Hershey, PA owes its prosperity and uniqueness as a community to the founder of the world famous Hershey Chocolate Company, Milton S. Hershey (1857-1945). Milton S. Hershey was a man of uncommon vision and compassion who wanted only the best for his workers and their families. After his chocolate business became a booming success in the early 1900’s, Milton Hershey built a planned community for his employees that included tree lined streets, a sewer system, electricity, schools, a theatre, a pool, and a park for their recreation. He also built a school for orphaned, underprivileged boys.

Although Milton Hershey’s original intention for the town was to provide for his workers, it didn’t take long before tourists starting flocking to such a swell area. And, they’re still coming today. I know that this particular flock of tourists were burning rubber at 45 mph on 322 to 422 from Harrisburg, intent on taking in the nifty sights.

When we arrived, we found out that the first thing any tourist should do upon visiting Hershey, PA is to take a tour of the chocolate factory. That imposing building sits proudly on the left-hand side of Chocolate Avenue as you pass the town square and is a dominant feature of the landscape. Tours of the factory are operated Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 4:00 and run almost continuously throughout the day. Thousands of visitors have crowded through the plant’s interior to watch the fascinating process of grinding and processing the cocoa beans into the chocolate we have all come to know and love (and I do mean LOVE!). The enticing smell of warm chocolate pervades the entire town and induces an instant hunger for that most wonderful of treats. Fortunately, the company obviously realizes its effect on the average citizen and before the rabble got rowdy, the tour concluded with a sample of chocolate milk and a candy bar. I must say, there seemed to be a suspicious number of youngsters of school age that entered the factory doors with us, but weren’t on our tour. Then, when we got to the treats, lo and behold, there they were, their not-so-angelic little faces covered with chocolate. I don’t know, it seemed awfully suspicious to me, but if I grew up in Hershey I guess I’d take advantage of the free goodies, too.

Anyway, our sweet tooth appeased for the moment, we decided to check out Hershey’s pool. My gosh! Is that thing HUGE! We each paid our $.50 to get in and received our clean towel and locker keys and shuffled towards the smartly painted bathhouse in wonder. There were people everywhere, but the pool is so large, we didn’t feel crowded. After we had changed into our suits and put on our bathing caps, we immediately hopped into the vaguely piano-shaped pool. No sooner had we emerged, dripping onto the grass, when one of our group exclaimed loudly and pointed towards a group of large men. Not seeing what the big deal was, I asked who they were and was informed that they were members of the Philadelphia Eagles, who it seemed have their home camp in Hershey. I understand that you can watch their practices. Neato!

After we had our dip, we wandered into the sunken gardens and enjoyed its gazebos, park swings and cool, colored fountain. Everything was neat and clean. We peeked into the Starlight Ballroom, which I understand just had its name changed after a snowstorm had collapsed the roof and they had to rebuild part of the building. It seems that they were having a dance tonight and we made plans to go.

Heartened by our exercise, we changed back into our clothes and decided to head to the Hershey Creamery. We entered the creamery through the front door and were immediately invited inside by a unique, though not unpleasant combination of smells consisting of coldness, cream and sugar. We all ordered something different, but I had heard so much about the Creamery’s Iceberg Bar, I couldn’t resist. A creamy vanilla block hand-dipped in a coating of chocolate. Mmmm. It was every bit as good as I had heard. Hershey Creamery is a definite stop for any tourist to Hershey, PA.

Since we had just thoroughly ruined our dinner, we made our way to our hotel, the Cocoa Inn, known until this year as the Community Inn. As we walked to the hotel from the Creamery, the Carillon from the Milton Hershey School started to play and the music wafted peacefully over the town. I was informed that the Carillon played every day at 4:00 and the music was changed frequently. I couldn’t help but be struck by what a totally cool town this was.

Inside the Cocoa Inn, we checked into our rooms and changed into our clothes for the dance at the Starlight Ballroom. I had brought along my matching crinoline and cummerbund and looked smashing, if I do say so myself. The guys looked swell in their pompadours and baggy suits. We made our way to the Ballroom and were greeted with the strains of the music of Stan Kenton. The louvered side windows were open to the breeze and light spilled out onto the lawn from every direction. Bathers were still in abundance and many had placed their towels near the Ballroom so they could hear the music and watch the dancers. It didn’t take long until we were swaying amongst them. It was dreamy.

Hungry from all that dancing, we headed to DeAngelis Restaurant at 102 W. Chocolate Avenue for what we had been assured was "the best pizza in town". It didn’t disappoint. We then decided to call it a night.

The next morning, the guys insisted we visit the Hershey Bakery and Experimental Candy Kitchen where it is said that the "world’s best crème-filled donuts are made". After all those sweets yesterday, I went with something a little more mundane, but judging from the amount of crème smeared on those manly faces, they couldn’t stuff them in fast enough.

We decided to visit the Milton S. Hershey School for Boys next. As explained earlier, Milton S. Hershey had founded the school for orphaned, underprivileged boys and had donated his entire personal fortune to its upkeep and administration. And that, boys and girls, is nothing to sneeze at. The School is home to around 1,200 boys from around the country that have lost at least one parent and who’s families are in economic need. It cost nothing for the boys to be sent to the school where they receive an exemplary education and an infusion of decency and morality. The boys are split into "units", of which there are around fifty scattered throughout the countryside. They are mostly dairy farms where the boys learn the value of hard work and useful skills in the dairy and animal husbandry fields. Most units hold around twenty or so boys and are looked after by one married couple, the "house parents" and a few other "dairymen". The chores entail both inside and outside work. We visited one of the units and were impressed by its neatness, the industry of the boys and their seeming contentedness. Milton S. Hershey was a wonderful man to have left such a legacy behind.

After our educational experience at the school, we felt it was time to have some fun so we headed for the park. It doesn’t cost anything to gain entrance to the park and you pay as you go for the rides. I couldn’t get enough of riding their premiere roller coaster, the Comet, and they had to drag me away to see the other rides and exhibits. They include a fabulous carousel, bumper cars, two ferris wheels, a miniature train that travels all around the park, rowboats and canoes on the stream (which are mobbed by giant carp looking for a handout), and another favorite of mine, the Penny Arcade. I spent 10¢ in the movie star picture machine and got a picture of Hedi Lamar to add to my collection.

Before heading to dinner at Hotel Hershey, we wanted to see its famous Rose Garden, which is free. We all piled into the Bel Air since the Hotel Hershey sits upon a hill overlooking the park and is too far to walk from downtown, but it was well worth the trip. I never even knew so many different types of roses existed. Jeepers, it was great. It was the perfect appetizer to the elegant meal that was served to us in the Circular Dining Room. And, of course, for dessert we each had some sort of confection made with chocolate.

Sadly, our time in Hershey was drawing to a close and we hadn’t even visited the public ice skating rink (where a new ice skating school had been started by a former Olympic skater) or gone fishing on the Swatara Creek. We did, however, make plans to return to Hershey for their famous Pennsylvania Dutch Days which were being held August 21st-24th. We sure wouldn’t pass up the chance to see the arena filled with exhibitors doing broom making, glass blowing and quilting. Or miss its famous apple butter or PA Dutch cooking. That’s a definite for us this summer and we cheered up as we left, knowing we would be returning to this magical town in a few short weeks.

On our way home, however, we did manage to make one more stop and that was at Indian Echo Caverns where we managed to catch the last tour of the evening. It’s a little bit of a detour, but totally worth it when you see the huge rooms, magnificent stone formations and hear the guide’s wild tales of the indians, bandits and prospectors that at one time or another all called the cave home. At one point, the guide switched off his light and just let the darkness sink down over us in a smothering blanket and it really brought home to us just how far from the sun’s rays we actually were.

Tired, full of chocolate and very happy, we made our way home to Harrisburg. Our One-Tank Getaway to Hershey was a rousing success and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to get out of Harrisburg, which, as much as I love it, we all need to do from time to time!

Spinner’s Restaurant
845 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA

Oyster Bar at the Cocoa Inn
(Which no longer exists in 1998)
Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA

Hershey Bakery & Experimental Candy Kitchen
(Hershey Museum is located where this establishment used to stand)

Hershey Theatre
15 E. Caracas Avenue, Hershey, PA

Hersheypark
Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, PA

Starlight Ballroom
(Which no longer exists in 1998)
Hershey, PA

Hershey Pool
(Which no longer exists in 1998)
Hershey, PA

Chocolate Factory
19 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA

Indian Echo Caverns
368 Middletown Road, Hummelstown, PA