Twin Towers memories remain

Over time things burn, erode, are lost, washed away or vanish, or sometimes, they implode.

The life of the 41-year-old Seminole Twin Towers ended on May 25, 2008.

The nine-story building stood in the center of ASU's campus for almost half a century, but though it no longer stands, memories of the building remain.

The building had an impact on more than 56,000 male students during its time. And, though former residents might refer to it as "the Twin Toilets," they have some fond memories of the time spent living in Seminole Twin Towers.

Four former students, each from a different decade, recalled their time residing in Twin Towers.

Donald Threm, 51, is a publicity coordinator at Mid-South Community College in West Memphis. Threm, who attended ASU from 1976-80, lived in Twin Towers for all four years and serves as a Resident Assistant for two of those years.

On Threm's very first Saturday living in Twin Towers, he said he heard a very loud commotion coming from the television room. Not wanting to get caught up in what he thought was a fight, Threm said he approached the room cautiously.

Threm said when he made it to the source of the noise, he found it was just other residents screaming and reacting wildly to a wrestling show on TV.

"I was relieved that the only people being beaten to a pulp were in the television studio," Threm said.

Threm said he never was a very big wrestling fan, but he learned to avoid the TV room on Saturdays.

Moving eight years into the future, Greg Harton attended ASU from 1984-88.

Harton, 43, was a resident of the seventh floor and recalled the friends he made at Twin Towers.

Harton, who is now the editor for the Northwest Arkansas Times, said the guys he shared a floor with made his stay at ASU interesting.

"We would leave our doors open and the hallway became sort of a front yard," Harton said.

Harton noted elevator malfunctions, community bathrooms and construction noise that carried almost three floors made Twin Towers a place that students loved to hate.

"The odd 'H' shape of the building inspired many creative young pranksters," Harton said.

Harton said people threw water balloons down on each other and some people exposed themselves when changing because they forgot to close their blinds.

When the '90s began, Twin Towers was reaching its 3rd decade of service to the school. The rooms were becoming dated and renovations were taking place to turn some of the rooms, which were all doubles, into single suites.

Barry Groomes, 34, who moved into the dorm in the fall of 1993, recalled unpleasant memories of Twin Towers.

"I moved in right after a fire occurred a semester before," Groomes said. "The room smelled like fresh paint and fire, but luckily my parents were able to get me a new room."

Getting a new room did not solve Groomes problems though.

Throughout Groomes' four-year residency in Twin Towers, he said fire alarms went off every Thursday night. This would cause most of the 700 residents to exit the dorm to sit on the curb for up to an hour while the Jonesboro Fire Department secured the building.

Moving into the 21st century, Twin Towers still had a few years left to give to students.

Chad Beckwith moved into the Twin Towers in 2001, and he said the entire three years he lived in Twin Towers were pleasant.

"I can imagine that before the renovations, the previous residents probably had a tough time," Beckwith said. "But I had my own private room, Internet, and I thought it was pretty nice."

Beckwith, 26, made lifelong friends at Twin Towers through the interaction of the video game "Halo." He said residents of the ninth floor would gather in the lobby, throw a long Ethernet cord down to the fifth floor and link up for massive "deathmatch" tournaments.

Though Twin Towers stood on campus for a few more years after Beckwith graduated, eventually new residence quarters were built and the decision was made to tear it down.

At 7 a.m. on May 28, 2008, Twin Towers was imploded in front of a crowd of more than 1,000 spectators, many of whom were former residents of the dormitory.

While Harton, who graduated in 1988, did not make it to the "big bang," he noted, "I would have enjoyed pushing the lever down to implode it."