In its decline

Published: February 25, 2007

"I was a student at SNU, and back in 1985-86, my friends and I were always hankering for something to do. We would run around the Skirvin Hotel, or swim in the fountains at Kerr Park. For three Nazarene kids, it was so daring.

"For me, a kid from southeast Kansas, the Skirvin was so massive, so cosmopolitan. We would go floor to floor at the hotel, looking for an open room. When we found one, we went in and watched television. But when one of us opened up a dresser drawer and saw clothing in it, we ran out of there. We crashed weddings, we crashed sorority parties there. Nobody said anything. We always thought they were going to kick us out. But we eventually realized, nobody was coming down anymore. And it was so sad — it wasn't the landmark it was anymore. I think the staff was just glad somebody was there enjoying it.”

— Jennifer James

McCollum