BACKGROUND OF THE CABIN

The Drake Log Cabin was built around 1816 although the earliest deed is dated 1862 when the cabin was sold to Mrs. Sarah Drake for $312.  The cabin was named for Mrs. Drake who never lived in the cabin. She lived in the house next door for about 50 years. That house is also still standing today.

 In 1925 Franklin and Margaret Mae Garris moved into the cabin.  Mr. Garris passed away in 1928. In the 1930 census, 39-year old Mae B. Garris was listed as living at 416R Kiskiminetas Avenue with daughter Thelma Garris, age 13 and son Frank Garris, age 6.    Sometime before 1940, Mae married Alfred or Ralph Shirey.  He also passed away before 1940 because the 1940 census shows a Martha Shirey, living at 416R, and at this time only her 16-yr-old son Frank is living with her.    So some records call her name Mae or May while others say Martha, typical of census takers of this era.   Mrs. Shirey remained in the cabin until she passed away in 1965.  Her gravestone has her name as Mabel Shirey.  

THE APOLLO AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS FORMED AND WORK BEGINS…

In 1970 the Apollo Area Historical Society was formed in order to buy the cabin from Mrs. Shirey’s daughter Frances & son-in-law, Samuel Wilson.  The cabin needed much work to restore it to its original condition.  The porch was removed since it had been added, possibly by the Shirey family.

As the Apollo Area Historical Society began working, the windows needed replaced. as well as three logs.  The replacement logs came from a barn on Oscar Allshouse’s farm in Kiski Township.

THE CABIN IS DEDICATED

The Drake Log Cabin was dedicated in a ceremony in September 1971 with President Abraham Lincoln in attendance.

OUR BICENTENNIAL OAK TREE

On Arbor Day, April 17, 1976 an oak tree was planted to celebrate our country’s Bicentennial.  The picture on the right is the tree today.  It’s  northeast of the front door of the cabin.

EXPLORING THE EXTERIOR OF THE CABIN

There are many special features of a log cabin.  The photo on the left shows window and the log & chinking construction.  Concrete mortar was used instead of the mud mortar because of durability.  The top right photo is of the springhouse which encloses a concrete cistern.  The springhouse was a source of water as well as refrigeration for the occupants of the cabin.  The lower right shows the waterfall & creek behind the cabin.  The outhouse was located somewhere in this area.

THE INTERIOR OF THE CABIN

Most of the furnishings are not original to the cabin but we attempted to furnish it with pre-Civil War artifacts to keep it true to the time period.

The pot-bellied stove that Mrs. Shirey used for heat and cooking was replaced with a field stone fireplace.  Inside the fireplace is a chimney crane used for heat control during cooking.  Below is the spinning wheel, butter churn, and a small table with a wash basin, pitcher, and grooming supplies.

The bed is rumored to have belonged to Jimmy Stewart’s grandfather, General Samuel Jackson of Civil War fame.  A close-up shows the rope springs and straw filled mattress. The use of rope springs gave rise to the saying, “Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” because a person would sleep better if the rope was pulled tightly.  And with a straw mattress came the danger of bedbugs!  Under the bed can be seen the chamber pot which was useful if one didn’t care to use the outhouse at night.

The sewing and knitting corner has an old treadle sewing machine as well as yarn that could have come from the spinning wheel.  The bedside table holds an oil lamp and some old books for bedtime reading.

The cabin ceiling is very low.  For scale reference, Christine, the young lady in the picture below, is 5’5″ and can easily reach the rafters.

Note the wide planks of the floor.  There are several handmade rag rugs scattered throughout the cabin.

This is the back door of the cabin.  We hope you enjoyed your tour of Drake’s Log Cabin.  If you would like to view the cabin in person, please contact the Apollo Area Historical Society at 724-478-2899 or email at apollopahistory@gmail.com.  If you like our website, please consider a donation to the AAHS to keep our history alive! Thanks!   Click here to donate.

THE NATIONAL REGISTRY OF HISTORIC PLACES PLAQUE

The Drake Log Cabin was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1983.  This plaque was added to the front of the cabin in September 2020.

Repairs to the Cabin 2022

Beginnings

Founder of Lackey’s Dairy Queen, Paul Lackey was born in Cranberry Township, when Cranberry Twp was just a dirt road and a few farms. He attended Mars High School and played football. He received a football scholarship, but didn’t use it because he said “I only owned one pair of decent trousers.” In 1938 Paul met and married Beatrice Goetz from West View.  Together they had two daughters Alice and Joyce, and one son Gene. In 1943, gratefully utilizing the talent of several family members they started construction of their home near Saxonburg. Paul worked for Armco Steel as a machinist for nearly 25 years but could never get used to the swing shift work.

Lackeys Dairy Queen

Paul enjoyed a Dairy Queen treat now and then at a Dairy Queen on Route 8 in Penn Twp.  It was there that they met Al and Helen Riggle who owned and operated it. Al Riggle told Paul to find a location on a good well traveled road, and Al would sell him a Dairy Queen franchise and help him get started. Paul would park along the road at several locations until he found the best site right here along the Kiski River on Route 66 in North Apollo. The property was bought from Mr Bash and was actually a very large hole that needed a lot of fill.  With much work from family and friends, Lackeys Dairy Queen was built and opened in July 1955. About that same time Paul and Bea were blessed with another daughter Dolly.

Change

That very first day in late July 1955 when the store first opened for business, they didn’t have money in the cash drawer to make change. Their first customer was a man who ordered a sundae and needed change. Paul told him to just enjoy it and to drop the money off next time.  As he said, “You can run a business on that. Give something away and it will come back in some way when you need it most.”  Later in the day they borrowed $80 from Bea’s father to put in the cash drawer.

August 3, 1955  The Formal Grand Opening  

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Through The Years

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Gene Lackey, working at the store, around 1963 and 1985.

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Beauty Queen Contest 1958

Customers were able to vote every time they purchased a Dairy Queen item.

Eating Their Weight In Ice Cream!!

More Great Pictures!

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Going Bananas!

Here is Gene with an awesome amount  of Bananas,
ready for a big 2 Day Banana Split Sale!

First Windbag Regatta on the Kiski River, 1971

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Anything That Floats!

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1955-1985
Celebrating 30 Years

First Place Float in Apollo’s 1985 Moon Landing Parade

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The Future

The Lackey family has touched many hundreds of Apollo families over the last 62 years. Many kids worked summers to help pay for college or their first car; some even met future husbands or wives. It’s always been the place to go for a cool treat on a warm summer evening.

In January 2015, Matt Spires, an employee of the DQ, was able to buy the business when Gene & Jan Lackey retired.  Matt is now married and has a baby boy.  He is committed to continuing the great reputation that Lackey’s Dairy Queen has enjoyed through the years.

An article from the Valley News Dispatch, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020 https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/lackeys-dairy-queen-in-north-apollo-plans-leap-day-reopening/?fbclid=IwAR3eQ9dHl3vqk0fxjaZ7SHSNfZ5chPVuos9mAVlxUeN6lwdLw1HApp5erL4

Thank you. Dolly Lackey McCoy, for providing the photos & info for use in this blog.