Posted in: Movies | Tagged: hershey, Hershey Park, HRL, Milton S Hershey

Lauren Looks Back: Pennsylvania's Hershey Park

Published Sun, 27 Aug 2017 08:15:48 -0500

Throughout the '90s and 2000s, my parents would take me and my sister to Hershey Park every summer. Since the park was only a little over an hour away, going a few times per summer wasn't unheard of. Plus, my sister and I liked candy — especially chocolate.

As kids, we had no concept of history or time, so we never cared about the background of the park. We enjoyed the rides, I loved ZooAmerica, and my dad would spend hours playing skeeball and getting us giant stuffed animals to bring home. One of my favorite toys he won was a stuffed Fred Flintstone. Anyway, enough about my family!

Milton S. Hershey had come up with the idea of a park as early as 1903. In 1907, his dream was realized, and Hershey Park opened. The park opened with a baseball game, and I'm sure there was as much pomp and circumstance as one would expect from 1907.

The park was also vastly different than what it is now. It was a traditional park, where families could go on picnics or boat rides, and there was even a main stage where musical acts or vaudeville performers would entertain the crowds. In 1908, the park added a carousel, and the following year saw the addition of two bowling alleys, tennis courts, and a photography gallery.

The park blew up between the years 1912 and 1923. New bandstands were erected. A new carousel was installed. Hershey opened a zoo with his own animals, a train ride would take guests around the scenic parts of the area, and more. In 1923, the roller coaster The Wild Cat was added. There is still a Wild Cat coaster in the park today, but it's not the same one.

The park continued to grow, but in 1970 it went under a major overhaul (including dropping the space in its name, becoming Hersheypark), which is now the park we have today. In 1977, Hersheypark introduced the first looping roller coaster on the East Coast: The SooperDooperLooper. Currently, Hersheypark has 13 coasters, and over 70 rides altogether.

Hershey himself sadly passed away in 1945, but his park lived on and thrived. Hershey and his wife never had any children of their own, but it's evident that he loved kids dearly. His park (and school, and just about everything else in that town) is a living testament to his commitment to bringing joy to children of all ages.