Terraces resident Herb Schaefer honored by John Ball Zoo

It was an exciting day for the residents at The Terraces at MapleCreek, but especially so for Herb Schaefer, 92. He and his wife Ruth were on hand when Herb's friends, volunteers for John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, brought animals to show. Near the end of their visit, they presented the zoo's Lifetime Achievement Award to Herb for his 24 years of working as a volunteer with two of the ladies. He was very pleased to receive the honor in front of his friends at MapleCreek.

"I started helping at John Ball Zoo soon after my retirement, and volunteered from 1982 to 2006," Herb said. "My animal I was assigned to bring places and talk about was the Great Horned Owl. It was a big bird. One time, we were set up in the center of Breton Village Mall. During the program, the owl would always wear a band on its leg that was attached to my wrist so it wouldn't fly away. When our program was done and we were getting ready to leave, I had already removed the band and was starting to put this huge owl back in its cage when it suddenly took off. It circled around the rafters and then it disappeared. I thought, 'Oh, my, what have I done?' It was gone. I was really worried about what I was going to tell the zoo. Then, after a short while, that owl came flying back, came down to me and landed on my hand. I was so amazed -- and relieved," Herb said. "A little boy saw the whole thing, and he came up and said, 'Wow, that was really cool! When is your next show?'"

The zoo volunteers provided a wonderful learning experience for the Terraces residents this day. They were Cyndi, who showed an African Gray Parrot; Barb, who brought a ferret; and Sunny, who held a Bearded Dragon Lizard. Residents were able to touch the ferret and the lizard. The women said they like to go around and show these animals wherever people who have been involved with the zoo are now residing.

"If you know Herb very well, you know why we were so happy to bring the animals to The Terraces to visit him and Ruth," Sunny said. "The whole Terraces group was very nice. And we'll be back soon in February to do a program for the residents at The Lodge, including a good friend who worked in the zoo office for many years."