On my recent business trip to Carlisle, PA (ArcBest), I had some personal time on Tuesday afternoon to explore nearby Hershey, PA. Hershey, PA is world renowned for its chocolate factory, its theme park, and its namesake (Milton Hershey) and I was curious to see if there were any cool Hershey baseball stories. So, after the roughly 30 mile drive from my hotel, and after reading sign after sign referencing chocolate or candy or both, I arrived in “the sweetest place on Earth,” Hershey, PA.
My first stop, like many places foreign to me, was the public library. No joke, the route off the highway took me down W Chocolate Ave. passed the Hershey factory (or at least one of them) to Cocoa Ave. and the Hershey Public Library. Upon entering the library, I spoke with the front desk librarian about my purpose and he guided me to the local Hershey book section. There I found a number of books on the Hershey Parks experience and learned that there was once a very popular baseball park at Hershey Park Athletic Field, near the Hershey Convention Center. I snapped a few photos of the book’s photography and returned the books to the shelves.
The librarian mentioned that the Derry Township Historical Society would be another reliable source of information for baseball stories and experiences. I thanked him and hopped in my rental car to check the historical society’s hours of operation and location. Sadly, on Tuesday, the Derry Historical Society was closed and would not reopen until Wednesday. Bummer, I would have loved to have checked out some of their exhibits in person. As I exited the parking lot, I spotted a baseball field just on the other side of the library parking lot and plotted it into my Google Maps. Along the route, I spotted the Cocoa Motel, no joke, here it is.
Turns out, the baseball field I was eyeing in the parking lot was the home baseball field for the Hershey High School Trojans baseball team. According to the map, the field is called Pebble Field or Pebble Beach Field. No games or practices were going on Tuesday, so I parked and snagged a few photos of the field. There was a raised hill behind the field with a great view of the field and Hershey High School campus.
After departing Hershey High School, I parked up the road near the Cocoa Motel and scanned Google Maps for any other Hershey baseball spots. Other than some smaller fields and one or two at the Milton Hershey School, I didn’t really see much. So, I hopped on the highway and headed back to my hotel. It was a short and sweet trip to Hershey but very satisfying. Kind of like a Hershey Kiss, short and sweet and very satisfying. Whenever I travel to a new spot, I always love hopping into public libraries to learn cool local baseball stories and learn more about baseball experiences previously unknown. It was great to walk the grass and perimeter of Pebble Field and see all the cool Hershey Chocolate signs everywhere. Overall, it was a fun afternoon in Hershey, PA driving down Chocolate and Cocoa Ave, seeing the Hershey factory, visiting the public library, and getting a Hershey Kiss sample of the Hershey baseball experience.
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