Jump to seven questions with Larry & Martha Drake
It all started with a strawberry patch. Those rascally rabbits and deer kept eating the strawberries the Drake family was trying to grow. Someone told them that if a fence was built around the strawberry patch and geese were housed within it, the geese would eat every living thing in the patch but absolutely would not touch the strawberries. Problem was the Drakes didn't have the money to buy the materials for the fence.
The year was 1956 and young Larry Drake's dad, Donald Franklin Drake, was asked by a friend who owned a rental property in Charleston in need of residing to rally his sons, Larry and Bob, to take on the job. Figuring it would be a quick solution to making the money needed for the strawberry fence, they took on the challenge. Their work was good, word spread and soon the Security Siding Company was born.
The business grew right out of Donald's home. An office was built alongside the house and a steady stream of customers grew the tradition that has since been renamed Drake Siding & Sunrooms. In those days, fundraising for Panther Athletics was in its infancy.
Loyal and generous volunteers not unlike today contacted local businesses and philanthropists asking them to join the Century Club, the forerunner of the Panther Club. To become a Century Club member, $100 needed to be donated – a lot of money in the 1950s and 60s. A volunteer contacted Larry Drake and asked him if he would support the campaign. His response was no, due to the large financial commitment.
Word spread of his denial to Bob Rupel, a well-respected Charleston businessman and founding member of the Century Club who called Larry with the following inquiry: “Larry, I heard you opted not to give to the Century Club.” Upon realizing Mr. Rupel had taken the personal time to approach Security Siding, Larry responded with “You know I don't know what I was thinking. Of course I will donate!”
And so the relationship began.
Larry's wife, Martha, had first been exposed to Panther Athletics while cheering on her fiancée, Larry, while he played football for EIU during the 1956 season. Larry had proposed to her only months earlier, during his 1956 Charleston High School senior prom. She was a clarinet-playing Kansas, Ill., girl who had met Larry during a Friday night social at Walt's (now Marty's) while at band camp at EIU.
The two hit it off consequently ending a “dubious relationship” Larry was currently in with another schoolmate. They were married on January 12, 1957, and had their first child in September of that year. Having celebrated their wedding anniversary just three days ago, Larry joked: “We've been married 53 years. That's to each other, now!”
Not one to sit on the sidelines metaphorically, Martha dove headfirst into the Century Club. Eli Sidwell, Martha's employer and owner of Eli Sidwell & Associates Realty encouraged her and Sue O'Brien, the wife of Pat O'Brien (for whom the EIU Track and Stadium are named), to assume roles on the newly born Panther Club Board of Directors.
That was the 1970s, the days that Mike Shanahan endured that fateful injury that led him into his illustrious coaching career and now-Director of Athletics at University of Memphis R. C. Johnson was at the helm of the Panthers.
Tailgating had just begun outside O'Brien Stadium and was a primary vehicle for attracting new Panther Club members. The Drakes supplied the RV and the membership grew, laying the groundwork for many future Panther successes.
Martha ascended the Panther Club Board of Directors' ranks and currently serves on the Annual Campaign Committee and is a member of the Executive Board. “I am continuously impressed by the talents of the student-athletes and know those skills – responsibility, time management and being a team member – will allow them to be successful in the future. That is why I choose to believe.”
Larry has since retired from Drake Siding & Sunrooms, leaving the business in the capable hands of his son, Don. In 1989 the business moved to a new location on Illinois Route 16. They had outgrown the 24' by 48' garage-like structure built on founder Donald Franklin Drake's land. Like the humble roots of the Panther Club, that garage was built upon the thing that started it all: the strawberry patch.
Seven questions with Larry & Martha Drake:
1. Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston? Larry: I'm not too excited about either considering they could be my daughter or granddaughter. Now I'm actually into older women (smiles).
2. Favorite commercial? Larry: The button tends to move away from the commercials as soon as they come on. Martha: Any Coldwell Banker or Drake Homes commercial will get my attention.
3. Allergies? Larry: Hard work, since retirement. Martha: Negative people.
4. Sushi? Larry: Only when I'm showing off in front of my friends. Martha: No.
5. Rank the following music genres: classic rock, country, rap. Martha: None of the above. We both really like music from the 1950s and classical music.
6. Sing in front of the mirror? Larry: In the shower! When I was in 2nd grade, we were preparing a recital for the PTA. At 3:30, when the recital was to begin, my teacher dismissed only me. I still didn't get the message and decided to sing in the church choir later on. Finally, Martha suggested, “Larry, why don't you mouth the words?” Now I only sing in the shower.
7. Dream job? Larry: I had a dream job some of the time and a nightmare job some of the time. Martha: I love what I'm doing now!
