Hershey altered its hiring policies when needed. Employment guidelines were often overlooked and ignored when the need for employees was great. During World War II Hershey experienced a significant shortage of male employees as most men enlisted or were drafted into service. Women and teenagers who were often underage were hired to fill those vacancies. […]
Finding work in Hershey was a simple matter during Milton Hershey’s lifetime. Hershey established a central employment bureau in 1915. From its inception until his retirement in 1962, it was managed by one man, John R. Zoll. This centralized system enabled Hershey to easily relocate employees from one division to another as needed. John Zoll was well […]
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 […]
Hershey Community Archives’ oral history collection is a rich resource for understanding the history of the community, its industries and activities. Excerpts of oral history interviews with factory workers, Hershey Estates employees, bookkeepers and bank tellers reveal what it is like to work in the “sweetest place on earth.” The stories of how people first got […]
The end of World War II was celebrated at Hershey Park with the addition of a new roller coaster, the Comet. Opening for the 1946 season, the Comet replaced the 1923 Wild Cat roller coaster. Like the park’s first coaster, this one was designed and constructed by Herbert Schmeck and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. One unique feature of this […]
By the late 1960s, traffic on Chocolate Avenue during the summer months was overwhelming. Tourists wanting to tour the Chocolate Factory and visit the park often created traffic jams. Downtown parking was limited. To ease congestion Hershey Estates and Hershey Chocolate Corporation agreed share the costs of constructing a Monorail that would link Hershey Park and downtown […]
The early years of the newly redesigned Hersheypark were filled with highs and lows. In 1972 Hurricane Agnes had closed the Park for nine days and caused it to suffer significant budget shortfalls. 1973 marked the new Park’s first truly successful season and erased all doubts about the wisdom of redeveloping Hersheypark as a themed amusement park. The energy […]
Hershey celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1923, and Milton Hershey’s present to the town was a roller coaster. Initially, Hershey Park’s first roller coaster was called “The Joy Ride.” Within a short time its name was changed to “The Wild Cat.” The Wild Cat was nearly a mile in length and it had “more dips […]
In the 1920s Hershey Chocolate Company wanted to expand its product line and began experimenting with formulas for another nut bar. Samuel Hinkle, who began his career as a plant chemist in November 1924, spearheaded the company’s efforts. He shared vivid memories of developing the formula for Mr. Goodbar in 1925 in his 1975 oral […]
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. […]
Hershey Chocolate products played a critical role supplying the military during World War II. Before the war Hershey Chocolate Corporation had worked with the United States Army Quartermaster Corps to develop the formula for a survival ration bar, labeled the Ration ‘D’ bar. After the United States entered the war, Hershey Chocolate Corporation produced millions of […]
Hershey Country Club was formally established when Milton Hershey hosted a dinner party at his home, High Point, for one hundred of his friends on April 27, 1930. Preceding dinner, Mr. Hershey announced he was donating his home to the new Hershey Country Club for use as a clubhouse. He went on to explain that […]
One of the highlights of Hershey’s Easter season were the flower displays presented each spring in conjunction with Easter. First presented in Milton Hershey’s private greenhouse in 1909, the displays grew more elaborate each year and expanded as new conservatories were built. The conservatories were open year round and were a popular destination in the […]
In 1930 Hershey Country Club was established and Milton Hershey offered his home, High Point, as its clubhouse, retaining rooms on the second floor to use as a private apartment for himself. The Club converted the first floor rooms into dining rooms and built a free standing one-story structure as a men’s locker room. By […]
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, […]
Originally planned for 1916 and finally constructed during Hershey’s Great Building Campaign of the 1930s, the goal of the building was to provide entertainment and recreation, as well as to fulfill educational and civic functions for the entire town. World War I and subsequent financial challenges for Hershey Chocolate Company delayed its construction. Finally in […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Milton Hershey’s interest in and commitment to providing the town with quality public education led him to underwrite the cost of all the community’s public school buildings constructed in Hershey during his lifetime. Continuing that tradition, in 1954 The M.S. Hershey Foundation presented the Derry Township School District with a new elementary school. The new building […]
For almost 60 years swimming at the Hershey Park Swimming Pool was a popular destination for visitors and local residents. Today, for many people, seeing the Lighthouse across the street from Chocolate World and the Hersheypark entrance evokes memories of swimming in the “giant” swimming pool, meeting friends, and teenagers staying late to listen the […]
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 […]
The early 1900s saw a surge of popularity for postcards. The hobby of collecting picture postcards became the greatest collectible hobby that the World had ever known. The official figures from the U.S. Post Office for their fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, cite 677,777,798 postcards mailed. At that time the total population of the […]
Hershey celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1923, and Milton Hershey’s present to the town was a new roller coaster for Hershey Park. Named the Wild Cat, it was nearly a mile in length and it had “more dips and deeper dips than any of like construction in America.” It was put into operation on June […]
Hershey published a weekly newspaper from 1909 to 1926. It is a wonderful resource for learning more about the community’s early years. Recently the Archives was able to have the newspaper digitized and indexed. The paper can be accessed through the Archives’ website, on the “Collections” page. The newspaper, The Hershey Press, was published under a variety of […]
While Hershey is well known nationally for its iconic milk chocolate bar, Milton Hershey’s model town attracted much attention for many other reasons. Hershey Country Club, established in 1930, received national attention shortly after it was established through its choice of golf professionals to represent the club. Shortly after the club opened Henry Picard, one […]
Hershey played a significant role on the home front supporting the war effort during World War II. In recognition of its outstanding efforts, Hershey Chocolate Corporation received the Army-Navy ‘E’ Production Award at a special ceremony held August 22, 1942. At the Award ceremony, Major General Edmond B.Gregory noted the company’s achievements stating, “The men […]
Hershey and baseball have been together for over a century. Soon after the opening of the Hershey Chocolate Factory in 1905, the community’s first baseball team was assembled by John Snavely. Hershey fielded more than one baseball team, particularly after the Y.M.C.A. was established in 1910. In addition to local community teams, there was also […]
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 […]
The newest incarnation of the Hershey Museum, The Hershey Story was dedicated on January 30. But having a museum in our community is not new. Milton Hershey intended to make his community an interesting and enjoyable place to live, work, and visit. In addition to endowing a school for orphaned boys, Hershey contributed millions of dollars for […]