“Sweet Success”
The name Hershey is synonymous for sweetness.
Iconic Hershey Kisses grace the lampposts as you drive Chocolate Avenue.
Milton Hershey’s success is intertwined with the story of the Italian immigrant to America.
From humble beginnings Milton Hershey became one of the richest and well-known men in America. Hershey lived a full life marked by failure and success. His “secret recipe” – hard work, determination and love for fellow man.
“One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy. And only useful as he contributes his influences for the finer callings in life.” -Milton Hershey.
Although recognizing the value of hard work and determination, his life’s legacy is a love for others expressed through giving.
This is the true measure of success.
His first attempts met failure upon failure but that only served to resolve his determination to work towards his dream.
It’s not quantity but quality that makes all the difference and as his enterprises grew Hershey never lost sight of that and continued to find ways of improving upon his good fortunes.
Through The Hershey Chocolate Company, The Milton Hershey School, The Hershey Park and the numerous other community institutions that Hershey helped to create, the legacy of Milton Hershey carries on to this day. His products are known throughout the world and his generosity continues to move thousands of people each day to achieve their dreams through hard work.
The story of Milton Hershey is not complete unless one examines the power behind the inspiration. Mr. Hershey’s faith in God and love for fellow man was the hallmark of his success.
At the turn of the 20th century a large group of legal immigrants came to America whose only concern was a new life. They came with nothing and expected nothing. There was no “welfare state” in the land at that time. They were hardworking and diligent to earn the fruits of their labors in their God-given newly found freedom.
These legal immigrants left Italy in search of opportunities their homeland denied them. In that time, the nobility owned the land and forced the people to work it as sharecroppers. They were forced to give back 50% of their profits to the land owners and were lucky to find work half the year.
The government further taxed this income and they worked as slaves to the system.
History has not seen the likes of the grand exodus of Italians to the shores of America. The nearest being the Hebrew exodus from Egypt.
It is recorded that 5 out of 14 million total Italians left before the first World War. The 2000 U.S. Census records at least 16 million descendants of these legal Italian immigrants today. These people were the healthy heart’s muscle that built upon America’s foundation of true freedom. From the farmland–to the factory–to the assembly plants, these peoples overcame much barriers. From language–to cultural differences–unrelenting prejudice–even hostility were surmounted to achieve success in virtually every level today: business, medicine, law, the arts and education.
They worked long and hard. There were no “handouts.” They earned an education and improved their lot. They realized the dream involved hard work and sacrifice and did not despise the gift that God had given them in this new found freedom in the land of opportunity.
How is it that these immigrants were successful where others are not? And in a remarkably short time?
They worked hard at jobs that were “beneath” others’ dignity yet remained true to their own. Nothing is in vain when done as unto the Lord. These people knew the real meaning of family, community and faith. They lived orderly lives and became pillars of success.
Their legacy is that there is no job too low and menial that you can’t take it to build a successful life.
Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Through their unselfish labors, Milton Hershey’s dream was realized.
The Bible teaches that before honor comes humility and it is in that sweet spirit that these sweet, unspoken true sons of liberty – the legal Italian immigrants of the 20th century transformed a simple man’s dream into a generous Godly legacy of love – a life spent giving to others.
