years produced many
varieties of fancy candies. When he did make the brilliant business decision to concentrate on the Hershey bar,
though, and on one or two other basic chocolate products such as cocoa and chocolate coatings, his name became
the nationwide symbol for quality chocolate in a phenomenally short time.
Hershey had other qualities as well, which made him a good businessman. He was imaginative: the Hershey Kiss, for
example, appears to have been his own idea. He had the skill of choosing able assistants and of keeping their
devotion. He had a broad grasp of markets and of their possibilities and, furthermore, he was daring. Once he had
made a decision, he put his entire force behind it, whether it was making chocolate or producing his own sugar in
Cuba. On the whole, he was respected for honesty, for driving hard bargains, and for having a first-class product to
sell.
Mr. Hershey was a doer, not a philosopher. He never wrote and seldom talked about his beliefs. Nevertheless, he
obviously thought a lot about such matters as success and the value and purposes of money. He seems gradually to
have developed, from his experience, a set of principles which he followed consistently.
Milton Hershey believed wealth should be used for the benefit of others and practiced what he preached. He also
understood (along with many other great businessmen) that good works are also good business and therefore did not
lessen the depth or scope of his interest in other people's welfare.
Mr. Hershey used his chocolate fortune primarily for two projects: the town of Hershey and his Industrial School.
Although the question was raised of whether he was well-advised to tie up his fortune in the manner he chose, no
one ever questioned his sincerity.
His Deeds are His Monument
Plans for building the town went hand in hand with building the factory. Since Hershey started his company in the
middle of farmland, not in a town, it was clear from the start that he would have to provide a place for at least some of
his workers, as well as his managerial staff, to live.
Plans were drawn for a pleasant tree-lined community which provided for all the needs of its inhabitants. A bank,
hotel, school, churches, parks, golf courses, and a zoo followed each other in rapid succession. With characteristc
forethought, Mr. Hershey developed a trolley system so that people did not feel compelled to live in Hershey and had
a way to get to work from nearby towns.
Although the town was well established by its 10th anniversary in 1913, Hershey had a second building boom in the
1930s. During the Depression, Mr. Hershey kept men at work building the Hotel, the community building with two
elegant theatres, Senior Hall for the boys' school, a windowless, air-conditioned office building for the factory, and the
Arena. The last two were excellent examples of Mr. Hershey's innovative approach. The controlled environment of
the office building was way ahead of its time and the arena was, at that time, the largest such structure made of
poured concrete and unsupported by columns. It was Mr. Hershey's boast that no one was laid off in Hershey during
the Depression years.
A Man of Principle
Mr. Hershey's belief that an individual is morally obligated to share the fruits of success with others resulted in
significant contributions to society. Together with his wife Catherine, he established the most prominent of his
philanthropic endeavors, the Hershey Industrial School. Saddened because they had no children of their own, and
anxious to put their growing fortune to good use, Milton and Catherine Hershey founded this school for orphaned
boys in 1909.
The School's Deed of Trust stipulated that: "All orphans admitted to the School shall be fed with plain, wholesome
food; plainly, neatly, and comfortably clothed, without distinctive dress; and fitly lodged. Due regard shall be paid to
their health; their physical training shall be attended to, and they shall have suitable and proper exercise and
recreation. They shall be instructed in the several branches of a sound education . . . . . The main object in view is to
train young men to useful trades and occupations, so that they can earn their own livelihood."
Behind the founding of the school were Mr. Hershey's own childhood memories of hard times and his hope that he
could spare some children the pains he had experienced. Here again, though some criticized, the school became the
principal recipient of Hershey's fortune and continues to be so today.
When Milton Hershey died in 1945 at the age of 88, 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.
Hershey had the genius to develop the chocolate industry in the right place at the right time. 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.
Milton S. Hershey
The Early Years
Milton S. Hershey is a real-life American hero, a true rags to riches story. He was a man who cared
enough about others to give it all back to children and the community he loved. Milton S. Hershey was
born on September 13, 1857, in an old fieldstone farmhouse near Hockersville, Pennsylvania. His great-
grandparents, Isaac and Anna Hershey, had come to America from the German-speaking part of
Switzerland. Milton Hersheys family on both sides had been Mennonites for many generations.
Although Milton was not a member of a Mennonite church himself, the qualities of his religious and
family heritage made a deep impact upon him and remained with him throughout his life.
Miltons parents, Henry and Fanny Hershey, moved often. By 1870, when he was not yet fourteen years
old, Milton had attended six or seven different schools. These frequent relocations made school and
childhood experiences very difficult for him.
After a brief try as a newspaper apprentice at age 14, Miltons mother decided, Milton oughtnt to be
spending his time with printing and newspapers ... he ought to be learning to make something -
something that would bring him a good living. Not long afterward, she paid a sum of money and signed
papers apprenticing her son to Joseph A. Royer, a confectioner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Pursuing His Dream
Milton was almost 19 when he took his dream for his own business to Philadelphia. It was here that he
set up his first shop, making candy by night and selling it by day. After six years effort, however, he had
to give it all up and ended owing his relatives hundreds of dollars.
Miltons journey to success would be marked by more failures. He left Philadelphia for Denver,
Colorado, to join his father, who was already there, in a silver mining venture.
Unfortunately, the silver boom had recently gone bust. For Milton, this left no alternative but to find a
job, which he did, working for a candy maker. Here, he learned a lesson which proved to be invaluable
the use of fresh milk in making caramels. It seemed that fresh milk made caramels more chewy and
delicious and also provided a longer shelf life. Milton would remember this lesson. Fresh milk would
later become a hallmark of his now world-famous formula for chocolate.
From Denver, Milton traveled to New York City. New York at that time was the biggest candy market of
them all. In New York, Milton Hershey tried to make his fortune manufacturing candy and cough drops.
This time, he learned the importance of not depending upon others for the essential steps in the
manufacturing process. But once again, the business collapsed.
Like the prodigal son, Milton Hershey returned home to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Thanks to the support
of an old employee, Harry Lebkicher, and additional financial support from his Aunt Mattie, Milton was
able to buy a bag or two of sugar and rent a room in town. Once again, he started making candy by night
and selling it by day. This was the start of the Lancaster Caramel Company, making confections he called
Crystal A caramels. Give them quality, Milton Hershey said. Thats the best kind of advertising in
the world. All the different confections were Milton Hersheys own creations. He worked out the
formulas for every one of them. He would take a caramel made by a competitor, chew it thoughtfully,
and determine what it was made of. Then he set to work to improve on it, to give it a better flavor,
better texture and more lasting quality.
Sweet Success
Though his caramels were selling well and the business grew steadily, Milton Hershey felt that the
market for caramels was a temporary one. Caramels are just a fad, he said, but chocolate is a
permanent thing. He wanted to concentrate on making chocolate. So on August 10, 1900, Milton
Hershey sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million. Hershey surrendered his Lancaster factory,
the machinery, his formulas, and the Crystal A trademark. But he kept his right to make chocolate and
all his chocolate-making machinery, and he rented a wing of the factory to continue making chocolate.
At the time, milk chocolate was considered a luxury item - it was handmade, expensive and only sold in
specialty shops. Milton Hershey was confident that he could not only mass-produce chocolate, but make
it affordable for everybody.
Ground was broken for his new chocolate factory on March 2, 1903, at Derry Church (later to become
part of Hershey). As the chocolate business grew, Mr. Hershey set about building a community where
his employees could live independent lives, where they could be self-reliant and free, where they could
own their own houses and buy where they pleased. The community he planned made provision for
safety, health, education, recreation, numerous churches, schools, an inn, a bank and a store. Later, he
added the park (1907), the hotel (1933) and the sports arena (1936).
Milton and Kitty - Milton Hershey School
Milton Hershey married Catherine (Kitty) Sweeney in 1898. Milton and Kitty never had children. Though
supportive of Milton, Kitty never took an active interest in the business.

Sometime before 1909, Milton and Kitty realized their money was accumulating faster than they could
spend it. Kitty suggested that they provide a home for boys who were unfortunate. Milton seized on the
idea eagerly. Childhood security and good schooling he could never recover for himself, but this was an
opportunity to secure them for other boys. On November 15, 1909, Milton and Catherine signed the
document that deeded 486 acres of farm land to Hershey Trust Company as trustee with the purpose
of founding and endowing in perpetuity an institution to be known as Hershey Industrial School (later
renamed Milton Hershey School) to be located in Derry Township for the benefit of orphan boys. On
November 13, 1918, Milton Hershey gifted Hershey Chocolate Company stock (valued at $60 million) to
the trust. In addition to the Milton Hershey School Trust, Mr. Hershey also established two other trusts -
one for the benefit of the Derry Township School District (a public school system) and another to the
M.S. Hershey Foundation. The Hershey Theatre, Hershey Museum, Hershey Gardens and the Hershey
Community Archives currently benefit from the Foundations support. Using these three trusts, Milton
and Catherine Hershey dedicated their entire estate for the benefit of the children and community they
loved.
Catherine Hershey died in 1915, just seventeen years after they were married in 1898. Milton Hershey
remained a widower until his death on October 13, 1945. He is buried beside his beloved wife and his
parents in the Hershey Cemetery.
Mr. Hersheys legacy is one of:
Vision having a dream and doggedly pursuing its realization;
Quality providing value for the customer as the best form of advertising;
Risk attainable rewards require acceptance of prudent risks;
Innovation a commitment to do it better than the competition;
Caring caring for customers, employees, the community and disadvantaged youth;
Work Ethic there was and is no substitute for hard work!