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LIVING IN LINDENWOLD TOWERS AND LOVING IT
Elizabeth – just her first name will do, thank you – believes Lindenwold Towers is a great place to live.She ought to know: She’s lived there for 22 years.
“Lindenwold Towers has been kept up beautifully. It’s impressive. You can see that management is dedicated to keeping it nice,” said Elizabeth, who’s 88 but seems much younger.
At first uninterested in being interviewed, she changed her mind, saying, “I should not pass up an opportunity to let whoever reads this know how I feel about the accommodations at Lindenwold Towers, and how I feel personally about the manager and his staff.”
But first, a little background. Elizabeth grew up in Maryland during the era of segregation. Her father was an educator and Master Mechanic. She earned a degree from Hampton University in 1941.
Elizabeth took a job with the federal government in the Pentagon in Washington D.C. during World War II. After the war, she spent the next 17 years in New York City working in business management and publishing.
Ultimately she became a human resources management consultant, specializing in the affirmative action compliance programs that emerged from the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. She had a successful career, even researching and writing a book about women and minorities in the labor force.
In the early 1980s, over lunch, some business acquaintances told her about Lindenwold Towers, which was then under construction.
“I was then constantly traveling for research and without a home base,” Elizabeth recalled. “I had not intentions of settling in New Jersey.”
More than two decades after she did in fact settle in New Jersey, she enjoys life at Lindenwold Towers. “For me, it’s lovely, and I’m very, very thankful. I’m on the back of the building, and it’s very quiet. And incidentally, I love our new windows, kitchens and bathroom floors,” said Elizabeth, a music lover who has a sizeable collection of records, including 78 rpm discs.
Active with the Church of the Atonement in nearby Laurel Springs, NJ, Elizabeth arranged for clergy there to conduct bi-weekly worship services at Lindenwold Towers five years ago. Attendance at the gatherings has been as high as 20.
Elizabeth is especially complimentary about Cliff Mitchell, program director of Lindenwold Towers.
“He’s a good manager, and his wife, Monika, works as hard as the staff,” she said. “It has worked out well. Cliff has been here 14 years, and he brings with him compassion for old people – to really look after us and take care of us. Cliff shows such compassion!”
For example, when a friend couldn’t reach Elizabeth on the telephone, the friend called Cliff, who came to the apartment to see if she was doing all right.
The respect and affection are mutual.
“I have known Elizabeth for 14 years,” Cliff said. “She appreciates the effort that my wife Monika does with decorations and flowers. Monika decorates the premises, indoors and outdoors, for all holidays. Elizabeth has always supported VOA and is a stickler with rules and regulations.
“Elizabeth also makes herself available to people in need – she helps with shopping, and making sure her neighbors have something to eat when they're sick.”
Elizabeth’s lovely apartment is full of family photos. Some of her ancestors were Native American, and she is a benefactor of an Indian school for orphans and other programs to benefit Native American children.
“Lindenwold Towers provides what is needed to make my senior years comfortable, safe and pleasant and I thank the manager, his wife and his staff for this. Their compassion and care are sincerely appreciated.”
Elizabeth also expressed gratitude for the help provided all residents at Lindenwold Towers by Carmyn Sanchez, who is a member of the manager’s staff. Assistance with financial matters and transportation, as well as health and entertainment programs, “are just some of what Carmyn provides for us,” Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth heartily recommends Lindenwold Towers as a lovely place for seniors citizens to live!
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