Tags: Hershey PA
Happy Birthday, Mr. Hershey
Honoring the Founder During most of Milton Hershey’s lifetime, birthday celebrations were a private affair. Sometimes Mr. Hershey hosted a small gathering of friends. Frequently he was traveling in Europe, New York City or Atlantic City, New Jersey during his birthday. That pattern changed when Milton Hershey turned 80 years old. 1937 had been a […]
HersheyArchives@30, Part 17: Meet You at the Movies – “Seeing Wonders”
While he did not make use of print or radio media advertising, Milton Hershey was interested in promoting his model town and its amenities and attractions. He believed that the town and the chocolate business were intertwined and promoting one benefited the other. Milton Hershey was an innovator and was inspired by new ideas and […]
All You Need Are a Few Good Men…
Milton Hershey had a genius for selecting talented, energetic people to help him manage his business ventures. The leadership and skills of these men freed Milton Hershey to pursue new passions and ventures, including Milton Hershey School, Cuba, and experiments with new products. Foremost among Mr. Hershey’s key managers was William F.R. Murrie. Bill Murrie began work for the […]
What a Way to Make a Living! Working at the Hershey Chocolate Factory
The original Hershey Chocolate factory closed this spring after 107 years of service. Chocolate making is still in Hershey as operations were moved down the street to the newly expanded West Hershey plant. The original factory and its iconic smokestacks will remain part of the Hershey landscape. Over the next several years the building will be repurposed. During […]
To Seek Justice and Preserve Peace: Pennsylvania State Police Training Academy
In February 1920, a State Police training school was established in Newville, Cumberland County. The Newville Training School was closed on March 1, 1923. The following year the school was reinstituted in Hershey, PA. The Academy was originally located on Cocoa Avenue, next to the Memorial Baseball Field. In addition, the State Highway Patrol used […]
Protecting the Town: Hershey Volunteer Fire Company
The need for a variety of town services became apparent shortly after the Hershey Chocolate factory began operating in the summer of 1905. Hershey Volunteer Fire Company, our community’s oldest service organization, was first organized in August 1905 with Frank Snavely serving as the first president and Charles V. Glynn as the first fire chief. The volunteers […]
Providing for the Town’s Financial Needs: Hershey Trust Company
April 1905: Construction for the new chocolate factory had been completed during the winter and the factory was gearing up for full production. Construction of the Cocoa House had recently been completed. It provided housing and meals for single men as well as office space for a variety of businesses needed by the new town. […]
Golf for Hershey’s Youth: Juvenile Country Club
In 1932 Hershey added its most unusual course. The Juvenile Country Club [today Spring Creek Golf Club] was the only course in the United States dedicated to children under eighteen years old. Youth golf fees were $.35 and for an annual fee of $10, children had unlimited access to the Juvenile course. As a result, […]
New Machinery for the Factory Installed
The Hershey Press issue dated September 17, 1909 carried a variety of articles about the community and Chocolate factory as well as printing ads from Hershey owned and independent businesses. A favorite column was titled: Hershey Briefs: Items About You, Your Neighbors and Things in General. Illnesses, individual’s trips to Harrisburg and Lancaster, comments about people who dropped in to […]
Hershey Press Launches
1909 Hershey, with big plans for its future, was still a modest community of about 250 people. While the chocolate factory employed several hundred people, most of the workers lived in the surrounding communities, using the Hershey trolley system to travel to work each day. Hershey Park was essentially a community park, the only ride […]
Honest Products: The Hershey Way
Hershey stood at the forefront of promoting the values and of the the Pure Food Law of 1906. This law, a major achievement of the Progressive Movement, protected consumers from being deceived or harmed by food products with false or deceiving labels. The national Pure Food movement inspired Pure Food Shows in cities across the […]
Swinging to the Strains of Harry James
Hershey Park Ballroom was a popular venue for Big Bands during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Virtually every nationally known Big Band played at the Park Ballroom, making it the leading dance floor in Central Pennsylvania. Dancing was sometimes a problem in the ballroom, despite its 190 foot length and 40 foot width. The crowds […]
Serving the Region: Hershey’s Service During the Three Mile Island Emergency
The accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station was the most significant accident in the history of the American commercial nuclear power generating industry. Though no one was injured, the accident caused a partial core meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor. The accident occurred just a weeks after “The China Syndrome,” a popular movie […]