By the age of fourteen his mother and aunt had steered him in the direction of candy making by arranging for him to be an apprentice under a well known confectioner from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At the age of nineteen he moved to Philadelphia to start his own candy making business. His first few years in the business were a little bumpy and he was frequently on the move, spending time in Denver, New Orleans, Chicago and New York, but always working on perfecting his craft.
In 1883 he moved back to Lancaster and started the Lancaster Carmel Company. Within a short time the Lancaster Carmel Company became a huge success and by the early 1890's employed over 1,300 people. Not content to rest on his success, Hershey became interested in chocolate, so much so that he sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for one million dollars to start the Hershey Chocolate Company.
Fast forward to today and the Hershey Chocolate Company is one of the largest candy companies in the world. Their factories churn out around 70 million Hershey's Kisses every day. According to the company, that if all the kisses made annually were placed in a line it would be over 300,000 miles long. All those kisses, chocolate bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, etc. produce an annual revenue of around eight billion dollars. Not bad for a company started by someone whose formal education was through the fourth grade!
The town of Hershey is located just fifteen miles from Harrisburg (the Capital of Pennsylvania). What started as a "company town" for workers at the candy factory is now a major tourist attraction with a theme park, hotel, arena, stadium, museum and botanical gardens all of which are blanketed by the sweet smell of chocolate coming from the factory. In spite of the growth, the town itself is relatively small and has been able to retain that "small town feel" along it's main street, which is lined with street lights that look like Hershey's Kisses.
Our amusement park days are mostly behind us so we were quite content with a peaceful stroll through Hershey Gardens. The center piece of the twenty three acres at this time of year is the rose garden, which is in full bloom with roses of all colors. Additionally there is a really nice Butterfly Atrium located inside the entrance that is full of butterflies from around the world. We enjoyed the gardens at no charge thanks to our annual pass to St. Pete's Sunken Gardens. If you prefer gardens to roller coasters you might want to check out an annual pass to a local botanical garden to see if it is a part of the American Horticultural Society. If so, your membership will get you free or reduced admission to over 345 gardens in North America.
After finishing up in the tranquil gardens we moved on to Chocolate World which is a combination of a store selling all things Hershey's, a simulated tour of how chocolate is made (free sample at the end) and several other attractions. There was a short line for the simulated factory tour which gave us time to read the information on the company history, products and Milton Hershey. Our visit to Chocolate World was fairly short, but fun nonetheless, as we watched parents forking over wads of cash for gobs of Hershey's candy that they could buy for less at their local Wal-Mart.
From Hershey it was a short forty minute drive to the city of Lancaster (the city of Lancaster is the county seat for Lancaster County). We made a brief stop at the Lancaster Central Market. In 1730 Lancaster was designated as a "market town" where farmers would bring their produce and products to sell or trade. The market has operated out of the one square block Market House since 1889, making it the oldest, continuously running farmers market in the US. The market is currently open three days a week (Tuesday, Friday and Saturday) from 6:00 AM-3:00 PM and features over sixty vendors offering local foods and crafts. We knew a big lunch awaited but were tempted by a Sour Cream and Onion Pretzel that turned out to be really good.
It was now early afternoon and time to check out a place that had been recommended to us by Beth's sister in law, Marilyn. The Shady Maple is a Pennsylvania Dutch Restaurant with quite a history. It has grown from humble beginnings as a roadside produce stand under some large maple trees in 1962 to become the largest buffet in the US. The buffet itself is over 200 feet long and the restaurant can seat more than 2,000 people. While as a general rule buffets aren't really our cup of tea, we had been assured the Shady Maple was worth trying. Sure enough it lived up to it's advance billing. Although it was busy, it wasn't overly crowded and the food was not only plentiful, it was also fresh and high quality. We enjoyed a hearty lunch and as we left I told Beth that I was proud of myself. I ate plenty but not so much that I felt like I might puke. I guess I'm getting some self control.
We rode through some of the rural sections of Lancaster County where many Amish and Mennonites have lived for centuries. We had visited Lancaster County some years back and were surprised to see how much it had grown. The farms are still there and the Amish and Mennonites still cling to their ways of life, but clearly it's becoming harder as the area grows. We were interested in an Amish House and Farm that we had read about. When we arrived we were shocked to see that while the house and farm were still there it is now surrounded by a Target and Outlet Mall. I guess you can't stop growth, but I'm not sure I'd call it progress.
Lancaster County is still worth visiting, especially if you get on some of the back roads where you will most likely still pass an Amish family traveling on their horse and buggy. You'll also get to amuse yourself as you pass through some of their uniquely named villages such as Bird in the Hand, Lititz, Blue Ball and of course everyone's favorite, Intercourse!
Wacky Town Names in Lancaster County, PA
It was a long and very enjoyable adventure. We had several hours in the car but there were some great stops throughout the day. When we got back to the Lock Keepers Cottage the day ended on a high note with me beating Beth (a very rare occurrence) in scrabble with my highest score ever!
