Chocolate Workers' Sit-Down Strike, Hershey, Dauphin County

Spring? Never heard of her. In my part of Pennsylvania, we seem to have leaped from winter's last grasp straight to the front door of summer, but in the next couple days we're dropping from temperatures in the 90s down to the 50s. But on the bright side, it's not snowing.

I recently saw a trailer for a new movie from Angel Studios, coming out later this year, simply titled Hershey. I'm surprised it's taken this long for someone to make a movie about the guy, since Milton Hershey is arguably one of the best-known figures in Pennsylvania history. In fact, out of all the native Pennsylvanians I can recall, it might be a toss-up between him and Mister Rogers for the top spot, though I'm inclined to give the prize to my childhood hero. (I'm only counting natives in that. The commonwealth has many famous figures who came from elsewhere, like William Penn himself and Ben Franklin.)

However, while Hershey the man is remembered with great affection, Hershey the company has a few dark spots in its story. This week's quest is about one of them.

Derry Church and Churchyard, Hershey, Dauphin County

Four times a year (barring unexpected circumstances), I make the trek to Dauphin County, where the White Rose Irregulars of York gather in a private room at Leeds Restaurant and Lounge. We're what's called a scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars, and get together quarterly to share our mutual love of all things related to Sherlock Holmes. A few of them promised to read this, so in case they did - hi everybody! Also, when dining at Leeds, I  can't say enough good things about the fish and chips, which are the best I've had anywhere, or about Anne, our designated server.

This past weekend was our summer gathering, and I brought my best friend Andrea with me for her first foray into Sherlockiana. Since we were sort of in the neighborhood, I proposed that on the way home, we stop in the wonderful community of Hershey to see if we couldn't collect a few markers for this blog. We picked up a few pieces of chocolate and then went to Derry Presbyterian Church, which has the distinction of being home to two markers. As such, this piece is a little longer than usual, and has more photos too.

Edited 5/8/2024: This blog post is now available as a podcast episode! Learn even more facts about God's Acre by listening today on Spotify or your preferred podcast provider.