The Tastiest Treat in Hershey, Pennsylvania: A Generous American Spirit

We spent this past weekend in Hershey, Pennsylvania, at a lacrosse tournament for our fourteen-year-old son Joe (sixteen-year-old David is in Piedra Negros, Mexico, on a mission trip with our church). The tournament provided a spectacular “Field of Dreams” setting in the middle of a cornfield surrounded by rolling hills, stone farmhouses, red barns and white silos against a vivid blue sky. What a great place for a chocolate factory (I guess there’s no bad place for a chocolate factory). But the tastiest treat in Hershey? Learning of Milton Hershey’s philanthropic spirit. The man supported five local churches during tough economic times and invested his fortune in a school for orphans that has gone on to create industry leaders for more than 100 years. What a sweet legacy. I will enjoy my next Hershey bar even more than usual.

Though our record was 2w/3l for the tournament, we tied two of those losses and went down in “Braveheart” face-offs against great opponents from Maryland and Pennsylvania, states where lacrosse is part of the high school program (it is still considered ‘emerging’ in Alabama). We received a warm welcome everywhere we went. Southerners do not hold an exclusive on hospitality. Sunday evening and most of Monday we tooled around Old City Philadelphia. I must admit I expected this to be a “tourist” check-list, perhaps benefitting Joe’s up-coming freshman high school American history class.

Thanks to an engaging guide at Independence Hall, I became the history student inspired by stories of our founding fathers and the courage it took to create our nation. Please excuse any lingering Fourth of July sentimentality, but pulling off a revolution isn’t easy. Their stories deserve more attention than I’ve given them since I was a high school freshman. I fly my flag proudly on holidays, sing The Star Spangled Banner at ballgames (louder than my kids would prefer) and even sport a flag tie when the Fourth falls on a Sunday as it did this year. But I let all these great stories fade from memory.

Today I read a blog post comment by Gail Hyatt (http://gailbhyatt.wordpress.com/) recommending HBO’s video series on John Adams. I confess I have David McCullough’s epic biography neatly tucked on a shelf in my library but I haven’t read it. This afternoon, I’m looking for these videos to share with my family. Some of our favorite nights in front of a television were spent watching Band of Brothers. So now it’s on to founding fathers.

Who in American history most inspires you?