For years, Lloyd Rhoades was known all over campus as the OPP Snow Marshal, but Lloyd was also responsible for other things, and his official title was Manager of Central Services. His first day at OPP was almost 29 years ago. In those days, your first week was taken up with introductions to all the directors and managers.

"I remember the week well, it gave me a good perspective on the size and scope of OPP. It's been a good run for me, but the most important thing I did that week was pick the right retirement plan...didn't mean that much to me then, but it sure does now!"

Lloyd was first hired as a Customer Service Representative (CSR). He acted as the interface between various units and OPP, handling everything from remodeling projects to replacing worn out equipment. Over time he represented the College of Education, Liberal Arts, Health & Human Development, A/V Services, and the School of Communications. Later on he became the supervisor for carpentry and masonry and then manager of building trades replacing "Gabby" Garbrick.

During the mid-90s Lloyd ended up as the Manager of Central Services, which included Landscape and Central Support Services. Since these two units included two of the major prongs of snow removal, it simply made sense that Lloyd became the Snow Marshal.

Never Arrest the Marshal

One snowy night, about 3 a.m., Lloyd was checking removal operations near Park Avenue when the State College Police pulled him over. Lloyd was driving slowly, looking around and stopping a lot.

"The officer asked to see my license and owner's card, and I tried to explain that I'm the Snow Marshal and I'm just doing my job. The officer still ran everything through the computer even after he saw it was an OPP van with PSU plates. Turned out the police thought I was casing the place!"

Stadium Storm of November 1995

"On November 18th, 1995, Mother Nature dumped 19.5" of wet snow on Beaver Stadium. It was a Monday night, and I remember driving though campus listening to the trees cracking and crashing down." 

"Campus was almost incapacitated and we didn't have enough arborists to clean it all up or enough manpower to clear all the lots. Plus we were expected to hold a football game with Michigan that Saturday. It was my first year as Snow Marshal, and I was called down to Old Main. My first question to Gary Schultz was, are we still having the game? Is there any thought to moving it to a different location?"

A plan was developed to bring in some heavy equipment from local contractors and recruit local volunteers and inmates from three institutions (Huntingdon, Rockview, and Quehanna Juvenile Facility).

"We forged a plan to shovel out all the walkways and the steps and stomp down where the fans' feet would go. OPP bought every snow shovel in town, and they were later sold as souvenirs of the Great Stadium Clearing. The excess snow completely filled the vomitories. Just about the time we ran out of space to dump snow, another three inches dropped out of the sky, and morale hit bottom."

Saved by the Marines

"At 5 a.m. on Friday, a young man in uniform wearing a backpack ran up to me and said, 'Sir, I am from the Penn State Marine ROTC unit. We saw the lights on and were wondering if you might need some help.'"

"For a second I thought, 'oh great, some students who will just get in the way.' Then I realized these are future Marine officers. Seventy-two cadets marched over and began shoveling. After awhile I went to check and yelled out to the Marines 'I have never seen anybody shovel snow this fast in my life!' They just shoveled faster, so I yelled again. 'I cannot believe how fast you people shovel snow!' And they went even faster."

Lionizing the Marines

Later that morning, Lloyd found out one of the Marine secrets. "You know, sir, one of our Marines is actually the Nittany Lion. You can't say anything about this or single him out, but know that he's here shoveling." Lloyd then arranged for the music on the P.A. system to be interrupted thanking the ROTC Marine units who are the lions of our snow force!

Snow Fighting, Not Snow Clean-Up

When Lloyd first became Snow Marshal things were a bit different. 

"Back then we just let it drop, and we'd clean up afterwards. But we soon began snow fighting instead of just cleaning up. We took preventative actions such as pre-salting and using brine solutions. I began sending updates on our plans using the parking listserv." 

"We also came up with the Midnight Clear concept, which got cars out of the lot so our plowing could be more efficient. At first people were outraged, and the police issued 270 tickets the first night. Now we issue maybe 20 tickets the first night of the season, and things are great after that, especially when they see how clear the lots are."

There's a New Marshal in Town

Lloyd retired at the beginning of this year, and Ryan McCaughey is the new Snow Marshal for OPP. 

"We broke Ryan in by having him shadow me for the first storm this year, and then we switched roles. There is a real badge (which was probably made by the OPP Sheet Metal Shop) that says Snow Marshall! I expect Ryan will do a great job for Penn State. He came from U. Mass. Lowell, which is an urban campus that gets tons of snow. Ryan knows his craft well!"

Retirement Plans

Lloyd and his wife Ilene love to travel. They have already visited Ireland, Nova Scotia, British Colombia, Newfoundland, and Iceland. One would think that the Snow Marshall would head south to escape the ice, but Lloyd seems to be attracted to the cold.

"Iceland was just incredible, to be standing on a glacier on minute, and then standing on an active volcano ten minutes later, or even better, standing on a glacier with an active volcano under it!"