Hershey World Museum

I had found a Groupon (https://www.groupon.com/deals/the-hershey-story-museum-1-8) for entry into the Hershey Story Museum and a hot chocolate tasting so we headed there last week on June 23. Such interesting information!

The current "special" exhibit on the first floor allowed us to try out several jobs that we may have performed in the Hershey factory in the early 1900s. Dwayne is working on packing chocolate bars in a box...

One of the interesting things was that Milton Hershey created a profit sharing plan for his employees which was very unusual for early 20th century manufacturing.

These were samples of some of the letters that the employees got with their profit sharing checks.

At the end of our "work training" experience, we got to pick a job that we particularly liked. We both happened to choose "packing chocolates". We were informed that we would have been paid 10 cents an hour for doing that job... more to consider on that later!

In the upstairs portion of the museum, there was information about the business end of the chocolate factory.

For example,

A Sweet Treat for the Elite

Most folks in the 19th century only tasted chocolate when it was covering something else - a coating for sugar-based candies. Chocolates were an expensive luxury. The candy business was very different then. Most sweets were sold in bulk, not individually wrapped, making it impractical to sell them outside a confectionery shop.

The Caramel King Chooses Chocolate

To the rest of the world, the Lancaster Caramel Company was phenomenally successful - the largest such company on earth. To Milton Hershey, it was a stepping stone. His father had advised: "Do things in a big way." And Hershey foresaw chocolate in the next big thing.

In 1894, he founded the Hershey Chocolate Company as a subsidiary of the Caramel Company, making mostly baking chocolate, cocoa, and candy coatings. When Hershey sold the Caramel Company in 1900, however, he kept all rights to the Chocolate Company. That same year, he sold his first milk chocolate bars.

Embroidered Punched Paper made by E.H. Snavely, around 1880 - was this the precursor of counted cross-stitch?

Sweet Innovations - How Do You Wrap A Kiss?

Milton Hershey capitalized on the idea of wrapping confections individually, making it easy to sell them anywhere. But odd-shaped Kisses were tough to wrap efficiently.

From 1907-1921, each was wrapped by hand (mostly by women). Workers - paid by the piece - received five pounds of Kisses, foil, and a stack of hard-to-pick-up tissue squares bearing the Hershey name, which were wrapped inside the foil.

 Remember that we found that we would have been making 10 cents / hour packing Kisses? In determining the value of that level of pay (what its buying power would be), we saw this exhibit of a store display indicating that we could purchase a pound of Kisses for 29 cents. We think that this was some years after the "10 cents / hour" early 1900s, but if it was in the same time period, we would have had to work for 3 hours to buy a pound of chocolate Kisses.

Chocolate is good for you! Check out these health advertisements:

Very important information! "Hershey's Cocoa is a Nourishing Food" - isn't that good news????

 

"For Health - Try Hershey Cocoa Drink" - Trade Sign
Hershey's Syrup Poster, 1928-1940 and Tin, 1934
"A Meal in Itself" Poster, 1921-1932
"Made on the Farm" Poster, 1915
"More Sustaining Than Meat" Milk Chocolate Bar, 1914-1918

Around the World with Milton and Kitty

From Egyptian pyramids to English factory towns, Milton and Kitty Hershey traveled far and often after selling the Caramel Company in 1900.

Many of their trips were in search of treatment for Kitty's ongoing illness. But whenever they went, they kept their eyes and minds open, bringing back ideas that transformed their town.

I asked what her illness was, and the official answer is that she died of pneumonia. But the considered opinion of doctors who have considered her symptoms more recently is that she may have had Lou Gehrig's disease. If you look closely at that picture (she has the lifesaver ring around her shoulders) - she is in a wheelchair. This picture was taken, I think, about 7 years before she died.

Milton Hershey had paid a deposit for passage on the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Urgent business matters that required his attention forced him to book an earlier voyage on the German passenger liner Amerika.

Hershey's Other Candy King

Harry B. Reese tried farming. He didn't like it. Nor did he enjoy managing fishing operations of factory work. But while working at a Hershey dairy in 1919, Reese found his true calling. "If Hershey can sell a trainload of chocolate every day," he reasoned, "I can at least make a living making candy."

Born on a farm in York County, Pennsylvania in 1887, "Poppy" Reese - armed with a third grade education and an entrepreneurial spirit - had tried and failed at several ventures before taking th ejob at the Hershey dairy. But once inspired by Milton Hershey's example, success came swiftly.

Reese' company was a family business in the fullest sense. He began making chocolates in his basement, and named his first products after two of his children: the "Lizzie Bar" and "Johnny Bar." A 1928 advertisement featured Reese's large brood with the caption, "16 Good Reasons to Buy Reese's." And it was Harry's wife, "Mommy Reese," who suggested the Peanut Butter Cup. This popular confection soon outsold all his other candies, and during World War II, Reese discontinued his other products to focus on making the best Peanut Butter Cups possible.

Candy Colleagues

Harry Reese, inspired by Hershey's example, began making candy in his basement. How did Milton Hershey respond to a cross-town competitor? With encouragement, Hershey sold Reese chocolate coatings, and the two become close friends.

After World War II, Reese gave his business to his sons, who in 1956 built the current plant on Reese Avenue. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups had by then become the best selling candy in the marketplace, but lacked national distribution. A Reese-Hershey alliance once more proved fruitful. In 1963, Hershey Chocolate Corporation bought the H.B.Reese Candy Company, opening a vast distribution network. Today, Reese's is consistently one of America's top two sellers - a billion-dollar brand.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are Patti's favorite candy - really, though, her absolute favorite are the holiday versions - Peanut Butter Trees, Hearts, or Eggs. :-)

There was a reproduction of the Hershey Employee manual on display - one of the pages told about availability of Chocolate, Milk, and Salt to employees.

Chocolate - Milk - Salt

1. Chocolate is available to everyone for eating while at work. Eat as much as you want.

2. You can get milk and chocolate milk in the refrigerated cabinets at convenient locations throughout the plant.

    a. But be sure to put your bottles in the proper places.

    b. Broken glass is dangerous and we can't risk having it get in any product.

3. Salt tablets are available in departments when needed.

    a. When you perspire a lot it's wise to use them.

    b. Be sure to drink plenty of water with them.

How about that for an employee manual? "Chocolate is available to everyone for eating while at work. Eat as much as you want." 10 cents/hour is starting to sound like a good deal! YUM!

The Groupon included a tasting of hot chocolates from around the world.

The placemat told us about each of the chocolates.

We really enjoyed this, but none of them were as good as the Topla Chokolada in Montenegro!