Successful Failure

He was a man full of integrity, sincerity, and character; who changed the lives of many by providing them homes, jobs, and of course the satisfaction from eating a scrumptious creamy milk chocolate bar (Erdman). He is well-known for not only “The Hershey Chocolate Company”, but his own “town of Hershey” (“Milton Hershey” 144). As a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and giver; Milton Hershey created his own American Dream through many failures and perseverance.

Milton Hershey was born on September 13, 1857, in a “Pennsylvania farm in Derry Township” (“Milton Hershey” 142). He was the “only surviving child” of the poor couple, Henry H. Hershey and Fannie B. Snavely (Woodruff). Hershey’s parents “hardly [ever] saw eye to eye”; they were like day and night, vanilla and chocolate (Erdman). His mother had “a highly disciplined nature” because of her Mennonite faith, yet his father “was a worldly man who dreamed big dreams” and because of that, he always got “into trouble” (Erdman). Since Henry was unable to find a steady job, the Hershey family constantly moved around to different places (Woodruff). This resulted to Milton dropping out of school in fourth grade (Erdman). Henry and Fannie later went their own separate ways because it was too frustrating to be around each other (Erdman). Even though Milton’s parents weren’t as close anymore, both his mother and father were still the biggest influences in his life. His father would always say to him, “If you want to make money, you must do things in a very big way” (Erdman). His idealistic father’s slogan pushed Milton to “think big” and to keep chasing his dreams (Erdman). Because of his mother’s strict nature, he grew up to be a hard determined worker (Erdman). Not only that, but she suppo...

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...helped many other people with theirs. Milton Hershey has proven himself to be a great man by “think[ing] big” (Erdman).

Works Cited

D'Antonio, Michael. Hershey Milton S. Hershey's extraordinary life of wealth, empire, and utopian dreams. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Print.

Denenberg, Dennis, and Lorraine Roscoe. "Milton Hershey." 50 American Heroes

Every Kid Should Meet (2002): 54. History Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 26

Feb. 2010

Erdman, Timothy M. "Hershey: Sweet smell of success." American History Illustrated

29.1 (1994): 64. History Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.

Mossman, Jennifer, ed. "Milton Hershey." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 19. Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2000. 142-44. Print.

Woodruff, Stephen B. "Milton Hershey and His Chocolate School."

Appleseeds 8.6 (2006): 20. Primary Search. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.