John B. Sollenberger (1897–1967) was an American sports and entertainment executive closely associated with

Milton S. Hershey Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945) was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist. Trained in the confectionery business, Hershey pioneered the manufacture of caramel, using fresh milk. He launched t ...

and the development of

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

. He was born on a farm in

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Cumberland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 259,469. Its county seat is Carlisle. Cumberland County is included in the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. Histo ...

. At age 16 he enrolled in a

stenographic Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''ste ...

school and became an exceptional stenographer. This led to his joining the Hershey Improvement Company about two years later, and to a long association with various Hershey enterprises.

Entertainment

From 1936 until his retirement in 1962, Sollenberger was general manager of all the attractions in the Hershey empire, including the

Hershey Sports Arena Hersheypark Arena (originally Hershey Sports Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, managed by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company. The arena has a seating capacity, for hockey, of 7,286 people and in excess ...

and the amusement complex that grew to become

Hersheypark Hersheypark (known as Hershey Park until 1970) is a family theme park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about east of Harrisburg, and west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906 by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of ...

. In February 1940, he and eight other arena managers met in Hershey and organized the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Winter Olympic Games, Olympic and United States Figure Skating Championships, US National Champion figure skating, figur ...

. Sollenberger brought many famous entertainers to Hershey:

Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...

Victor Borge Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His ...

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lif ...

and

Eleanor Holm Eleanor G. Holm (December 6, 1913 – January 31, 2004) was an American competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. An Olympian in 1928 and 1932, she was expelled from the 1936 Summer Olympics team by Avery Brundage under controversial circu ...

all knew him as "JB". He had significant and far-reaching impact on the development of Hershey as a vacation and entertainment destination. Many of his innovations are still in place today.

Ice hockey

Sollenberger was an early figure in the establishment of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL), and since 1955 the

John B. Sollenberger Trophy The John B. Sollenberger Trophy is given to American Hockey League's leading scorer for the season. History The award was named for John B. Sollenberger in 1955. Sollenberger was a long-time contributor to the league as manager and president of ...

is awarded to that league's leading scorer. His involvement with the league was due to his association with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

, one of the nation's oldest professional hockey teams. In December 2012, on the 75th anniversary of the Bears' first home game, John B. Sollenberger became one of the seven members of the first class to be inducted into the Hershey Bears Hall of Fame.

Business and finance

From 1949 to 1962, John B. Sollenberger was president of Hershey Estates, the organization responsible for operating all the non-chocolate businesses established by Milton Hershey, including the entertainment venues. He was made President of the

Hershey Trust Company The Hershey Trust Company is an American corporation incorporated on April 28, 1905, by Milton S. Hershey, Harry Lebkicher and John E. Snyder. The company is a minority owner of The Hershey Company and sole private owner of Hershey Entertainment ...

(1956) and then President of the Hershey Bank (1957). He held these positions until his retirement in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sollenberger, John B. 1897 births 1967 deaths American business executives People from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania People from Hershey, Pennsylvania