There are SO many interesting facts about Colorado that I’ve come across since we’ve lived here, and I thought I’d share some of them with you all from time to time.
Mr. Hershey’s Candy Bar Conceived in Denver
When apprentice confectioner Milton Hershey accompanied his father from Pennsylvania to Denver during the 1880’s, the young man went to work for a local candy-maker. His father, Henry, had come West hoping to cash in on the booming silver market but came out a loser.
However, while in the Queen City, Milton realized that fresh milk could make a better chocolate which held its texture and flavor longer than the traditional methods. Back in those days, chocolate was an expensive candy which only well-to-do could really afford. It has been said that Hershey was to chocolate candy what Henry Ford was to the automobile. Back in the Mennonite region of his home state, Milton eventually produced the famous inexpensive Hershey candy bar in a town which was named for him and had streets named for the ingredients of the famous bar. With mas production, the rich milk chocolate candy became affordable to the masses.
In his eighties, Hershey produced the famous long-lasting tropical chocolate during World War II. As a part of the combat “D-rations,” it became a world-wide favorite, both for the American servicemen and as the most popular gift to war refugee children. He simply extended the thinking he had first realized in Denver.
(from the book “I Never Knew That About Colorado” by Abbott Fay)
Visit Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins’ website at https://www.rockymountainlodge.com/ to find out about our facilities, check our availability calendar, and make a reservation with us. Discover more Colorado history and trivia while enjoying your Colorado vacation.
