There is perhaps no more instantly recognizable candy on the planet than the famous Hershey's Kiss.

Indeed, when one thinks of scrumptious snacks, few names loom larger than that of Hershey.

Its wide array of products has satisfied many a sweet tooth over the generations.

Accordingly, the Pennsylvania community that shares the company name is wistfully marketed as the sweetest place on Earth.

But who was Hershey and how did he forge his chocolate empire?

What were his aims and what are his legacies?

The answers may surprise you.

[music playing] Milton S. Hershey was born on September 13, 1857, in Derry Township, Pennsylvania, to Henry and Fannie Hershey, both of whom hailed from old Mennonite stock.

Henry's many failed business ventures led to friction within the family, resulting in his separation from Fannie when Milton was a teenager.

Relocated to Lancaster with his mother, young Milton soon obtained a position at an ice cream parlor and what was one of the nation's richest dairy belts.

Under the tutelage of candymaker Joseph Royer, Hershey gained further professional skills sharpened by the Pennsylvania Dutch work ethic.

An aspiring entrepreneur and confectioner, Hershey transitioned to Philadelphia in 1876 and the hope of reaching broader markets.

He failed to grow his business there and elsewhere, compelling him to return to Lancaster in poor financial shape.

There, in 1886, he finally regained his economic footing after establishing the Lancaster Caramel Company, and there was no turning back.

Inspired by the global flavor and industrial innovations showcased at Chicago's Columbian exposition in 1893, Hershey eventually risked his $1 million caramel business to shift to the mass production of milk chocolate and cocoa.

The following year, the Hershey chocolate company was born in Lancaster.

Yet Hershey desired something much more.

The visionary aspired to create a utopia, a clean, orderly and equitable company town that would stand in stark contrast to the grimy slums of gilded age America.

Perhaps nostalgic for the agrarian landscape of his childhood, he sought to purchase 1,200 acres of lush pasture in Dauphin County, Derry Township.

The two-year project to construct the largest chocolate factory in the world was completed in 1905.

His iconic candy bars, wrapped in silver foil and brown paper, soon became some of the best selling sweets in the country.

Joined by wife Catherine, whom he married in 1898, Hershey generated a self-sustaining farming village with rustic charm.

There, he effectively blended the old world with the new, fusing agriculture and automation in his quest to perfect chocolate.

Modernity was reflected in the enlightened nature of the town's design.

Various urban features and amenities were made available to residents who called this new community Hershey, Pennsylvania, their home.

Landscaped streets, banks with low interest rates, affordable housing, streetcars, recreational venues, and even an amusement park with free admission.

Hershey likewise funded community institutions such as athletic programs, schools, hospitals, libraries and civic organizations.

This mindset proved mutually beneficial, not only could Hershey take the moral high road in this era of widespread worker abuse, but so too could he buy the loyalty of workers and their families.

But even with this benevolent paternalism at play, the community represented the essence of a company town in which the boss had final say on nearly every matter.

The year 1909, however, witnessed one of Hershey's most charitable and lasting acts-- the creation of the Hershey industrial school, now known as the Milton Hershey School.

The facility offered young people a sense of place and profession.

Originally established to accommodate orphaned boys, the school now teaches boys and girls of low-income backgrounds and prepares them for the next chapters of life.

Thanks to Milton Hershey's trust fund, now worth approximately $15 billion, all students who have or will graduate from the school attend for free.

Candy bars grew exceedingly popular following World War I and remained so even through the Great Depression.

When many Americans had only loose change in their pockets, a Hershey bar might have been the only meal they could afford on a single day.

Back in Hershey itself, the so-called chocolate king attempted to stem the tide of economic downfall by hiring 600 workers to build and staff the new Hotel Hershey and ornate downtown theater, a stadium, and a massive sports arena.

Hershey knew the Depression would not last forever, and these expansions proved wise long-term investments.

But not all was perfect in Hershey's paradise.

The Depression weakened company sales and workers were inevitably laid off.

All the while, certain immigrant employees were sometimes relegated to lower paying positions.

The harmonious environment Hershey boasted of seemed at risk.

In 1937, labor union members of the United Chocolate Workers successfully petitioned for higher wages, but soon suspected that Hershey was retaliating when scores were laid off just weeks later.

That April, over 600 Hershey employees ceased their work in protest.

Despite their peaceful and non-destructive tactics, the strikers lost the advantage when community opinion turned against them.

Hershey had so firm a grip on regional dairy farmers that locals could not tolerate work stoppages due to labor unrest.

At the same time, the loyal workers club became convinced that the strikers had been agitated by communist infiltrators.

Alongside area farmers, the loyalists stormed the plant and drove the strikers out by force.

The town had seemingly demonstrated loyalty to its founder, but at what cost?

The strike deflated Milton Hershey, now an old man and a widower who resided alone in a simple apartment in the Hotel Hershey, where the company's best days behind it.

Ironically, the Second World War offered renewal to the Hershey company.

Not only did the treats become favorites of service members on army bases and naval stations, but the company also devised a specialty chocolate bar for overseas nutrition.

The blandly named Ration D bar was designed to withstand temperatures over 100 degrees, ideal for storage in the humid South Pacific.

Unlike most Hershey candies, this bar was meant to taste like a boiled potato, not intended to be consumed as a leisurely snack, but an emergency ration bar of high caloric value.

Battlefront soldiers bemoaned its dull flavor, but were thankful for its practical uses as survival food.

Hershey did not live long past that busy and productive time for his company.

Milton passed away on October 13, 1945 at age 88.

He was buried alongside Catherine, who had died over 30 years prior.

Nearly two decades after Milton Hershey's passing, the foundation bearing his name, donated $50 million to construct what is now the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, which operates as an academic, medical and pediatric treatment facility.

The center, among many others, stands as a strong, tangible legacy of the chocolate king.

Milton Hershey's world views lead to all manner of conversation about the value of labor and quality of life, even in modern society.

Some critics argued in 2007 that the Hershey company had lost its way when it cut 1,500 American jobs to relocate certain operations to a cost-efficient manufacturing plant in Mexico.

In 2019, company representatives indicated they could not guarantee its chocolate was produced without child labor overseas.

How might Milton Hershey have responded to these developments?

More importantly, what lessons can we learn from the chocolate king today?

Thanks for joining us on this episode of Past PA