In 1910, Hersheypark opened for its fifth season on May 30, Memorial Day. At the time, Memorial Day was also commonly called Decoration Day, which was the original name of the Federal holiday. This was the traditional opening day of the park, which began in 1906 when the park first opened, and continued into the 1920s.
Hersheypark featured a Herschell-Spillman carousel often called Merry-Go-Round, (the name “Carrousel” with the “double r” didn’t come into use until the Dentzel carousel was installed in 1912), as well as boating on Spring Creek Lake, also known as Hershey Park Lake.
New attractions
Visit the Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society and the Hershey History Center to see more photos of Hersheypark in the 1910s.
Hershey Park Zoo was also a major feature, as the park’s zoo was formally opened in 1910.
Memorial Day events
The day’s events included an ox roast that was free to all park visitors, dancing from 1-3pm and 8:15-10:30pm in the park’s dance hall, a baseball game between Elliott-Fisher and Hershey at 3pm, and a performance by the Hershey Band from 7-8pm to round out the day for most park goers.
