Milton S. Hershey

From Failure to Innovative Business Man. From Poverty to Philanthropy. Learn More

It’s hard to imagine that the man we know as Milton Hershey ever knew pain and struggle. After all, he is the man behind the “SWEETEST PLACE ON EARTH.” But this man was born to a family of extremely modest means. It is his own memory of hardship and failure that led him to create a school where children from mean beginnings could learn the values of perseverance and hard work that can lead to unimaginable success.

Milton Hershey’s father was constantly in pursuit of a dream at the expense of a steady income, leaving Milton Hershey’s mother to find a way to care for her young charge. Milton Hershey achieved the equivalent of a fourth grade education. The weight of his family’s financial struggles forced Milton Hershey out of school to help support his family. He was apprenticed several times… and several times he failed in his pursuits. Finally, he found his calling when his mother helped him find an apprenticeship at a candy shop… and that was certainly the beginning of a golden future. Right? Well, not exactly.

While it’s true that Milton Hershey recognized that candy was his calling, his first attempts were fraught with failure. With financial support from his family, he opened a candy shop in Philadelphia. He worked tirelessly, making candy by night and selling it during the day. After six years of running a self-sustaining business, the shop failed. He left Philadelphia and returned home bankrupt with no money to pay back his relatives.

Undeterred, he started over. He started a new company in New York City, manufacturing candy and cough drops. But, the business collapsed, and he was left with nothing.

Despite the bitter taste of failure, Milton Hershey never lost belief in his ability. Four years later, he started the successful Lancaster Caramel Company. His personal life brightened as well. He married Catherine (Kitty) Sweeney in 1898. His beloved wife would later become an integral influence on his future philanthropic endeavors. An amazing visionary, he saw a future in mass-producing and selling high-quality, affordable chocolate made from fresh milk. At the time, semi-sweet chocolate was readily available, though most was poorly made. Milk chocolate was a luxury. But, Hershey was a man of the people. In 1900, he sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million, but maintained ownership of his smaller chocolate subsidiary. He named his latest business Hershey Chocolate Company and built a factory and new community for his employees in his birthplace of Derry Church. Never separating business from philanthropy, he strongly believed wealth should be used for the benefit of others and he practiced what he preached. He created a model industrial town in Hershey, PA, providing his workers with comfortable homes, an inexpensive public transportation system; a quality public school system and extensive recreational and cultural opportunities. And his vision endures today.

With a booming business and flourishing community, he and Catherine turned their attention to children in need. At the urging of his wife and the memories of a lost childhood without proper schooling, Milton Hershey founded the Hershey Industrial School (renamed MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL in 1951) on November 15, 1909. Today, MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL is the nation’s largest cost-free, private, coeducational home and school for children from families of low income, limited resources, and social need.

For more information about Milton Hershey visit www.mhs-pa.org/about/history/milton-s-hershey.

 

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