Campus Life

Creamery 150th anniversary celebration continues during Homecoming week

Penn State Berkey Creamery focus of Research Unplugged talk, gameday recognition

The celebration for the Penn State Berkey Creamery's 150th anniversary kicked off in July and runs through the end of the calendar year. Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The celebration marking the Penn State Berkey Creamery's 150th anniversary continues through Homecoming week with events and recognitions.

Tom Palchak, the Creamery's longtime manager, will present "From Cow to Cone: The History and Science of Ice Cream" from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 at Schlow Centre Region Library in State College.

Palchak's presentation, which kicks off the fall Research Unplugged speaker series, will center on the Creamery's history, traditions and future direction. Free samples of Creamery ice cream will be available for attendees.

The College of Agricultural Sciences, where the Creamery is housed, will be recognized with Celebrate Agriculture Day during the Penn State-Indiana football game on Saturday, Oct. 10.

Through various promotions before and during the game, Celebrate Agriculture Day will strive to demonstrate the critical role agriculture plays every day — at people's dinner tables and throughout the world.

The event reflects Penn State's longstanding commitment to the agricultural community through research and education, and responding to threats from disease, insects and environmental conditions.

Festivities for the Creamery's 150th anniversary kicked off in July during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Visitors helped the Creamery set a new record for the number of bowls and cones served over a three-day period with 16,270 from July 10 to 12, shattering the previous mark by more than 1,000 cones.

As part of the yearlong celebration, the Creamery debuted a new anniversary flavor and a limited edition ice cream flavor passport for its customers.

The anniversary flavor, a yellow cake batter ice cream with blue frosting swirls and frosted cookie freckles, was chosen by public vote. The public was also asked to suggest a name for the new flavor and "Birthday Bash" was ultimately selected.

The runner-up flavor, Strawberry Cheesecake, was also made available as part of the celebration.

An exhibit of Creamery artifacts through Dec. 15. is also being hosted by the University Libraries.

Established in 1865 inside a barn on campus, the first Creamery produced and sold dairy products such as fresh milk and cheese. It was not until 1920 that the Creamery added ice cream to the menu.

The Creamery moved to its current location on Curtin Road on Sept. 29, 2006. Notable visitors range from President Bill Clinton to Martha Stewart and most recently, Jeff Gordon.

Nick Grove proudly displayed the first freezer barrel of the Penn State Creamery's new anniversary flavor, Birthday Cake, to come off the production line. The new flavor was selected through an on-line vote and celebrates 150 years of dairy production at Penn State. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated September 4, 2020