SEMISWEET: AN ORPHAN’S JOURNEY THROUGH THE SCHOOL THE HERSHEYS BUILT

Reviewed by Jeff Smith

Horatio Alger-inspired books about real people who had humble beginnings but overcame obstacles and failures to ultimately achieve success, have always been among my favorites. Stories about 20th century industrial tycoons, such as Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford, contemporary entrepreneurs, such as Sam Walton and Howard Schultz or creative and entertainment types, such as Oprah Winfrey and Dolly Parton, all have provided inspiration, hope, and benefit to many.Certainly, the eponymous chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey can be included in that first group. Much has been written and documented about Hershey’s early life, business failures and successes, and his crowning achievement of creating the Hershey Industrial School, the world’s richest orphanage, in 1909. Until Johnny O’Brien’s Semisweet (2014), a 201- page memoir, not much was known about an orphan’s life inside that uniquely funded K-12 residential school, my alma mater. “Semisweet” details O’Brien’s journey through the “Home” – as the school was called by the students and staff – and his experience as the first Milton Hershey School graduate to attend Princeton University, his success in founding a motivational consulting firm, and the challenges he faced to save the “Home” as its eighth president and restore the mission of its founder after more than a decade of turmoil. In 1947, 3-year-old Johnny O’Brien and 5-year old Frankie were enrolled in the Hershey Industrial School, an orphanage for boys in Hershey, PA. (The name has since been changed to Milton Hershey School, and now serves not only male orphans but both male and female children from underprivileged homes.) The O’Brien brothers were told their parents had been killed in an auto crash and there was no other family member to care for them. Not until Johnny’s graduation in 1961 would they learn the truth – Frankie had witnessed the killing of their mother by their father. As the brothers grew in their new way of life at the orphanage with chores that included farming and the daily milking of cows, Johnny excelled in all efforts. Good grades, athletic achievements, and a positive relationship with his house parents led to the development of outstanding leadership skills. Frankie, on the other hand, suffered the wounds of bullying and harassment. Johnny’s attempts to shield and support his brother failed. Eventually, Frankie was committed to a psychiatric hospital and never recovered. Although Johnny’s story does not end with the fame and unimaginable wealth of a modern-day Horatio Alger-type subject, his life exemplifies how each of us may have seemingly insurmountable obstacles to overcome yet, despite such challenges, we can succeed. As a student at Milton Hershey School, Johnny’s spirit and determination helped him overcome the odds and prepared him for the “real world” and an enriching career. As the school’s president, he led a cultural change to save the school and paved the way for a significant increase in enrollment at the “Home” that now serves more than 2000 orphans and needy and impoverished kids. In a matter-of-fact and easy
manner, “Semisweet” reveals how he did it.