Hershey’s Chocolate

Yesterday when I posted about the Amish Country, Amish Country I completely forgot that we still did other things as well. After leaving the Amish in Lancaster County, we headed to Hershey, PA, where the delicious Hershey Chocolate comes from. How could I forget that?

The street signs were named after all types of chocolate and even the streetlamps were designed as the famous Hershey Kiss.

We didn’t have a lot of time at the Hershey Factory, and it was a total last minute decision, however we made the very last tour of the day, and still got to learn about how the famous chocolate is made. There is so much to explore at the facility. In fact, they have made it into a whole theme park, with rides and all kinds of entertainment. We did not have a chance to do any of those, and quite honestly, neither of us had much interest in that either. We wanted to learn about the chocolate, so we ran up the stairs and hopped onto the little tour carts, and off we went. If you have ever been to Disneyland, and have been on the Haunted Mansion ride, the tour was set up exactly like that. As much as I love chocolate, and Hershey’s Chocolate at that, I have to stay, I was not a big fan of the way they made the Hershey tour into a Disneyland-like ride. I would have much preferred an actual tour with a real tour guide than a virtual tour and guide. But other than that, it was still very interesting and very informative.

Hershey is the birthplace of the famous Hershey Kiss, Hershey Bars and Reece’s Peanut Butter candies, among many others. Hershey’s Chocolate was founded in 1894 by Milton Hershey.

The very first Hershey bar was sold in 1900 for a mere 10 cents.

Candy bars have sure changed and evolved over the years, and the price is a lot more than just 10 cents too.

The famous Hershey Kiss was created in 1921, complete with it’s trademark plume. And through the years, Hershey’s has created many more types of iconic candies and chocolate confections that we have grown to love and cherish just as much as we do the Kiss. I’m sure we all remember our first kiss. 🙂

I would have liked to ride in the Kissmobile. That would have been fun. But, it will have to be another time.

It was a sweet day indeed. 🙂

Like with any company than has been around for a long time, Hershey’s has certainly been through plenty of tough times; the same tough times that we as a nation have faced as well, but Hershey’s was a place of hope and inspiration. During the times of the Great Depression and WWII, Hershey’s was there providing jobs to those in need. During the 1930-1945, Hershey’s was a part of The Great Works Project,  building the most iconic landmarks of Hershey during this time, Hershey Park, Theatre and the Hershey Hotel.

During WWII Hershey’s created the Ration D bar for those who served.

Up until the late 1980’s Hershey’s was still primarily just a producer of chocolate confections. However, in the 1990’s, Hershey’s acquired LEAF, Inc., which opened their world to about 40 other kinds of sweet confections and candies, including Jolly Rancher, Whoppers, Milk Duds, Good & Plenty, Pay Day, Heath, Rainblo and Super Bubble.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Hershey’s expanded their operations once again, and lead the way by creating the World Cocoa Foundation, which began investments in West Africa to support cocoa farmers and improve cacao agriculture. In 2003, they introduced sugar-free candies. In 2012, Hershey’s was recognized as one of America’s most community-minded companies, as one of the Civic 50. They are still leading the way in many new and innovative ways in the world of chocolate and confections, and they are still growing. In 2021 Hershey’s acquired yet another candy company, Lily’s Sweets, the high-growth, better-for-you confectionery brand of candy. I somehow get the feeling that they they are not done and still have a lot more growing to do too.

Once again, this was a fun and very informative tour. I am so glad we decided to do it, even if it was a totally last minute decision. Often times, those are my best decisions. 🙂

Upon leaving Hershey, we took one more tour for the trip, and headed into Harrisburg, the Capitol of PA. That was good to see as well, though we didn’t spend a lot of time there.

As you can see, we were on the run and saw so many interesting things and places on this trip. We were all over the place. It was yet another fantastic vacation to add to the books.

Have a sweet day, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.