The kids from Grandma’s House have visited the WCTU Building/Museum twice this summer along with their trips to the Drake Log Cabin. We are thrilled to have them take an interest in Apollo’s history. The most exciting fact for them was that Apollo,PA is spelled the same forward & backwards! (palindrome!!) Thanks to Wendy Minik & Sue Ott for hosting their visits!
If your group is interested in a personal tour, please contact us at 724-478-2899 or email apollopahistory@gmail.com. Thanks!
On Saturday, June 17, 2023, a group of notable citizens from our great town on Apollo visited the Drake Log Cabin. As our audience ate pizza donated by Apollo’s Fox’s Pizza Den and veggie trays donated by Naser’s Foods and Held’s Shop ‘n Save, the reenactors gave a monologue of their contributions to Apollo. A great time was had by all. Below are some photos taken by Bill Kerr of our event.
Test your knowledge of Apollo’ s famous citizen Nellie Bly with the questions below!
The Apollo Area Historical Society is excited about our new t-shirt that has been delivered and is ready for sale! The price is $12 for Adult sizes Small through 1X and $15 for 2X and $16 for 3X and up. Shipping is $8 for the first shirt and $2 for each other shirt. Call 724-478-2899 or contact us here or at apollopahistory@gmail.com for more information. The shirts will be for sale at our WCTU Building/Museum beginning Saturday, April 1 and every Saturday & Wednesday, 11-2 during museum hours. Children’s sizes can be special ordered.
We invited Santa Claus to visit Drake’s Log Cabin again this year. We had such a good time with the families that stopped by. Hope you enjoy our montage of pictures. Thanks to all the AAHS members who were able to help out in so many ways. The treat bags were filled with donations from the following: Sherry Miller, Sue Casella, Becky Kane, Jessi Casella, Denise Flickinger, Bill Miller, Bonnie Kautz, Debbie Bash, Debbie Flickinger, Sue Ott, and the Apollo Lions. Thanks also to the Leo Club students who volunteered their time to help with the kids as they visited. They were truly Santa’s Helpers!
For more information and photos, please go to our Owens Grove page.
On August 18, 1970, a group of interested citizens met in the conference room of Laird Boarts’ insurance office to discuss and plan a procedure by which the log cabin at the south end of town could be bought and restored…
After much discussion about a name for a corporated group the name “The Apollo Area Historical Society” would cover any other project of this nature along with the cabin restoration.
Thus began and ended the first minutes of the newly formed Apollo Area Historical Society. The first officers were (pictured above) Mr. Farrell Bash, Mrs. Virginia Seevers, Mr. Laird Boarts, and Mr. Howard Fulton.
By the 10th anniversary, our mission was made very clear in our Statement of Purpose: “To bring together people interested in history and especially those people interested in the history of the Apollo Area; with the major purpose of discovering, collecting, and preserving materials of an historic value to the Apollo Area thus making accessible such materials at times and places for the development of historical interest.”
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Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane from Apollo) was honored on October 20, 2025 with 9 others from southwestern PA with a star in the new Pittsburgh Walk of Fame. The committee gave the Apollo Area Historical Society a replica of the star with the inscription reading:
“Born May 5, 1864 A pioneering investigative journalist who broke gender stereotypes, Nellie Bly was widely known for her recordbreaking trip around the world in 72 days-inspired by a Jules Verne novel-and for an expose covering a mental institution from within. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochran’s Milles, Armstrong County, she moved at age 16 to what is now ittsburgh North Side and began her career at the Pittsburgh Dispatch, writing as Nellie Bly.”
“Inducted October 20, 2025 PITTSBURGH WALK OF FAME”
The Apollo Area Historical Society members have put together an exciting year of programs and we hope that you will be able to take advantage of them. Please pass these on to your friends also as we’d love to have a lot of attendees!! Most of the programs are free, but we always appreciate donations. For more information, call 724-478-2899 or email apollopahistory@gmail.com.
90th Anniversary of the 1936 St. Patrick’s Day Flood Tuesday, March 17 6:30 p.m. We will take an imaginary walk through the streets of Apollo and see the disaster of the flood waters upon Apollo. We will also show a movie that was taken during the days following the flood.
The Long Story of the Long Brothers Sunday April 26 2:00 p.m. Mark your calendar for a visit with the Long Brothers during the Civil War. This family of brothers answered Abraham’s Lincoln’s call and enlisted together in Company C, 139th PA Infantry Regiment in 1862 during the Civil War. This is a fascinating family story of love and tragedy presented by Matt Hankinson.
Nellie Bly’s Birthday Party Saturday, May 2 1:30 p.m. Nancy Johnson of Pittsburgh’s Walk of Fame will be our guest speaker. She will tell us about the Walk of Fame and the criteria for being on it as well as the first recipients of the honor, including Apollo’s very own Nellie Bly! Nellie, aka Elizabeth Cochrane, lived in Apollo from age 5 to 16. Her birthday is May 5 so we will celebrate with cake following the program. The program is open to the public and free, although donations are always welcomed.
General Samuel M. Jackson Mausoleum Dedication Saturday, May 30 Time to be determined. During this past year a lot of work has been done on General Jackson’s original resting place. It’s over the hill from the Civil War Monument so is not very well known, but is a fascinating piece of Apollo’s history.
Apollo Antique Appraisal Day Saturday, September 12 9:00 to 12:00. Come out with your antiques and find out their value. $5 per item with a limit of 3 items. We will have baked goods and hot dogs for sale also. Plus you can tour our museum while you wait.
Programs we are working on:
Night at the Museum
Apollo Cemetery Tour
Civil War Day potentially August 8
If you know of someone who has an interesting tale to tell, please let us know as we are always on the lookout for presenters!
Our Monthly Meetings are open to the public and are held on the first Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the WCTU Building on 317 N. 2nd Street in Apollo.
Our WCTU Building/Museum is closed for the season but will open again on Saturday, April 4th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Both the Museum and the Drake Log Cabin are always open for appointments by calling 724-478-2899 or email apollopahistory@gmail.com. Stop by for a visit!
This doll belonged to Josephine Lamanna Rebyanski. The signatures are from young men departing for WWII. The doll has their names, date of enlistment, and the military
bases to which they were deployed. The doll was donated to the AAHS by Michele Rebyanski Nestor, Josephine’s daughter.
Four of the men listed on the doll were Josephine’s brothers (Lamanna). One of the men became her husband (Mike Rebyanski). The other two (California and Tamski) were neighbors. Of the Lamannas, Carmen and Joe served in Italy where Joe received the purple heart. Carmen also served in Africa. Mike Lamanna served in the Pacific and Frank in the Philippines. Mike Rebyanski was in the European theater. He was a medic and part of the 95th Gas Treatment Battalion and saw action in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest. The battle, commonly known as “the meatgrinder” lasted from early Sept. through December. We have no information on Anthony California. Tom Tamski also fought in the Korean War. Except for Frank Lamanna who resumed his baseball career with the Boston Braves and a Yankee farm team, the rest returned to live long lives in the Apollo area as coal miners and steel workers.
Names As Listed On The Doll
Pvt. Frank Lamanna 2/26/43 Ft Meade, MD
Pvt. Thomas Tamski 10/10/46 Ft. Meade, MD
Pvt. Mike Rebyanski 5/1/43 Ft. Meade, MD Carmen Lamanna 12,17, 42 Sgt. Anthony Lamanna, California 11/17/1942 Texas Cpl. Joe Lamanna 1/18/43 Ft. Bragg, NC Mike Lamanna, USS Minneapolis, San Fransicso, CA
With Christmas fast approaching, the AAHS would like to try something different this year. If you would like to honor or memorialize a loved one or an event, we have ornamental balls at the WCTU Building on N. 2nd Street across from the Bank drive-thru. The museum is open from 11 to 2 on Saturdays. You can buy an ornament for $5 each and decorate it at the building or we will happily decorate it for you. They will be hung on our Christmas tree in the front window of the building and will be mentioned in our February 2026 newsletter. You can also fill out the form below and mail it with a check to AAHS PO Box 434 Apollo, PA 15613. All funds raised will be used to support our Historical Society. Thank You.
Your name__________________________ Phone number________________________
Name of person(s)/events
Amount enclosed ($5 per ornament) ________
We see them everywhere; we take them for granted, but oh, if only they could talk. What a story these chairs could tell about the various people who sat in them. I can picture a child with a lollipop in her mouth, waiting for her mom to finish her banking. Or the switchboard operator who rang out the warnings about the 1936 St. Patrick’s Day Flood. What about the bored student, anxiously awaiting the end of the school day so he could run out and play baseball with his buddies? The kitchen chair brings back memories of the family gathered around the table for the wonderful food Mom would set before them and the great conversations as they shared their day. And finally, the chairs our AAHS members sit in as we gather each month to plan activities and do the work of the Apollo Area Historical Society. Now that’s a chair YOU can fill!
By the time you read this post, the old Apollo High School on the corner of North 2nd Street and Pennsylvania Ave. will be gone. For the past several months, demolition crews have been tearing down the big old yellow brick building.
Many memories, both happy and sad, have been shared by those who have gathered to watch and take pictures and videos. The site is being cleared for a possible housing development.
The A.A.H.S. was able to salvage some items from the building, including a brick, ceiling lights from the auditorium, as well as three seats from the balcony of the auditorium, a score board, speaker box from the PA system, plaque for the gym lights from the class of 1945, plaque for bleachers from the class of 1927 & 1928, fire alarm box, 3-0-5 from the auditorium door, and a few items from when the building was home to the Tiger Gym after the school moved out. We have one of the “Apollo High School 1931” inserts that were above the entrance doors, and bricks that will hopefully be made into a “memorial” for the A.H.S. Be sure to stop by the museum to visit our extensive Apollo High School display. The photos below were taken by Denise Flickinger. Thank you for sharing them.
The Apollo Area Historical Society in collaboration with the BHE GT & S Company, the Apollo Area Lions Club, and the Armstrong Civil War Roundtable, is planning a complete restoration of the General S.M. Jackson original mausoleum and Circle of Honor wall in the old Apollo Cemetery. This project will allow easy access to the site and preserve an important part of Apollo’s past.
If you would like to help with donations, they can be sent to: Jackson Mausoleum Project, Apollo Area Historical Society, PO Box 434, Apollo, PA 15613 Thanks!
A recent news article from the Kittanning Leader Times can be read here.
On Saturday, July 20, 2024, a group of volunteers gathered at the Drake Log Cabin to finish the Mae Shirey Memorial Garden and to dedicate it with a memorial stone. The following pictures show the work on the garden, as well as the completed project and the work day itself. Thanks so much to Wendy Minik, our project chairman and to the other volunteers who worked beforehand and on July 20th. This project was funded with a $1,000 grant from Keep PA Beautiful National PA Day grant program in partnership with America250PA, EQT, and PennDOT.
These first few photos are before the work began.
These next few are showing the work in progress with some of our work crew!
The finished project and the dedication of the plaque July 20, 2024. Thank you to all the volunteers!
Thanks to Wendy Minik, Sean Duke, and Sue Casella for the photos!
Thank you for your donations to the Apollo Area Historical Society through the Armstrong County Community Foundation’s Week of Giving. In total, we received $4383.90 during the 2024 Week of Giving Campaign which was held May 6 – 10, 2024! Thanks to your generous donations, our historical society will be able to continue our work of preserving the history of Apollo for generations to come.
Part of our commitment to Apollo’s history is to have programs through the year. We want to highlight an upcoming event; on Saturday, August 10th we will have our Civil War Day at the Drake Log Cabin from 10-4. There will be displays, speakers, and reenactors with a Civil War Camp. We hope to see you there.
Apollo Area Historical Society 