His+Life

= = =**define: ** = =**Milton Hershe ** **y(//n//)- ** = An extraordinary man who changed America forever

Milton Hershey was born on September 13, 1857 in a farm in central Pennsylvania. He grew up poor moving chicken from place to place. His father tried many different business ventures, which were mostly failures. Hershey’s father was constantly moving from place to place in search of work. This created huge amounts of instability in Hershey’s life. Hershey attended around seven different schools and never finished beyond the fourth grade. He never had a formal education. This never stopped Hershey from striving to be better and as a young adult he was very ambitious. He created the successful Hershey Chocolate Company and made ten dollars! As a rich man, Hershey was able to enjoy the finer aspects of life. Hershey traveled around the world meeting different people and learning new ideas, all the while using his credit cards and becoming more and more in debt. In 1891, he bought a trailer filling it with plants and even exotic birds! In 1898, Hershey married an Asian Catholic girl named Catherine “Kitty” Sweeney and together they made the Lancaster trailer a loving home. Hershey’s newfound wealth gave him many new enjoyments in life.
 * ^Hershey and his wife were deeply in love but they never had children.^**

Hershey faced many challenges. Mr. and Ms. Hershey loved each other and were determined to make the world a better place. Together, in 1909, they signed a Deed of Charter to a school for orphaned boys known as the Hershey Industrial School. Though they were working together to make the world a better place, Catherine Hershey’s health began to decline. In March 25, 1915, Catherine died, which caused Milton Hershey tremendous amounts of grief. Milton Hershey also faced more hardship as World War I began and sugar became scare. Milton decided to build his own sugar refinery and town in Cuba. However after the war the sugar market crashed and Hershey was forced to borrow money from the National City Bank of New York, which he paid off in two years. Another hardship Hershey had to face was the Great Depression. He was determined ensure his employees had job security and even launched a massive building program providing jobs. Many buildings were built for Derry Township during this time period including the Hershey Community Building and the Hershey’s Sports Arena. Hershey overcame many challenges with integrity, creativity and hard work. 
 * ^Hershey built the Hershey Sports Arena for the citizens of his town in 1936.^ **

On October 13, 1945, Milton Hershey died at the old age of eighty eight. Hershey was a persistent man driven to succeed. He was not discouraged by his numerous failures and kept on working hard until he created a prosperous enterprise. After his success, Hershey manages to still be a great inspiration through his philanthropy. Hershey’s legacy continues to live on through his company, school and community.