This day in history: Students find housing in local hotel
September 13, 2022
William Becker curated this story by Jocelyn Clayton, which The Appalachian published Sept, 13, 1977.
This fall some 40 ASU students found an alternative to living in a dorm or an apartment—it’s called “living at the Daniel Boone.”
Housing suggested that students who couldn’t get into a dorm or apartment try the Daniel Boone Hotel. Mike Johnson, a student staying at the hotel, explains, “At first I didn’t want to stay here, but now I like it. It’s closer to the cafeteria than a lot of dorms.”
Betty White, who is an ASU student working at the hotel, says, “It’s like a dorm, only you have more privacy,” White moved into the hotel last year because her apartment wasn’t finished, but she says, “My room kind of grew on me, so I decided to stay here.”
Audrey Jackson says, “Everybody is getting to know each other. I like living here because it’s quieter than a dorm,” Dennis Holtou, another ASU student, describes the situation saying, “If you want to be quiet you can, or if you want to party, you can go knock on somebody’s door.”
One inconvenience is the phone situation. Calls come in for some 40 or 50 guests on two lines and as one student puts it, “sometimes the lines get jammed.”
Most of the other guests come to the hotel for the summer or three to four months at a time. Two older ladies, a retired doctor and a woman from Florida with her daughter and granddaughter are all staying at the hotel, and students say, “Everybody gets along real good.”
Faye Beare of Miami Shores, Florida, describes a typical evening in the lobby of the hotel, “We watch T.V., talk politics and play cards.”
She captures the feelings of most of the hotel guests and student residents in a couple of sentences. “It has a very homey atmosphere. Everybody has a little concern for each other, which I think is nice.”
