George Hammond Zimmerman

(1888-1952)

Brother Zim, as he was known by his Masonic peers, was born September 9, 1888. He moved to Waco in 1910.

After attending law school at Cornell in Iowa, Zim returned to Waco and rose to chief executive of the lumber firm, William Cameron & Co. In 1949, he was elected president of that company.

Zimmerman as secretary of Cameron & Co. in 1922

At the Austin Avenue Methodist Church, he was always active and taught the Bible Class for Men seventeen years. Civically, Zimmerman was always prominent and often found advocating on behalf of Waco at state legislation meetings. He was elected county commissioner and in 1932, mayor of Waco.

Men's Fellowship Class — Men’s Fellowship Class

As a Mason, he was active in all the various Waco bodies and served as District Deputy Grand Master. His elocutionary prowess was unsurpassed and for this reason, he was a guest speaker in high demand. In a speech to the Waco Lions Club in November of 1922, Zim provided the following advice to families on how to best spend their spare time:

“Reinstate the old family library table, instead of making the living room the family gathering point; let the family sit around, read and discuss books and magazines, instead of spending all their time riding in autos; build for the future when you build, and pay less attention to fads in architecture; construct your roads with the full knowledge that they will be used by the restless wheels of countless trucks. Plan and build for the future, and stop temporizing all along the line.”

He wrote a book about Texas commercial law and it was published in 1947. In August 1952, Brother Zim was in a tragic automobile accident that took his life.