The word Hershey, although it is a community within Derry Township Dauphin County, no doubt recalls thoughts of sweet, sweet chocolate, maybe in kiss form. But some call the man behind that name, Milton Hershey, an unlikely candidate for such success. Milton Hershey discovered a passion for candy when he was just a teenager. He spent years as an apprentice for a man named Joseph Royer, a master confectioner who owned an ice cream store in Lancaster.
Eventually, Hershey moved to Philadelphia to start his own candy business. It went bankrupt. Next, he moved to Denver, where he learned to make caramels using fresh milk. That one was a bit more successful, but also went under a few years later. By the age of 26, Milton Hershey was said to be penniless. He returned to Lancaster and sold homemade caramels from a cart.
This time, the Lancaster Caramel Company steadily grew, and by 1894, he'd established the Hershey Chocolate Company within it. The rest, as they say, is history.
