August, 2011 – Chocolate Town, USA

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Travel with Terri

 

Chocolate Town, USA

 

By Terri Marshall, Photos Courtesy of Hershey Resorts

 

When checking into The Hotel Hershey guests are presented with a choice – a Hershey chocolate bar with almonds or a Hershey chocolate bar without almonds. Arriving in the assigned guest room or cottage, guests will discover more chocolate treats. Taking a walk

Street Signs in Hershey, PA
Street Signs in Hershey, PA

down Cocoa Avenue and Chocolate Streets visitors to this sweet destination will find street lamps shaped in the familiar Hershey Kiss shape as the smell of chocolate permeates the entire town. This is a special place created from the vision of a very special man.

Milton Hershey was raised in the Mennonite faith and had only a 4th grade education. He completed a four year apprentice with a Lancaster candy maker and started his first candy making business in Philadelphia. His first efforts failed as did subsequent attempts in Chicago and New York. In 1883 he returned to Lancaster and established his first successful company, the Lancaster Caramel Company. At the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, he became fascinated with German chocolate-making machinery and returned to Lancaster to purchase this equipment for his company. Soon afterwards he began producing several varieties of chocolate and later sold the caramel company to focus solely on the development of his chocolate factory which became the world’s largest!
During the Great Depression when most of the world was conserving resources,  
hotelhershey1
Hotel Hershey
Milton Hershey announced his plans for a $2 million hotel construction project. A long-time dream of he and his wife, Kitty, who died in 1915, The Hotel Hershey would be modeled after a Mediterranean hotel they enjoyed in their travels together. The project provided employment to more than 600 steelworkers, masons, carpenters and other craftsmen and laborers during a time when jobs were scarce. This is just one example of the vision of Milton Hershey and his commitment to his community.

Even more important than Milton Hershey’s vision for the town that now bears his name is the legacy he left behind in the Milton Hershey School. This unique school was founded in 1909 by Mr. Hershey and his wife upon learning they could not have children of their own. Originally established to provide education for orphaned boys, today the school has approximately 1,700 students comprised of boys and girls from under-privileged homes. Many former students have returned to Hershey later in life to become executives with the various Hershey corporations. Since his death in 1945 at age 88, Milton Hershey’s legacy has thrived. The school and the Hershey philanthropy are maintained through the holdings of the Milton Hershey School Trust which derives much of its support from the profits of The Hershey Company and Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company.

Today the town that chocolate built is a perfect family vacation destination. There are numerous attractions including Chocolate World, Hershey Park and Zoomerica. The Hotel Hershey is home to the Chocolate Spa where guests choose from a chocolate enhanced spa menu of services including the Chocolate & Roses Decadence Body Treatment, the Cocoa Facial and the Whipped Cocoa Bath. Chocolate Avenue is home to The Hershey Story, an inspiring museum with exhibits detailing the history of Hershey’s chocolate and Milton Hershey’s legacy. The museum’s interactive Apprentice Program brings the Hershey experience to life for children. A ride with Hershey Trolley Works takes visitors to the birthplace of Milton Hershey, the Milton Hershey School and several other points of interest throughout the community. The conductors are both entertaining and informative – and have lots of chocolate treats to share!

Visitors to Hershey come for the chocolate, but it is the legacy of Milton Hershey that truly makes Hershey “The Sweetest Place on Earth.”

For more information, visit