An aging flag badly in need of retirement.
12:34pm | As the countdown to the Fourth of July begins, a local mortgage broker and Bixby Knolls resident has teamed with the Boy Scouts of America Long Beach Area Council to assist community members who are replacing their American flags this year in properly retiring their old ones.
“Has your flag lost its glory? Is it tattered and tired? Local mortgage broker Dennis C. Smith wants to help you retire your old flag properly and wave a new star spangled banner,” states a media release announcing the upcoming opportunity.
During the July 1 First Fridays event in Bixby Knolls, residents can bring their aging, dilapidated flags to the Expo Building at 4321 Atlantic Ave. beginning at 6:30 p.m., and Smith, with the help of some local Boy Scouts, will ensure the flags are handled appropriately.
The popular method of proper retirement might surprise some — it is recommended by the American Legion and has long been the practice of the Boy Scouts to burn them. The ninth edition of the Boy Scout Handbook states that flags, “when worn beyond repair,’ should be destroyed “in a dignified way by burning.”
The flags Smith collects, however, will be disposed of in an equally dignified manner that does not require fire.
“The Boy Scouts do an amazing job retiring flags in flame as is recommended by the American Legion,” Smith said. “But nowadays, flags that are made of synthetic material need to be buried to avoid any noxious fumes being put into the environment from fire,” Smith said.
As an added incentive, anyone who drops off an old flag will receive a coupon to the Orchard Supply Hardware store in Bixby Knolls for 10 percent off on a crisp, bright new American flag.
“We are also holding a free drawing for two flags — one for an adult and one for a child,” said Smith, who works as a mortgage broker with Stratis Financial Corporation.
The drawing will be held at 8:30 p.m.