Think of Hersheypark today and two things come to mind – super-coasters and chocolate-themed fun.  It wasn’t always this way.  On December 11, John Haddad will speak on the history of Hershey Park, from 1906 to the present day.  His emphasis will be on the park’s central role in Milton Hershey’s larger vision of paternalistic capitalism and on the park’s transformation in the 1970s.  It was in that decade that the old-fashioned amusement park underwent a total overhaul and was turned into a modern theme park in the model of Disneyland.  Why did the park undergo this massive change?  What did the park look like in the 1970s?  When and how did the park discover its magic formula of thrill rides and chocolate theming?  The answers to these questions are sure to surprise you, so come to the presentation to find out!

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Bio:

Dr. Haddad is professor of American Studies and Popular Culture at Penn State Harrisburg. He is the author of three other books, America’s First Adventure in China: Trade, Treaties, Opium, and Salvation, The Romance of China: Excursions to China in U.S. Culture, 1776-1876, and Cultures Colliding: American Missionaries, Chinese Resistance, and the Rise of Modern Institutions in China.  He lives in Lancaster now but was formerly a resident of Hummelstown. 

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The program is open to everyone.  Registration is not required.  Donations to the Hershey History Center are appreciated.  Thank you.

 

Dr. Haddad's book, Thrill Ride: The Transformation of Hersheypark is available for purchase at the museum's gift shop.