By Laura Jones
Special to The Patriot

Nine girls from Junior Troop 153, Kutztown, attended a Girl Scout event at Hershey’s Chocolate World to earn their local lore patch on Jan. 23.

The girls – Jaclyn Battin, Abbie Boyer, Emily Burch, Mariah Cory, Ashley Donat, Courtney Hampton, Hunter Willow Jones, Bekah Keim and Samantha Tanner — engaged in many fun and educational activities and learned a lot about Milton Hershey, his dream and his factory.

First, the girls took the Chocolate World Tour, a ride that takes passengers on a tour of what the Hershey factory looks like on the inside. It explains with the help of some friendly Lancaster cows, where cocoa beans come from, how they are dried, crushed, melted, combined with other ingredients including the all-important milk and eventually turned into what we know as Hershey’s milk chocolate.

From the Chocolate World Tour, the girls became “factory workers” and helped to package Hershey’s kisses, wrapped Hershey Kisses in the favorite team colors and participated in a chocolate tasting. Most girls agreed 60 percent dark chocolate was not for them.

In learning about the life of Milton Hershey, the girls found out that he failed at caramel candy stores in New York City and Philadelphia. When Hershey came home to Lancaster, his credit was terrible, but somehow he convinced a bank to give him one more chance and this time he more than succeeded, he became a multi-millionaire. Hershey’s first success did not come with chocolate, it was caramels.

The Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 was where Hershey learned about the process for chocolate making. He purchased German equipment and set to work perfecting the process of chocolate making. Until Hershey chocolates, chocolate was a luxury for only the wealthy to enjoy. Hershey made it accessible to all and his factory was a huge success. Milton and his wife, Catherine, found they were unable to have children of their own. It was then that the couple made plans and opened the Hershey Industrial School now known as the Milton Hershey School. Their goal was to provide a home, educational opportunities and a trade to orphaned boys. When Catherine and later Milton died, the Hershey Chocolate Corporation was left in trust to the school they built.

Today, both boys and girls, from low-income families may apply to the Milton Hershey School and, if accepted, will receive a top-notch education, a home away from home to live, meals, clothing, medical expenses and money to go toward college after they graduate all for free.

The girls of Troop 153 learned that every time they purchase Hershey products money goes to fund the Milton Hershey School in continuation of Milton’s dream.

The girls completed several projects while learning about Hershey and his factory, including their own Hershey City of the future. They thoroughly enjoyed their experience with being able to eat the chocolate that Hershey developed being the top of their list.

Did you know that Hershey, Pa., does not actually exist? The area we know as Hershey is actually Derry Township. It is only the post-office that is named Hershey.

Did you know Milton Hershey and his wife had booked passage on the S.S. Titanic? At the last minute, Hershey was forced to give up his tickets in order to attend to a business issue. He was certainly a lucky man!

Also, one of Hershey’s top selling candies, the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, was actually produced by H.B. Reese Candy Company using Hershey’s chocolate until 1963 when the Hershey Chocolate Corporation purchased the company for $23.5 million.