University Park

Penn State People: Bob Hay delivers the goods

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa -- He begins his work day at 5:30 a.m. He enjoys his work and realizes that thousands on the University Park campus rely on him to deliver the goods. In fact, staff, faculty, students and guests at Penn State value the results of a day's work from him and most don't even know it.  Bob Hay is the delivery driver for the Penn State Berkey Creamery and he has provided a steady supply of fresh milk, ice cream, yogurt and more to the Penn State community for 15 years.

Hay carries on a tradition that is nearly as old as Penn State. The Creamery started delivering milk and butter to Penn State students in 1865. Today, Hay's delivery route is a little more complicated than it would have been 146 years ago. His refrigerated truck is loaded with the day's orders before the sun rises on the University Park campus and his route includes locations such as all of Penn State's residence halls, the HUB-Robeson Center, both The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel and the Nittany Lion Inn. Anywhere that you may find Creamery dairy products available on campus, most likely Hay has delivered the goods. It takes a lot of ice cream to keep the University Park community well-stocked. Hay delivers more than 2 million pounds of cheese, butter and ice cream to Penn State annually.

Visit  http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157627766118902 to view photos of Hay as he starts his day checking his order list and loading his truck with a variety of fresh products from the Creamery. The era of the milkman has faded in most corners of America, but at Penn State the tradition of waking up to find your milk and cream have been delivered while you sleep carries on thanks to Creamery employee Bob Hay.

Have an idea for a Penn State People profile? Send the information to Patrick Mansell at pxm16@psu.edu and be sure to include your contact information as well as the name, title and contact information for the potential profile subject.

Bob Hay prepares his morning delivery of Penn State Berkey Creamery dairy products for the University Park community. Each year Hay delivers more than 400,000 gallons of milk and cream to the students living in Penn State's residence halls. His delivery route includes the HUB-Robeson Center, Bryce Jordan Center, The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel as well as the Nittany Lion Inn. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated September 4, 2020

Contact