There’s an old saying that goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Milton Hershey tried many times in life before succeeding as the maker of Hershey’s chocolate. He was born September 13, 1857, near Derry Church, Pennsylvania. His father struggled with many failed businesses that caused the family to move often. Milton attended seven different schools in eight years, and he only completed up to the fourth grade.

At age 14, Milton became an apprentice to a printer. But Milton did not enjoy the work and one day threw his hat into the printing press, causing enough trouble to get fired. Shortly after, Milton’s mother, with whom he shared a lifelong devotion, arranged for him to apprentice to a candymaker. He immediately discovered a talent for candy making and at the age of 19 launched his first candy business in Philadelphia.

Though he had financial support from family and friends, the business failed. Milton then joined his father in Denver, Colorado, to work in the silver mines, but they arrived too late and Milton’s father was left without work. Milton found a job working for a candymaker, where he learned that using fresh milk was the key to making delicious caramels. Inspired, Milton opened another candymaking business, this time in New York City. Though he worked very hard, there was too much competition in the big city, and his business collapsed once again.

He was now seen as a failure like his father, yet he continued to sell his caramels out of a pushcart at night. That was when he got his big break. An English candy importer was so impressed with Milton’s caramels that he placed a very large order. With the money, Milton paid off his debts and started the Lancaster Caramel Company. He moved his business from the city to the country, where fresh milk and able workers were plentiful. Finally, Milton had a successful business.

For a while Milton and his new wife, Catherine, traveled the world and enjoyed entertaining in their mansion. However, Milton had greater things in mind. Determined to build another successful business, this time with chocolate, he sold his caramel company in 1900 for a million dollars (a huge sum at the time). Through great persistence Milton discovered a process for making milk chocolate, which had before been available only to rich people in Europe—where the recipe was a guarded secret. Based on a single Grade 6: Steve Jobs affordable and delicious product, Milton’s business grew into the world’s largest manufacturer of chocolate, the Hershey Chocolate Company.

Milton dedicated the second half of his career to philanthropy—the practice of spending one’s money to help others. He established a town for his workers that included a town hall, a trolley service, a recreation park with live music every day, a post office, a bank, and a sports arena.

Unable to have children of their own, Milton and Catherine’s proudest achievement was the creation of the Milton Hershey School for orphaned boys. The school still exists today and provides both boys and girls with an important foundation for a successful life.

On October 13, 1945, at the age of 88, Milton Hershey died in the Hershey Hospital. He was buried next to his beloved wife and his parents in the Hershey Cemetery.

Write multiparagraph essay that determines the main idea of the article and explains how the author uses the events of Hershey’s life to develop the main idea.

Cite evidence from the article to support your response. Be sure
to observe the conventions of standard English