When Garlands Charter member, Len Wicklund, a principal with the Chicago architectural firm O’Donnell Wicklund Pigozzi Peterson, looked at the blueprints for The Garlands, he saw character.
Twenty years later he recalls, “I knew from the early phases that it was going to be a pleasant place.”
“But the landscaping,” he smiles, “now that was a magnificent surprise. There are days in the fall when it is just spectacular. It really makes the place.”
Aesthetics aside, what surprised Len the most after he moved to The Garlands was another matter of character—the fellow members he met dining, traveling, playing card games, taking lifelong learning classes, and performing in plays.
“I am constantly so impressed by the people,” says Len as he fondly recalls neighborly exchanges with friends he met at The Garlands over the years. “They are leaders in their fields and people who have made lifelong contributions to society. It is a delight to meet and get to know people of such character.”
Both Len and his late wife Ann agreed on their advice to others who are considering making a move to The Garlands: “You’ve got to make the move now while you can still enjoy it,” says Len. “We decided that if you leave the decision until later, then your family decides for you. We had seen agonizing examples of that with our friends and their parents. We didn’t want to put our children, or ourselves, through that.”
Today, citing the friendliness and competence of the staff, the relationships made with other members, and the beauty of the surroundings, Len couldn’t be more satisfied with his and Ann’s decision to become Charter Garlands members saying, “I can’t imagine anything more fulfilling than the last twenty years I’ve had here at The Garlands.”
“I can’t imagine anything more fulfilling than the last twenty years I’ve had here at The Garlands.”
– Garlands Charter Member, Len Wicklund
