Jerry Davids, a regular at the Jawbone Coffeehouse since 1966, talks about the "old" Jawbone like a dead friend.

"As the Jawbone used to be, I thought it was something really neat and cosmic," Davids said.

In its heyday the Jawbone Coffeehouse, 223 S. Garner St., was a popular place to hang out, listen to music for free or play songs for an appreciative crowd on weekend nights.

"People would come in -- a lot of hippie-type people -- who would play folk music or even jug band music," Davids recalled. "They'd have an old cooker going making Jawburgers and a lot of people would be playing table games and socializing."

In recent years the Jawbone's popularity has dwindled, say its organizers, who have had trouble finding groups to play there. Only a few coffeehouses have been held this semester.

Founded in 1963 by the University Lutheran Parish, the Jawbone was originally located in an old house on Foster Avenue. In 1983 the center moved to 223 S. Garner St.

One of the few decorations tacked to the walls of the new Jawbone is an album cover from a LP put out in 1963, called "Sounds of the Jawbone."

The artists -- including Connie Woodring, Daniel Shaffer and John Haag -- who were recorded at the Jawbone are now largely forgotten. But they left a legacy people now only dream about.

"We get a lot of comments like, 'The Jawbone's not like it used to be,' " said Chris Johnson, intern pastor at the University Lutheran Church. "The Jawbone was pretty much a part of the hippie scene and that spirit is kind of gone."

Local musician Renee Campbell remembers wandering around one night in the early 1980s when she happened upon the old Jawbone.

"I walked in and watched a guy play ragtime piano, and I think there was someone playing guitar," Campbell said. "It was like going into someone's living room. The new one is a little more sterile."

Now the Jawbone is located in the basement of the University Lutheran ministry building. Its cement block walls are covered with white paint and a few decorations including a Laurel and Hardy poster and a Fernando Botero print.

Ten tables draped with plaid cloths surround a small stage in the corner. A kitchen, a soda machine and an old "church" piano sit across the room.

Those who remember the old building say it was bursting with character. Many of its walls, especially in the bathrooms, were covered by graffiti, which the administrators openly encouraged.

"Most of the graffiti did seem intelligent, rather than the gross stuff you see in some bathrooms," Davids said.

The Jawbone committee may soon allow graffiti, said committee member Bill Fullerton. But members are unsure of whether they should let people write on the walls or provide poster paper or boards for them to clutter with ink.

Fullerton, who is in charge of booking acts for the coffeehouse, said the Jawbone looks only for performers who will play for free. The Jawbone does not try to attract harder rock bands, he added.

In the 1980s, acoustic music -- the Jawbone's musical staple -- gave way to harsher punk and metal groups. Many of these acts, such as the Mushroom Orchestra of Love (also known as Jesus Christ on a Stick), were too loud for the Jawbone's small room, Johnson said.

"Not that we want to be really strict about who can and can't play," Fullerton said. "But when you get right down to it, the Jawbone is just too small for some types of groups."

Although there have been a few times where groups were disrespectful, the Jawbone committee generally doesn't censor musicians, Johnson said.

"We would like for people to be aware that Lutherans are sponsoring this," he said. "We're not going to try and evangelize people and we don't necessarily try to keep acts in line with the faith."

While the Jawbone may have lost some of its 1960s counter-culture appeal, it is still one of the best venues in town to play, some local musicians said.

"I love playing there," said Susan Kemper, who plays traditional folk music. "It's intimate, warm and casual."

"It's a good place for a musician who is just starting out and isn't used to playing for a crowd," Campbell said. "At the coffeehouse it's not as high pressured."

But the Jawbone still has trouble drawing crowds because most people don't know it exists, Johnson and Fullerton said. Low funds have prevented any large scale advertising efforts. And as a result many of the Jawbone's "open mike" nights, where anyone is welcome to play music or read poetry, are less frequent.

"We haven't had a lot of open-mike nights because we've been afraid that nobody would show up," Fullerton said.

The Jawbone is slowly showing some life once again. An open mike night held there last Friday was successful, Fullerton said.

But the days of the "old" Jawbone may never return.

"The situation was liberal and you were free to stay as long as you wanted," Davids said. "Even during the day, you felt really free to just go down and crash on the musty couch underneath all the psychedelic graffiti. There were never any locks on the place. That's how free it was."