In Scouting, there is a beautiful ceremony in which old flags are retired. Recently we were invited to attend such a ceremony by a wonderful pack of Boy Scouts with whom we have become acquainted. I was so happy for those of our boys that were able to attend, they witnessed a very wonderful ceremony as well as being allowed to learn and have fun with the older boys.
Flag retirement is done when a flag becomes tattered or faded. If you have an old flag that you need retired, it is very likely if you search out your local Scout pack, they will gladly retire it for you with the dignity it deserves.
The Boy Scouts taught our Cubs the procedure as well as some wonderful skits. You can read about the procedure in the link above, but the long and short is that a flag ceases to be a flag once it is taken apart. We separate the flag into stripes and the blue star field. The reason we do not cut the blue star field is it represents the union of the fifty states and one should never let the union be broken. We were taught to seperate each stripe, I have seen it done this way, as well as the flag being cut into four peices.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank Pack 110, their scouts and leaders alike. Nick, Alec and the Venturer girls (as well as some Scouts I do not know personally) worked with our boys a long time, and their time is not taken for granted. You provided our children with a wonderful experience, and we appreciate you.
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