Life Inside the "Snow Globe"

Hidden away in her Liberty Club House office at the 16-building campus of Ann's Choice, Community Resource Manager Angelena Adams sits at her desk. The walls of the 12-foot-by-12 foot room have been painted a neutral khaki color and the carpeting that pours in, under the door from the outside hallway, is a strange pattern of green and tan swirls that resembles military camouflage.

Adams is in one of several meetings that she will go through today. This one is with a 91-year-old resident named Madeline Waldam, who is helping to design flyers advertising the presentation of the Photographic History Tour of Warminster Township by author Kathleen Clark for Warminster’s 300th anniversary.

Waldam wears red nail polish to match her rose colored lip stick and the large, orange gem of the ring that she’s wearing resembles one of those hard candies that sit idly in glass bowls on living room coffee tables.

The two debate for a while on proper wording and placement of the author’s photograph before coming to an agreement and printing a few copies. Waldam thanks Adams and is out the door.

The flyers will soon be circulated around the entire community; on calendars and large bulletin boards that have industrial-sized magnifying glasses attached to them with long, white chains.

This is all part of the thriving and buzzing community that makes up Ann’s Choice, a retirement community that includes its own bank, pharmacy, libraries, restaurants, gyms, classrooms, chapel, theater, banquet halls, medical facility, and literally hundreds of clubs and activities.

This town-within-a-town is made up of 1,493 independent apartments that range anywhere from a large one bedroom at roughly 620 square feet, to a deluxe two bedroom, two bath with sunroom at almost 1,421 square feet.

Each of the 16 catwalk-connected commons has a different name and slight variation in décor, but even with that and the assistance of directional signs, the complex is still difficult to navigate.

“I’d be lost without the signs” Adams says while navigating her way through the Liberty building, “and I’ve been working here for four years now.”

She makes her way past one of the two on-site salons, where a resident is chatting with her hairdresser, and continues to the Horsham Square pharmacy, which includes all the conveniences of any Rite-Aid or Walgreens. Need inflatable balloons for a special occasion? You got it. Mass-produced ceramic figures? Stop on by. And no pharmacy would be complete without lottery tickets for sale.

Adams continues down the long corridors that resemble that of a quality resort, past several classrooms where residents take part anything from painting to cooking. Ann’s Choice even has its own television station, ACTV on channel five, which is run by the residents.

“You can enjoy life here” Waldman said, “I’ve been here for seven years and I love it.”

But not all of Ann’s Choice is so exciting and free. The one and only building that has yet to be conjoined to the rest of the community is the rehabilitation and assisted living building, known as Renaissance Gardens.

This rather small building, by comparison, has an internal theme of the outdoors with full sized street signs, an appropriate blue and green color scheme, wallpaper that looks like red bricks, and even a large mural of the William Penn building in Philadelphia.

Some of the residents here are only seeking short-term care; others, who suffer from diseases like dementia, will be permanent residents.

“I feel a little awkward when I come over here without a purpose,” Adams admitted, “It’s a different feel, like I’m out of my territory.”

The mood inside Renaissance Gardens is quiet and somber, but as Adams makes her way down the indoor Main Street, she smiles and greets everyone by their first name, whether or not they know who she is or where they are.

Another not so glamorous, though inescapable, aspect of Ann’s Choice is death. Tony Ciavolella, the public relations manager at Ann’s Choice, says it’s the most difficult part of his job. “You see them everyday” he said, “so it’s hard when someone passes.” Ciavolella never puts the word “away” after “passes.”

In an attempt to save lives, Ann’s Choice has set up a primitive alarm system. On the front door of each apartment is a small, metal latch that doesn’t latch at all, but instead just leans against the door frame.

At around midnight, security will turn the latch up. When the door is opened, the latch falls down. If the latch is still up by 10 or 11 a.m., security will first knock on the door. If there is no response, they contact the desk to call the resident. If there is still no response, they knock again. Only after that will the staff member enter the apartment.

Luckily, most of the security staff are also trained EMTs, so if there is a problem help is immediate. Ann’s Choice is also equipped with an on-site medical center staffed by full-time doctors. As Ciavolella explains the safety feature, residents Sarah Brown and Barbara Steiner practice “Baby Elephant Walk” on guitar and piano, in preparation for the June Jamboree – a festival at Ann’s Choice.

When Adams finally gets back to her office, she checks her answering machine. Most of the messages she receives everyday are from entertainers trying to book shows at Ann’s Choice.

 “I never pick them up, I only pick up the phone for residents,” Adams said. “They’re my priority.” As for the entertainers, well, that’s what voicemail is for, isn’t it?

The phone rings, but this call is from a resident named Jerry.

“This is Angelena.” The line is completely silent. “This is Angelena!” Adams repeats, but this time much louder and Jerry answers back.

Jerry comes to Adams’ office to discuss a project that he’s been working on for several months. As part of his bucket-list, Jerry wants to produce an original opera, but has been having trouble recruiting volunteers to serve as his writer, director and stage help.

“I’ve contacted both Arcadia and Doylestown College looking for help,” Jerry tells Adams with a German accent that seems to fade in and out, the result being that it sounds like two different people are speaking. “So far I have no responses.”

Jerry, who is famous for signing his e-mails as “Grandpa Moses,” is dressed in a khaki colored dress shirt that chameleons him with the walls of the small office. He also runs the finance group at Ann’s Choice that helps residents learn how to manage their finances, though he jokes, “It’s a little late in life to get your finances in order.”

Adams takes on the task of helping Jerry find volunteers to help with his production and adds that to the large yellow notepad on her desk. They hope to have the opera ready in about a year or so.

As community resource manager, Adams serves as an instrument for residents to achieve their own projects and ideas. Ann’s Choice is home to more than 130 different clubs and groups; billiards and bingo are two of the most popular.

At 1:16 p.m., Adams rushes off to a weekly resident manager meeting. There, she discusses along with five other members the plans for the meal delivery system involved with Helping Hands, the staff picnic, and investigating a trip hazard caused by a weight bench.

Evidently, a resident had complained and then later fell over the workout bench resulting in a sprained wrist, ribs, and cuts on his face. However, instead of being upset, the resident helped Ann’s Choice find a reasonable solution. Eventually, the manufacturer agreed to send a new model bench that should be safer for the facility. 

The last order of business concerned a single, live plant of unknown origin. Peter Cataldi, director of resident life at Ann’s Choice, found the plant in the conference room and asked someone from the staff to adopt it. It is quite possibly one of the only living plants inside the building.

Outside however, there is a vast assortment of trees and gardens. A stroll through the campus reveals a scene rich with life and energy.

An hour later, Adam is back in her khaki-colored office, meeting with more residents to discuss future projects.

The lobby is buzzing with life. Several groups of residents fill the once empty chairs and couches and talk casually amongst themselves. Some venture out to their cars to travel elsewhere, though Ann’s Choice has almost everything anyone could need; an almost completely self-sufficient community.

Cataldi says, “We call [Ann’s Choice] ‘Our own little snow globe.’”