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Milton Hershey Facts

Milton Hershey Facts
Milton Hershey was an American confectioner who is most well-known for founding the Hershey Chocolate Company in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was born Milton Snavely Hershey on September 13, 1857, in Derry Township, Pennsylvania, to Henry and Veronica Hershey. His family were Mennonites and he grew up speaking Pennsylvania Dutch. He worked on the farm and had very little education after grade 4 due to his father's constant traveling. He became a printer's apprentice in 1871 but was fired for dropping his hat in a machine. His mother and his aunt encouraged him to learn candy making instead. At 14 Milton became a confectioner's apprentice. In 1876 Milton started his own confectionary business in Philadelphia.
Interesting Milton Hershey Facts:
Milton Hershey was 18 when he started his own confectionary business.
Milton went bankrupt in 1882 and in 1886 but kept on trying new business opportunities.
In 1886 Milton Hershey opened the Lancaster Caramel Company making caramels with fresh milk.
Milton Hershey became famous for his Crystal A caramel.
In 1893 Milton Hershey bought his first chocolate-making equipment after seeing it at the World's Columbian Expo in Chicago.
Milton Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894. It was set up as a subsidiary of the Lancaster Caramel Company.
In 1900 Milton Hershey launched his chocolate products and became the first person in America to mass produce milk chocolate products commercially.
In 1900 Milton Hershey sold the Lancaster Caramel Company but kept the rights to make chocolate.
Milton Hershey returned to where he was born and began building what would soon become the world's largest chocolate factory. Derry Township was ideal because of the requirement for large quantities of milk for his chocolate.
Construction of the Hershey factory was completed in 1905, covering six acres of land. Today it is 2.2 million square feet.
Reese peanut cup founder Harry Burnett Reese used to buy his chocolate from Hershey. In 1963 Reese was sold to Hershey.
Reese peanut butter cups are Hershey's most popular confectionary today.
Milton Hershey created an entire town for his employees, including a recreation center and park, town bank, and he donated money for congregations.
There are Kiss-shaped lights lining Chocolate Avenue in Derry, with 53 unwrapped and 55 wrapped.
Milton Hershey owned 60,000 acres of land in Cuba that was used as mills and sugar plantations, from 1916 until 1946, when they were sold.
Milton Hershey met his future wife while making a sales call at a store in New York. Her name was Catherine Sweeney. They married in 1898 but were only married for 17 years as she died from a neurological disease.
Milton Hershey had no children and left most of his fortune to fund the Milton Hershey School, a home for orphan boys as well as a school. The school continues to exist today.
During World War 2 Milton Hershey supplied the U.S. military with chocolate. They were called Tropical Chocolate Bars and Ration D Bars.
Milton Hershey died from pneumonia on October 13, 1945 in Hershey Hospital. He was 88 years old.


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