See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: George Washington Carver Story.
Life Lesson #87 – The Drug of Choice.
On September 13, 1857, a baby boy was born near a town called Derry Church, Pennsylvania. His parents named him Milton. Milton had a difficult time in school because his family moved around a lot. When he was 15-years-old, he got a job as a confectioner’s apprentice and he learned all about making candy and other sweets.
As Milton grew a little older, he wanted to start his own candy factory. But as hard as he tried, he failed over and over again. He tried to start businesses in three different cities. They all failed. Finally, after moving back to Pennsylvania, he learned how to make chocolate. That’s when the name Milton Hershey became famous! He made millions and millions of dollars with his Hershey’s Chocolate Company. The factory is located in what is now Hershey, Pennsylvania, a beautiful town with streets like West Chocolate Avenue and Cocoa Avenue. The street lights are shaped like giant Hershey’s Kisses, and the whole town smells like chocolate! Milton Hershey HELPED build that town.
But he also built something else—a very special school for underprivileged children. He opened his school in 1909, and still today, over a thousand children, pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade, attend the Milton Hershey School free of charge, all paid for using money that Mr. Hershey gave to the school. Through the years, tens of thousands of children, who otherwise could not afford it, have had a wonderful and exciting education all made possible by Milton Hershey, a man we remember not only as “The King of Chocolate” but also as a very special HERO.
– Jim Lord