On Saturday, October 20 at 2 p.m. at the Masonic Temple in Spencerport, Etolian Masonic Lodge will present a Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York "DeWitt Clinton Award for Community Service" to Gary and Trish Zimmerman.

The Zimmermans live at 169 Burnt Mill Road in Churchville. The award is in recognition of their years of volunteerism involving their Black Creek Wildlife Station at that address.

Etolian Lodge has presented the awards in behalf of the Grand Lodge to Pat Smith, local resident and volunteer with the Red Cross in 1996 and in 2000 to Ginny Swarthout, who has Spencerport Canal Days among her volunteer activities in behalf of the Village of Spencerport.
Jack Linder, Superintendent of the Electric Department of the Village of Spencerport, said that "as licensed wildlife rehabilitators for New York state, the Zimmermans have fashioned their Churchville lands and home to accommodate the needs of animals in distress over the past nine years, supporting their refuge mainly from their own financial resources." They spend as much as $100 a week from their own income to feed a variety of creatures brought to them from this general area.

Gary Zimmerman began to hunt at the age of 7 in 1944, he claims. By his early teens, any wild creature legal to hunt on the ground or in the air became his to add to his "kill" list. He simply liked to hunt.

In the 1970s, he began to study wildlife in earnest. He earned a New York state license for rehabilitating wildlife followed by a federal license. He took the Genesee Community College Wildlife Rehabilitation Course to help qualify for licensing. In 1992, he was licensed to rehabilitate threatened and endangered species.

Jeanne Ghent of the Chili-Riga area is one of those who found the Zimmermans. The Ghents found two immature hawks had fallen from a nest in their horse barn. They were left for a short time to see if the mother would get them back to safety. With concern for cats attacking them, Jeanne did some searching by phone until she was connected with the Zimmermans. The hawks were placed in cages at the wildlife station and raised until it was evident they were able to get food on their own. They were released to the wild and you may see them soaring in the vicinity of Churchville or Chili in the early evening as they continue to prolong the life of the species.

Gary Zimmerman worked for Rochester Gas and Electric for 33 years before joining the Electric Department of the Village of Spencerport over two years ago. Lodge member John Page, of Page Appliances, was the first to focus attention on the Zimmermans for community recognition.

The award demonstrates Freemasonry's historic concern and fraternal high esteem for voluntary service and individual involvement through contributions of time, skill and financial support given freely toward truly significant endeavors in the public interest.

Area residents are invited to an afternoon buffet at the Masonic Temple on October 20. To reserve, contact Jay McCullough, lodge committee chairman, 56 Kirkgate Drive, Spencerport, NY 14559, 352-1061, e-mail jaymac@usadatanet.net. Deadline for reservations is October 12. Capacity on the 2nd floor of the Temple at 133 South Union Street is 250, so reserve early. The site is made handicapped accessible by a chair lift.