Hi, my name is Harry Michelson, and I am the creator of The Amusement Parkives, as well as the Facebook group Hersheypark History Group.
I have been researching Hersheypark for several years. I first became interested in this subject after seeing a film of Hersheypark from 1975, which I saw at my grandparents house during my first season working at Hersheypark in 2001.
I worked in the Rides Department at Hersheypark, my first season in 2001, my last season in 2010. I continued working for Hersheypark’s parent company, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company, first in the company mail room and then in the Resorts Division at Hershey Lodge and The Hotel Hershey through 2015.
In 2014, thanks to a helpful tip from Pam Whitenack, the then-director of the Hershey Community Archives, I conducted research and discovered sources that confirmed that Hersheypark officially opened on May 30, 1906, rather than the previously established date of April 24, 1907. Consequently, Hersheypark updated its opening date to May 30, 1906, in the 2019 season.
In 2019, I returned to the company working in the Resorts division at The Hotel Hershey and Hershey Lodge. I have worked in various job roles at both properties working my way up into management in 2021.
Aside from the articles here, I have made a number of contributions to RCDB.com and I have been published on LaffInTheDark.com. In conjunction with Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society, I presented a program called The History of Hersheypark at the historical society in April 2016 and I was a presenter at a presentation in Hersheypark in 2018.
In 2016, I relocated to western Pennsylvania. During my time in western Pennsylvania, I worked for the rides department at Idlewild & SoakZone and I worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates in guest relations. At Idlewild, the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania, I operated a classic Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel, a Vekoma Wild Mouse, an Eyerly Spider, and several others.
This website is not affiliated with Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company, Palace Entertainment / Herschend Family Entertainment, or any other amusement park, or related to the industry, company. I am a wholly independent author of this website. I also produce videos on a YouTube channel for The Amusement Parkives.
Would you be interested in supporting The Amusement Parkives? It would be greatly appreciated!
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