Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "Candy Maker of Lancaster, PA: Part I" Story

Friday, April 5, 2013

The "Candy Maker of Lancaster, PA: Part I" Story

Foreword

I have always loved Hershey Bars. I have always loved Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which by the way are covered in Hershey's chocolate. So, as I sit in front of my iMac today trying to figure what to write, with a Hershey Bar in hand, it struck me. How about Milton S. Hershey and the Hershey Bar. A few weeks ago I posted a story about C. Emlen Urban, architect extraordinaire, who designed Mr. Hershey's home on South Queen St. in Lancaster, PA. Immense place that took up almost half a city block. Sorry to say it no longer stands on South Queen, having been demolished and replaced by a food store and a few houses. So today it may be time to give you the story of Mr. Hershey and his ties to my hometown of Lancaster.

Milton S. Hershey

It was an ordinary day. At the top-right of my Apple computer screen is a photo of a home at 122 S. Queen St. in Lancaster, PA. Home belongs to Milton S. Hershey; yep, the same Mr. Hershey of chocolate bar fame. The photo found it's way to the corner because I didn't use it to illustrate my story on Mr. Emlen Urban which I posted a few weeks ago. Had more than enough photos to impress almost anyone with my story on the "Architect of Lancaster." Today I would like to give you an idea of how Milton S. Hershey is tied to the city of Lancaster, PA and how I learned many things about his life through Bob Beitzel, my little league coach, Godfather to my daughter and friend, who is now deceased. Story begins in Derry Township, Lancaster County, PA. when Milton S. Hershey was born into a farm family who were of the Mennonite faith. Date was September 13, 1857, a few years before the Civil War began. His family wasn't active in the church and he often said his faith was based on "The Golden Rule." His schooling took him to the 4th grade, but his mother felt school learning would ruin her son. In 1866 the family made a move from their farm in Derry Township to a family farm on the other side of Lancaster County in a town named Ninepoints. The move allowed the family to be closer to Milton's mother's parents. At the age of fourteen, Milton got his first job as an apprentice at a small German newspaper in Gap, Pennsylvania, near his home. He hated the job and provoked his firing by dropping his straw hat into the printing press one day. The following year his mother obtained another apprenticeship with a candy and ice cream maker in Lancaster named Joe Royer. It was through Mr. Royer that Milton gained his first knowledge of the candy-making business. Four years later, at the age of 19, he moved to Philadelphia which was is the midst of celebrating the Centennial of the country. With money from his uncle he began a candy business. His mother and his Aunt Mattie made trips to Philadelphia to help him with the start of his business which was located at 935 Spring Garden Street. He worked all night making the candy while the women sold it during the day. The candy, called "French Secrets", because it had a message inside, was sold for a penny each. Seven years later, after his business had failed because of the high price of sugar, he declared bankruptcy and began a series of moves that took him to locations such as Denver, New York, Chicago and New Orleans. Each stop he would begin a candy business and fail. Finally in 1887 he moved back to Lancaster penniless. His Aunt gave him money for rent on an apartment and he began trial and error recipes for making caramel candy. His trials led to a candy he called "Crystal A" caramels which he made during the day and in the evening would load onto a pushcart and sold them on the streets of Lancaster. He managed to get an order from an English candy importer for 500 pounds sterling worth of his caramels. This led to a loan from the Lancaster County National Bank to help finance the project and he was in business. He called his new company the Lancaster Caramel Company and located it in the 300 block of Church Street in the city of Lancaster. The site continued to grow and he eventually had 1,400 employees. In 1891 The Lancaster Caramel Company was expanded and another building in Mt. Joy, PA was added. In the same year, Milton purchased a large home located at 222 South Queen St. and hired C. Emlen Urban to redesign the appearance of the property. Two years later, during a visit to the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago, he became fascinated with the art of chocolate making and bought German-made machinery and had it shipped to Lancaster. After another round of trial and error testing, he came upon a formula for his chocolate which consisted of milk, sugar and cocoa beans. In 1894 he founded Hershey Chocolate Company as a subsidiary of Lancaster Caramel Company and started producing baking chocolate, cocoa, and chocolate coatings for his caramels. The following year in 1895, the Hershey Bar was born. As a side note, in 1897 he bought back his family farm in Derry Township, a move that will play big in his future candy making endeavors. On May 25, 1898, at the age of 41 he married Catherine "Kitty" Sweeney, a 26 year old Irish woman whom he met while on a trip to Jamestown, NY. Not long after, Milton realized that his future was going to be in the production of chocolate and in 1900 he sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million to a competitor, starting his focus on the Hershey Chocolate Company. Two years later he began quietly buying more land around his property he owned in Derry Township with the intent of moving his company to the area. Tomorrow I will tell you about the beginning of the town known as "The Sweetest Place on Earth." It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.