Amazing Grace! Zimmermann Honored for Service to Somers

SOMERS, N.Y. - Somers recently paid tribute to Grace Zimmermann -- a fount of local lore, legacies, and traditions -- for her tireless volunteerism and 20 years of service with the town’s Historical Society.

“A town is only as great as the residents that comprise it. Residents whose efforts, contributions, and love of life continually contribute to enhance, beautify, and preserve their community,” said a proclamation presented to her on May 9 by Supervisor Robert Scorrano.

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Zimmermann and her husband, Jeff, moved to the Lake Purdys section of Somers in 1989. They have one daughter, Madeline.

She joined the local Conservation Board in 1992 and served until 2000. In 2004, Zimmermann took her love of history and experience in public relations and marketing and applied it to the Historical Society, helping to develop the organization “into what it is today,” the proclamation said.

She was its president from 2004 to 2008 and its vice president from 2010 and 2023.

During her term, the society received numerous Awards of Excellence from the Greater Hudson Heritage Network and also grants for many projects such as the oral history initiative “Voices of the Hudson Valley, Bringing New Technology to Old Stories for 21st-Century Audiences.”

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Zimmermann was a member of the Somers PTA, the Golden’s Bridge Hounds’ Pony Club, and Daughters of the American Revolution (Enoch Crosby Chapter), and is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America.

Thanking Zimmermann “for the immeasurable time and service she has devoted in preserving and honoring the historical properties and artifacts in the town of Somers,” the Somers document proclaimed that she “will be sorely missed by all for her wealth of historic knowledge.”

It wished her and her husband “a wonderfully happy and healthy retirement.”

(The Zimmermanns are moving to the Midwest to be closer to family.)

Scorrano then declared Friday, May 10, “Grace Zimmermann Day” in Somers.

“Thank you, this was a huge honor. I’m really blown away; I didn’t know this was going to happen,” said Zimmerman before she and Town Historian Doris Jane Smith gave a presentation on historic preservation in Somers. (May is Historic Preservation Month.)

Councilman Rich Clinchy told Zimmermann that she’d truly left her “mark” on Somers.

“There are so many things that have gone on in this town because of you and your husband’s help. I mean, you’re always in the middle of it, along with Doris Jane. Planning these events from the elephant out in front to Sept. 11 to the opening up upstairs (the Museum of the American Circus) periodically, to the Wright-Reid Homestead.”

“That’s a tough bill to fill for anybody, and Doris Jane, you’ve been working extra hours. We’re going to have to raise your pay ... maybe,” he joked, telling both that they’ve “been fantastic.”

Councilman Bill Faulkner also thanked Zimmermann.

“This town is great for a variety of reasons, but one of the top things is hometown pride. You just can’t have that without the respect and understanding of history that you bring to the table. So, greatly appreciated,” he said.

“Well, thank you; it’s a mutual love,” the honoree modestly responded.

Women of Distinction

And that’s not all, folks.

On Saturday, May 11, Zimmermann was presented with a “Women of Distinction” award from state Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-Yorktown) in Carmel and on Monday, May 20, she received a similar tribute from Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) at a ceremony Rockland County’s Sparkill.

Among those attending ceremony at Carmel Town Hall were Somers Councilman Anthony Cirieco; past “Women of Distinction” recipient Kate O’Keefe of the Somers Lions Club, and Katonah resident De Wittmann, whose late mother, Barbara, initiated and funded the town’s new “Old Bet” monument project.

Zimmermann, aka “Amazing Grace,” was praised for her ability to see through to completion any project she undertakes and for her well-earned reputation as “a go-to person.”

“Whether the question is a small or great one, she shares all her skills in a very positive way,” said Slater, reading from a prepared statement.

Holding a bouquet of flowers, Zimmermann made it short and sweet.

“This is a big honor and I’m really humbled. I’m a doer, not a speaker, so … thank you very much,” she said to applause.
Cirieco’s speech was a tad longer.

“Somers is the cradle of the American Circus. History is what we’re all about; it defines us,” he said.

Cirieco pointed out that Zimmermann and the historical society helped oversee historic sites and landmarks such as The Elephant Hotel (a former hotel – now Town Hall -- built by Old Bet’s owner, 19th-century farmer turned showman Hachaliah Bailey) and Bailey Park.

(Not to mention Mount Zion Methodist Church, the Caroline Wright-Reis Homestead, and the Museum of the American Circus.)

He urged folks to “come see” the new bronze of the town’s iconic elephant, made by a local sculptor and unveiled on World Circus Day in April. It stands atop a granite obelisk at the intersection of Routes 100 and 202.

“It’s going to be here for the next 200 years,” Cirieco said.

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