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Globe residents might be surprised what they can find at the City’s Active Adult Center and Public Library. Karaoke? Check. A tool lending library? Check. How about a cement mixer available to borrow? Check.
The senior center and library, in partnership with the City of Globe, offer daily programs and affordable entertainment options for residents of Globe, from toddlers through the elderly — and much more.
“One of our goals is to maintain the health and well-being of our residents, and that includes offering low-cost options for families and senior citizens to go and be part of the community,” says Economic & Community Development Director Linda Oddonetto. “If you have a family and want to join a walking group or are a senior who wants a low-cost meal option with friends, the library and senior center can fill the bill.”
Globe Active Adult Center
Touting a mission to “enhance the quality of life of the seniors in Globe and the surrounding community,” the GAAC offers a wide range of activities and works with local agencies to provide helpful information and services, as well as delivering meals to homebound seniors.
“We’ve got a little bit of everything for our seniors,” says GAAC Director Tamara Guerin.
The main mission of the GAAC is to provide a safe gathering place for residents over the age of 60, where they can enjoy a meal with friends or numerous fun daily activities throughout the week.
Then there’s the tool lending library. Begun in 2008, it’s just one of the many services offered to the community through the GAAC. The tool lending library is open to Globe residents of all ages who might not be able to afford to purchase tools or who only need one for a few hours.
“People are surprised at some of the stuff we have,” Guerin says. “We also have medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, and shower chairs that we can loan out too.”
The center offers health and well-being programs, legal and tax services, blood pressure checks, and other services through a partnership with the Pinal-Gila Council of Senior Citizens.
The weekly schedule includes stretching and flexibility classes, craft classes, and video exercises. And of course, there’s bingo, taking place Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9 to 11. An Alzheimer’s support group meets on the second Tuesday of each month, and birthday parties happen the third Thursday of each month. There’s also a Monday-morning walking club for seniors who want to get out and exercise with friends.
For those who can’t drive, the center offers transportation to and from the facility and Meals on Wheels deliveries. The daily lunch service begins at 11:45 a.m. Monday through Friday, and on Wednesdays, the GAAC offers a $3 biscuits and gravy breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m., with proceeds going to support the center and its activities.
The heart of the organization is its volunteers, and Guerin says she’s always looking for new recruits, particularly for the Meals on Wheels program.
The center relies on a handful of volunteers, including Dottie Sanchez, who runs the front desk, Meals on Wheels driver Carol Gamelo, bingo caller Johnny Navarro, and bingo runner Glenda Estevane.
When Navarro isn’t around, a longtime senior center aficionado, 98-year-old Dutch Greenwalt, fills in.
Greenwalt, who always has a joke at the ready, has been visiting the GAAC almost daily since 1985 and is a familiar face among regulars. He says COVID has slowed things down, but he hopes things will get lively again once people realize the center is open for business.
“This is a people-friendly place, and there’s something for everybody,” Greenwalt says. “We have really good meals, and if they don’t have the exercise or activity you want today, come in tomorrow and they’re bound to be happening.”
The Meals on Wheels program serves 55 seniors in the Globe area and is always in need of volunteer drivers.
“We used to have several volunteer drivers before the COVID hit,” Guerin says. “We have three routes going to get our meals out, so we’re always looking for new volunteers.”
Guerin herself is a familiar face among the senior population of Globe, having led the facility since 2016. She originally worked there from 2006 to 2008, and returned to work in the kitchen in 2013. She’s happy to serve the population she’s grown to love.
“I know when I retire, I’ll be down here volunteering a lot,” she says. “I want to do my part to help the center keep running.”
The GAAC is funded through grants from several sources, including the City of Globe, grants and Title V funds from Pinal-Gila Council of Senior Citizens, the Area Agency on Aging, USDA funds, Gila County, and funds raised from special events.
More information and a monthly calendar of activities can be found at the City of Globe’s website at www.globeaz.gov/globe-active-adult-center, or you can call the Center at 425-9030.
The Globe Public Library offers programs to appeal to people of all ages
From an established walking group that survived the pandemic, to alcohol-free karaoke sessions, the library can help entertain children and adults alike.
“We’re trying to offer things that people want to do,” says Library Director Rayel Starling. “We’re going beyond providing books and tuning into the overall health of the community.”
One of the more successful programs the library has instituted is a Walk/Run Club that has been going since 2018 and even survived the pandemic.
Based on the popular Couch to 5K exercise program, the Walk/Run Club meets three days a week to prepare participants for 5K (3.2-mile) events.
“We’d been doing that up until COVID hit, and we had to basically stop everything because nobody could meet in person,” Starling says. “So we made it virtual for a year and a half.” In March, the group returned to in-person meetings.
To help people stay motivated in their exercise regimen, the library has partnered with the Gila County Health Department for an upcoming series of nutrition classes and to help boost the walking program.
In addition to monthly challenges that prescribe mileage goals for 30-day periods, the County program will help the library with its latest walking challenge: a literary journey from Bag End to Mordor. Participants will walk across the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien in his Lord of the Rings series.
“We’re not asking them to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy – that would be a daunting task for some people,” Starling says. “The idea is to keep moving as we march to Mordor.”
Walkers are invited to participate either in-person virtually, and the library plans to put a map up on the wall to track progress over the next year. Details are still being worked out.
The group will be meeting Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for in-person walking.
Another new program that’s become popular is family-friendly karaoke nights on Thursdays at 7 p.m.
“It’s non-alcoholic, because we’re in the library and it’s for people aged 16 and up,” Starling says. “The people who come don’t seem to care that there’s no alcohol – they just want to sing.”
The library also offers plenty of more traditional activities for kids, including a Lego Club, game groups, a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) club, and cooking classes for children and adults. For younger children, there’s also a Duplos group – Duplos are larger Lego-type blocks, big enough not to be swallowed – and a “free play” day for parents with children under 5.
Another new twist is an adult strategy game held once a month, bringing gamers together for cooperative gaming.
For civic-minded residents, Councilman Mariano Gonzalez holds office hours at the library on Monday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m.
Starling says library staff have been working hard to come up with attractive programs to get people out again in the wake of the COVID pandemic, which slowed everything down throughout the community.
“After the COVID shutdown, people stopped coming to things … so we’re trying to get things going again,” Starling says. “You can come to the library now, and we have all these great things that you can do.”
The Globe Public Library is located at 339 S. Broad St. and is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For information about library programs, go to www.globeaz.gov/globe-public-library, or call 425-6111.
Journalist, writer and editor who has worked for community newspapers for more than 15 years. After four years at Davis-Monthan AFB and a few years living in Tucson, moved to California to find his fortune. He is happy to be back in Arizona, in the mountains he loves.
